Environmental Update (April 2010)
Tackling Environmental Crime in the North West
A campaign by the Environment Agency to tackle illegal scrap
metal activity in the North West has led to over 20 prosecutions
and 18 formal cautions in less than 2 years.
Operation SCRAP (scrap cars require a permit) targeted illegal
operators to bring sites into compliance with environmental
regulations, or take enforcement action where serious and repeated
breaches were found.
Some scrap metal operators, wanting to keep costs low and
profits as high as possible, have caused risks to the environment
by illegally disposing of oil down drains, and burning waste. They
either do not hold a permit to carry out these activities, or are
breaching the conditions laid down by the Environment Agency.
Using an intelligence-led approach, targeted action was taken in
the North West to visit sites which were believed to be acting
illegally. During site visits officers were able to give advice on
how a site operator could became compliant, as well
as gathering evidence to take enforcement action where
necessary.
The Environment Agency also targeted those who supply sites
through a series of road side stops across the region. These
resulted in six prosecutions, and 14 formal cautions being issued.
Over 36 stops were carried out in 2008/9, with around a thousand
vehicles stopped. Officers checked whether the vehicles were
carrying any waste as part of their business activities and, if so,
that they held a waste carriers licence to do so.
Lisa Whelan, Operation SCRAP manager at the Environment Agency
said, "Illegal scrap metal operators can have a real impact on
our local environment, through oil being leaked into drains or
toxic fumes being released during burning. In the North West we
have been tackling the illegal activity on sites, as well as
clamping down on those who illegally feed the sites with scrap
vehicles and metal. By tackling the suppliers and those who process
scrap metal we are cutting out the root and branch."
If you have any questions relating to environmental law
then please contact the Mentor 24/7 Advice line on 0800 634
7006.