WIREDGOV

The Environment Agency is appealing for information on a series of incidents involving the dumping of trailers packed with shredded or baled waste.

• Trailers dumped in Derby and Nottingham areas
• Each trailer carries up to 24 tonnes of shredded or baled waste
• The trailers have been dumped in laybys on dual carriageways

The incidents, which have happened over the last few weeks, have all occurred in the Derby and Nottingham areas.

Four incidents have occurred on the A50 near HMP Foston, and one between Sudbury and Doveridge, south-west of Derby.

Two others have occurred on opposite carriageways on the A38, north of Burton-upon-Trent, and one on the southbound carriageway of the A38 at Stretton, Burton-upon-Trent.

There has also been two on the northbound A453 near Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station, south of Nottingham.

The trailers

The trailers have been dumped in laybys on busy dual carriageways.

Some of the trailers contain loose shredded waste, whilst some contain baled waste. Some have also had their tops cut off to make them easier to fill.

Each trailer can hold about 100 cubic metres, or 24 tonnes of waste.  The trailers range in design and include old refrigerated units and rigid ambient units.

Further afield, though possibly linked to the Derby-Nottingham incidents, a trailer containing baled waste was dumped in a layby on the westbound A6 at Chapel-en-le-Frith. This happened in early October.

Around the end of October, a refrigerated trailer containing waste was also dumped in a layby on the southbound A38 London Road at Weeford, Lichfield in Staffordshire.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said:

This kind of waste crime is a blight on our communities, the environment and is costly to the taxpayer who foots the bill to dispose of the trailers and the waste.

At present, the origin of the waste is unknown and the Environment Agency is investigating to identify the site or sites and those responsible.

The incidents could well be linked and be orchestrated by an organised crime group.

Anyone with information is urged to contact our 24/7 hotline on 0800 80 70 60 (24hrs), or CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111  or www.crimestoppers-uk.org

If you see waste trailers in the act of being dumped, report this immediately to the police on 999.

Further Information

The Environment Agency is responsible for regulating the waste industry in England. It deals with large-scale waste crime including illegal dumping incidents, illegal waste exports and other types of waste crime.

It is determined to make life harder for criminals by disrupting and stopping illegal activity through tough enforcement action and prosecution.

Whistleblowing 

Employees or former employees or contractors who have witnessed wrongdoing by their employer have special protections in law when reporting such incidents and are known as ‘whistleblowers’.

They can report environmental wrongdoing, such as fly tipping or abandoning waste to the Environment Agency online: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/whistleblowing-report-serious-wrongdoing-to-the-environment-agency