Morning, Wednesday, 25th November 2026
Online
This conference will examine the next steps for tackling waste crime in England, including developments with implications across the UK waste sector.
It will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to discuss implementation of the Government’s Waste Crime Action Plan, alongside ongoing reforms to the waste exemptions regime and the phased introduction of mandatory digital waste tracking. Delegates will consider the practical implications of measures to prevent, enforce against and remediate illegal waste activity, including a zero-tolerance approach to addressing organised dumping, fly-tipping, landfill tax fraud and the misuse of exemptions and waste carrier regimes, following the Environment Agency publishing national waste crime heat maps in May 2025 and its National Waste Crime Survey in July 2025.
Implementation of the Waste Crime Action Plan
The agenda will assess practical implications of the Action Plan for legitimate operators, including compliance burdens for SMEs, the relationship with wider producer-responsibility requirements and reforms to waste carrier licensing, and considerations for oversight and accountability arising from new tracking and data-sharing arrangements. In light of the Action Plan and recent reforms to the waste exemptions system, delegates will discuss approaches to closing regulatory loopholes without displacing criminality elsewhere, while protecting compliant businesses from being undercut by illegal operators.
Further sessions will discuss priorities for stakeholders in the context of changes to enforcement capacity, prosecution and sentencing, and Government’s approach to waste crime as a form of serious and organised crime. Attendees will consider developments to the EA’s resources, including investment in drones, mapping technology and more rigorous licence screening, and their application to investigations, evidence gathering, and the disruption of illegal operators.
Impacts on public health and the environment
Discussion will also examine the logistical and environmental impacts of waste crime, including addressing burdens and liabilities faced by farmers and landowners, persistent fly-tipping in urban areas, and wider public health consequences posed by air, water and soil contamination. Delegates will assess questions raised by structural reforms, incentives for compliance, improved reporting and intelligence sharing, and alignment with circular economy and environmental improvement objectives.
Overview of areas for discussion
- policy and next steps:
- implementation of the Waste Crime Action Plan - the zero-tolerance framework for preventing waste crime, strengthening enforcement and accelerating clean-up
- government reform to waste exemptions, carrier, broker and dealer system - closing loopholes and improving system integrity
- phased introduction of mandatory digital waste tracking - enhancing traceability and oversight across the waste sector
- legal and regulatory framework:
- proposed extension of Environment Agency enforcement powers - enabling faster investigation, inspection, and prosecution of offenders
- alignment with landfill tax policy and economic incentives - addressing the financial drivers of illegal disposal
- regulatory coordination - defining responsibilities across regulators, local authorities, and enforcement bodies
- enforcement capacity and coordination:
- enhanced capacity of the Joint Unit for Waste Crime - multi-agency intelligence, risk profiling, and targeted interventions
- investment in technology-led enforcement - drones, mapping technology, surveillance and data analytics to identify and disrupt organised dumping
- prosecution and sentencing guidelines - penalties, use of available powers and the treatment of waste crime as serious and organised crime
- industry readiness and operational implications:
- compliance with new digital tracking and reporting requirements - preparation by waste receivers, collectors and other operators for the relevant implementation phases
- interaction with wider producer responsibility and waste-management obligations - supporting end-to-end accountability in waste management
- collaboration with regulators - intelligence-sharing, reporting, and maintaining fair competition between compliant and illegal operators
- community and environmental impacts:
- clean-up of legacy illegal sites - addressing environmental harm, public health risks, and burdens on landowners
- distributional effects - examining impacts on rural landowners, urban communities, and vulnerable populations
- incentives for prevention - exploring economic drivers, landfill differentials and structural measures to reduce illegal disposal
