Councils now can seize and destroy fly-tipping vehicles

The government has announced that they will crackdown waste criminals, fly-tippers, and ‘cowboy waste operators’.

This is a welcomed measure as fly-tipping in the UK has increased by a fifth, whilst the number of prosecutions has fallen by the same amount since 2018-19. 

Ministers have worked to grant councils the power to find, seize and crush vehicles belonging to waste criminals. New plans, being considered by ministers, will remove councils of the burden of financing seizing and storing vehicles, instead making fly-tippers responsible for covering this cost. 

Drones and mobile CCTV cameras will also be used to identify cars and vans belonging to fly-tippers so they can be destroyed.

‘Waste cowboys’ will also now be subject up to potentially five years in prison for operating illegally. Any criminals caught transporting and dealing with waste illegally will now face up to five years in prison under legislation.

Secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, Steve Reed said: “Waste criminals and fly-tippers who blight our towns and villages have gone unpunished for too long.

“That ends today. The government is calling time on fly-tipping. I will not stand by while this avalanche of rubbish buries our communities.

“Under the Plan for Change, this government will seize and crush fly-tippers vans’ to clean up Britain’s streets.”