Andy Burnham Vows To Clear-Up ‘Toxic Dumps’ In New Drive

Andy Burnham has announced a crackdown on the criminal gangs profiting from illegal waste.

The prime minister intends to empower more police officers to seize cash, cars and houses from criminals profiting from the illegal waste sites.

Fines will be extended from their current maximum of £300 up to £5,000 and those responsible could face tougher sanctions like prosecution and imprisonment.

AI-powered drones will also be used to detect illegal activity as it happens.

Burnham wants to use the National Crime Agency and more Environment Agency officers to seek out those who dump illegally as part of his plan to fix long-ignored problems across the country.

Regional mayors will focus on their own areas with a fresh partnership between national and regional agencies which enables enhances intelligence and capability sharing.

West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester will be first to start region-led approaches to waste crime.

The prime minister has also planned to fund the clean-up of three more of the UK’s most serious illegal waste sites in West Yorkshire, Surrey and Kent.

The government says these sites hold an estimated 22,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste and harms an estimated 2,900 people.

“These toxic dumps have blighted communities for too long,” the prime minister said. “I said we would clean them up – and that’s exactly what we’re announcing today.

“The days of making easy money out of waste are over. We’re giving authorities the powers to hunt down the people responsible. We will seize their assets and shut their operations down.

“These mountains of rubbish have been a clear sign to communities that politics hasn’t been working for them or their area. This government is going to tackle the issues that have been ignored by Westminster for too long and bring back hope.”

Environment secretary Angela Eagle said: “Communities have been subjected to horrendous conditions and denied the pride they deserve in the places they call home. This ends now.

“We are cleaning up sites, but we are also stopping the cycle, driving faster prevention and disruption, better intelligence, and stronger coordination across the system.”

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