25-Jul-2006
- On the 25 July 2006, at 10 am, the Environment
Agency and West Midlands Police will put their
foot down in an attempt to put the brakes on waste
crime.
Steve Morley, Upper Trent Area
Manager for the Environment Agency, and Chief
Superintendent Peter Monroe will be at Bloxwich
police station in Walsall to signal the ignition
of a prosperous three-year crackdown on waste.
The Environment Agency has donated
£20,000 to West Midlands Police in an attempt
to reduce fly tipping in the West Midlands. This
has helped the Roads Policing Unit (RPU) at Bloxwich
fund an extra patrol vehicle, with specialist
digital surveillance equipment to catch fly-tippers
in the act.
The car will also check waste
carrier registrations in East Wolverhampton and
North Walsall. The Environment Agency requires
every person that is transporting waste to have
a Waste Carrier Registration Certificate.
The funds will provide the resources
to allow the RPU time to help the Environment
Agency tackle illegal waste crime, using both
covert and high-visibility enforcement to put
the brakes on criminals.
Steve Morley of the Environment
Agency said: "Today marks the start of an
exciting new partnership. We are delighted to
be working with West Midlands Police on this to
tackle criminals who carry waste illegally."
"We will not tolerate the
illegal transportation of waste. It undermines
the registration system, which is intended to
inform the Environment Agency of who should be
carrying waste and facilitates checks on where
that waste is being disposed. Illegal disposal
of waste has a dramatic impact on the economy
and can be damaging."
Chief Superintendent Monroe,
commander at Bloxwich police station said: "We
have been working closely with our partner agencies
for some time now and have already achieved some
great results with the Environment Agency.
"We are delighted to continue
this crackdown on the anti-social behaviour of
fly-tipping and waste dumping that can affect
people's quality of life in our communities."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
You are invited to send a representative
to a photocall at Bloxwich police station on Tuesday
25 July at 10am.
For more information,
contact Holly Smith at the Environment Agency
on 0121 711 5829/5855 or Samantha Bates at West
Midlands Police on 0121 626 5378.
Holly Smith
