Draft Business Waste Strategy PDF - london.gov.uk - Greater ...

100 Mayor of London
Making waste work in London The Mayor’s Draft Business Waste Management Strategy
Case study 40 - Business fined for waste dumping
A Hounslow-based firm has been fined £6,000 after pleading guilty
to dumping 55 loads of soil from a construction site without a waste
management licence. This material could have contained contaminants
including heavy metals and other toxic elements. Even small quantities
of these pollutants could contaminate large areas of groundwater,
damaging a valuable water resource for decades. The company was
charged under Section 33 of the Environment Protection Act 1990:
depositing soil and subsoil without a waste management licence
and ordered to pay £1,492 in legal costs.
Source: Environment Agency: TA/52/06
4.77 The government, in response to the Better Regulation Task Force's 2005
report 224 , intends to ’cut red tape… so that businesses can be more
productive and public services more efficient’ 225 , however, the importance
of enforcing the Duty of Care legislation cannot be underestimated and
the Mayor believes it should not be sidelined through the government’s
‘Better Regulation’ agenda.
4.78 The Mayor believes that the government should adequately resource
the Environment Agency and local authorities to deal with illegal waste
activity and thereby make regulation more effective. Whilst it is at the
Environment Agency’s and local authorities’ discretion how often and in
which areas to undertake targeted inspection, there are benefits to a
regular Duty of Care inspection programme, such as:
■ improved compliance
■ reduced fly-tipping and related enforcement costs
■ improved uptake of trade waste services as businesses without
adequate arrangements comply
■ building better relationships with businesses.
4.79 Transport for London’s Commercial Vehicle Education Unit provides
education-led enforcement to improve legal compliance and management
of occupational road risk for freight operations in London. Results have
identified a link between freight traffic offences and other illegal activities
such as fly tipping. Consideration is being given to extend the role of the
unit to cover waste carrier and transfer offences as a means of tackling
fly-tipping in London.