On 20 March 2026, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published its Waste Crime Action Plan, setting out a comprehensive package of measures aimed at addressing illegal waste activity across England. This initiative responds to sustained concern about the scale and impact of waste crime, which continues to impose significant financial, environmental and social costs across the country. Recent Environment Agency (EA) assessments estimate that waste crime costs the economy around £1 billion a year, with illegal dumping and fly‑tipping increasingly affecting both urban and rural communities.
The Action Plan is structured around three central pillars: Prevention, Enforcement, and Remediation. These reflect the Government’s intention to strengthen regulatory control, enhance enforcement capability, and accelerate the clean-up of the most harmful illegal waste sites.
Strengthening prevention and enhancing accountability
A major theme of the Action Plan is the tightening of the regulatory framework that governs waste carriers, brokers and dealers. The Government plans to remove longstanding loopholes that have facilitated the entry of non‑compliant operators into the waste management chain.
One of the most significant reforms is the introduction of digital waste tracking, which is due to become mandatory from October 2026. This technology‑led shift is intended to ensure full traceability of waste from origin to disposal, reducing opportunities for diversion into illegal sites or unregulated operators. We have previously commented on digital waste tracking in our article published in January.
To complement these measures, the EA will begin applying fit and proper tests more rigorously, particularly in relation to the transfer or renewal of environmental permits. The Government has expressed concern that existing permit transfer processes have been exploited by unscrupulous individuals, enabling unlawful operations to continue under new ownership structures.
The Government also explains that HMRC will be expanding tax-check rules in the waste sector, and considering whether future waste permit renewals may depend on applicants passing checks on their tax record, aiming to improve compliance and block tax evasion. The Landfill Tax regime is notoriously poorly integrated with the environmental regime, and it will be important for HMRC to consider any increase in administrative burden vs the practical impact of such a proposal.
Finally, Defra has committed to exploring new insurance models to support farmers and landowners who are left with the financial burden of clearing illegally dumped waste. This is a recurring issue, particularly in rural areas.
Enforcement reform
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the Action Plan is the significant expansion of the EA’s enforcement powers. The Government has signalled its willingness to treat waste crime as a form of serious and organised criminality, with reforms including:
1. Police‑style powers for enforcement officers
The Government is considering granting EA officers powers normally associated with the police, including arrest, warrantless search of premises and seizure of assets. This would amount to one of the most substantial expansions of regulatory enforcement authority in many years and is designed to allow for earlier interventions against organised waste crime networks.
2. Tougher sentencing and new criminal penalties
Waste criminals caught transporting or dealing in waste illegally may face up to five years’ imprisonment under proposed legislative amendments. The Government is also introducing driving licence penalty points for fly‑tipping offences, meaning persistent offenders could face disqualification.
3. Operational enforcement tools
The EA is set to expand its use of restriction notices, which require operators to cease activity immediately in cases of serious environmental harm. Breach of a restriction notice can lead to 51 weeks’ imprisonment, a fine, or both, highlighting the emphasis on rapid response to environmental risk.
These powers are reinforced by a £45 million increase in enforcement funding over the next three years, enhancing the Agency’s capacity to undertake intelligence‑led investigations, including the increased use of drones, satellite imaging and other surveillance technologies. With more than 1,200 illegal waste sites shut down between 2024 and 2025, the Government has made it clear that enforcement will continue to escalate.
Accelerating remediation
The third pillar of the Action Plan focuses on remediation – both supporting landowners and ensuring that the most serious illegal waste sites are addressed through Government intervention.
For the first time, the Government has committed to directly funding the clean‑up of the most heavily affected locations, beginning with major sites in Wigan, Sheffield and Lancashire, where a combined 48,000 tonnes of waste have purportedly been unlawfully deposited.
Changes to Landfill Tax in recent years have empowered HMRC to pursue those who dispose of material at unauthorised sites more robustly. The Government considered strengthening these powers further in its 2025 Landfill Tax consultation (including a 200% rate of tax for unauthorised disposals) but ultimately opted not to adopt these changes at this time. HMRC often struggles to identify those who make the disposals and, in many instances, it can be left to landowners or local authorities to clean up illegal waste sites and deal with any associated Landfill Tax. The Government has acknowledged that Landfill Tax can be a blocker to remediation of illegal waste sites and this will be welcomed by local authorities for whom this has a real impact on budgeting. The proposal for a Landfill Tax rebate system for local authorities is a positive development and has the potential to drive remediation forward by freeing up more money for the actual remediation exercise.
In addition, the Government is piloting conditional cautions for fly‑tippers. These community‑based sanctions will require offenders to complete up to 20 hours of unpaid work, such as cleaning public spaces, and to repay the cost of clearing the waste they deposited. This reflects a broader move toward restorative justice in environmental offences.
Final word
The Waste Crime Action Plan represents a significant expansion of the Government’s commitment to tackling waste crime. By strengthening oversight mechanisms, expanding enforcement powers and committing to direct remediation, the Government aims to curtail illegal waste activity and protect communities affected by it.
For waste operators, local authorities, landowners and businesses involved in the waste supply chain, the reforms signal a more stringent, interventionist regulatory approach. Compliance expectations will rise, enforcement activity will intensify and the financial and criminal consequences of non‑compliance will become more severe.
