4 Illegal dumping
86. We heard of serious concerns about the dramatic
increase in recent years of the incidence of illegal dumping of
waste both within Northern Ireland, and from the Republic of Ireland.
TAG explained that there are now "very robust economic reasons
for people to break the law…the higher standards that are
now pertaining in terms of landfill, the landfill tax situation
and the increasing costs and legislative burdens that apply to
both the generators of waste and the people who are supposed to
deal with that waste."[135]
The Organised Crime Task Force Assessment for 2004 identified,
for the first time, the involvement of organised criminal activity
in illegal dumping.[136]
87. The Department estimates that about 250,000 tonnes
are being illegally dumped.[137]
In addition to depriving the economy of legitimate landfill charges
and tax, the cost of repairing the environmental damage will be
substantial.[138] We
learned that "a specially formed team, the Environmental
Task Force, has been working day and night in conjunction with
Customs, DVLNI, Garda Síochána, councils north and
south, and PSNI".[139]
We were encouraged to hear from
the Southern Waste Management Partnership that "in recent
months there have been some very firm measures taken by the Police
Service of Northern Ireland and the Garda Síochána
with regard to illegal trans-frontier shipments. To some extent
this has been quite effective and has dealt with the large movements
of waste across the border".[140]
88. Concerns were expressed that "the structures,
resources and mechanisms needed for efficient regulation have
not been put in place".[141]
TAG highlighted "a lack of resources within DOE which has
resulted in a focus on individual high risk cases."[142]
Nine million Euros per year for the next five years has been provided
in the Republic of Ireland to enhance enforcement there.[143]
The Department told us that "we think we need probably another
70 people to deal with this", and on this basis it has bid
for an additional £2.5 million for additional staff and surveillance
equipment." and it recognised that "if we do not match
the northern resources with the southern resources tighter controls
down south will move [the problem] up north." [144]
89. Friends of the Earth suggested that legislative
changes were needed because "the Department and the police
appear not to have the powers that they need at the moment. There
appears not to be a criminal offence being committed in the transporting
of the waste through Northern Ireland".[145]
The Minister acknowledged that she was considering the need to
amend legislation to allow the seizure of lorries and the detention
of drivers. She also confirmed that she was "not convinced
that the existing legislation is addressing the problem adequately"
and was prepared to consider new legislation if that appeared
to be required. [146]The
Department stated that it "will examine the potential for
new powers to seize and sell vehicles, requirements to fit electronic
transponders (satellite trackers) to registered vehicles, higher
automatic fines to tackle a significant, mobile problem which
presents serious environmental and economic threats."[147]
90. The underlying solution is to remove the financial
incentive to illegal dumping. We understand that the differential
in the level of landfill gate fees on each side of the border
is rarely less than £30 per tonne, and could be as high as
£100 per tonne in some cases.[148]
The North West Region Waste Management Group expressed the hope
that "As the differential between the two sides of the border
lessens and you get almost a convergence in cost, we hope that
this will not be a problem and it will be contained on the northern
side of the border."[149]
The Department told us about the action that had been taken on
this front so far: "One of our first steps has been to move
from the magistrates' court to the crown court because we move
from a £20,000 penalty to an unlimited fine and a longer
term of imprisonment for criminal activity."[150]
91. We welcome
the action that has been taken to tackle illegal dumping, including
the high level of cross-border co-ordination and co-operation,
and meetings at Ministerial level.[151]
We recognise the difficulty that the difference in landfill costs
on either side of the border raises for Northern Ireland. We strongly
support the bid by the Department for additional resources to
tackle illegal dumping activity and we urge the Minister to proceed
with urgency to assess whether legislative changes may be required.
Fly Tipping
92. Fly tipping is sometimes presented as causing
relatively little environmental damage apart from a negative visual
impact. However, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management
cautioned that it must not be ignored, [152]
while TAG warned of the cumulative effect of fly tipping on the
environment citing a recent ENCAMS report which concludes that
"the cost of fly tipping in the UK could be around £40
million per year to the taxpayer."[153]
93. Responsibility for enforcement and prosecution
in relation to fly tipping transferred recently from District
Councils to the Environment and Heritage Service. Friends of the
Earth claimed that "EHS seems unwilling to exercise its regulatory
powers. There is a policy of not prosecuting domestic or small-scale
trade dumping, with no real protocols or policies in place for
dealing with the issue."[154]
94. The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management
cautioned that "it is likely that these activities continue
for many waste streams and particularly for construction and demolition
wastes. These wastes are currently being illegally landfilled
under the guise of agricultural improvement.".[155]
TAG, too, considered that fly tipping was likely to be a growing
problem.[156]
95. In addition, the Chancellor of the Exchequer's
commitment to an incremental increase in landfill tax,[157]
while encouraging the authorities to speed up their search for
alternatives to landfill, could, perversely, lead to an increase
in fly tipping.
96. Fly tipping
is a growing and insidious problem, and we are pleased that the
Department of the Environment is considering a range of measures
to deal with it more effectively.[158]
We urge the Minister to ensure that this work proceeds without
delay and that the existing regulatory powers are enforced fully.
135 Q 32 Back
136
Organised Crime Task Force Assessment 2004, page 13 Back
137
Q 297 Back
138
Q 297 Back
139
Q 297. DVLNI is Driver Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland Back
140
Q 75 Back
141
Ev 203 Back
142
Ev 6 Back
143
Ev 115 Back
144
Q 297 Back
145
Q 330 Back
146
QQ 376-377 Back
147
Ev 229 Back
148
Q164 "In Cork, apparently, … it costs 230 Euros per
tonne to landfill; in Northern Ireland it is going to be somewhere
in the region of £45 a tonne". Back
149
Q 74 Back
150
Q 297 Back
151
Q 376 Back
152
Ev 242 Back
153
Ev 6 Back
154
Ev 203 Back
155
Ev 242 Back
156
Q 34 Back
157
In March 2004 the Chancellor announced that landfill tax will
rise from its current level of £15 per tonne by at least
£3 per tonne per annum up to a level of £35 per tonne.
Back
158
Ev 115 Back
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