PCCs join forces to tackle waste crime
A group of PCCs from the South East have agreed to join forces to crack down on and prevent illegal waste dumping.
The National Audit Office estimates waste crime is costing the English economy £900m a year. Local authorities report there were 1.15 million incidents of fly-tipping in 2023-2024, an increase of 6% on the previous year.
Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott invited Matthew Barber (Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley) along with colleagues from Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex to meet with representatives from the police, the Environment Agency, local government, land owning and farming groups, and representatives from the private sector. The roundtable event was held on Tuesday 3 June 2025.
It was agreed to commission a strategic review of the situation and an action plan which will focus on creating a joined-up approach across the region.
Following the meeting, Matthew Barber said: “I was pleased to be able to join PCC counterparts in the South East yesterday, as part of a Waste Crime roundtable organised by Kent OPCC.
“Organised waste crime, such as fly tipping can be big business for criminals, both in the Thames Valley and across the South East.
“Yesterday’s meeting with fellow PCCs from across the South East along with councils, landowners and the Environment Agency is an important step to ensuring a joined up approach across the region.”
Responsibility for waste dumping falls across several agencies. Local authorities are responsible for investigating, clearing and taking appropriate enforcement action in relation to small scale fly-tipping on public land. The Environment Agency is responsible for dealing with large-scale fly-tipping (more than a lorry load), hazardous waste and fly-tipping by organised gangs. On private land, it is normally the responsibility of the landowner to remove the waste.
For further information on reporting waste crime in the Thames Valley, please visit the Thames Valley Police website.
