Waste Crime
Thursday, 22 October 2026
Contributions
Ashley Dalton (West Lancashire) (Lab)Labour
3. What steps she is taking to help tackle waste crime.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)Labour
Waste crime is fuelled by serious organised crime, and it is blighting our communities. We are tackling it: since April, we have made 21 arrests and shut down 339 illegal waste sites. Police operations have triggered more than 30 criminal investigations, and we are strengthening enforcement and disrupting those who are profiting from waste crime.
Illegal waste dumping at the Simonswood industrial estate in my constituency has long blighted the residents in West Lancashire and Kirkby. My right hon. Friend the Member for Knowsley (Anneliese Midgley) and I have worked together on tackling the Simonswood stink, and we welcomed the Environment Agency’s permit revocation earlier this year, but the mound remains, as do the odour and dust. What assurances can the Government give that Simonswood will be considered in the next phase of the illegal waste site clearance scheme?
I know how tirelessly my hon. Friend and her neighbour, my right hon. Friend the Member for Knowsley, have campaigned on this issue. Waste crime blights local communities, and the Government are committed to tackling it. The Environment Agency continues to investigate activity at Simonswood, and the site will be considered for clearance alongside other illegal waste sites.
Rishi Sunak (Richmond and Northallerton) (Con)Conservative
Waste crime and fly-tipping are a blight on rural communities and, as the Secretary of State said, are increasingly linked to organised crime, so I commend Ministers for building on the work of the previous Government to increase penalties, tighten up restrictions on carriers and speed up the digital tracking of waste. Communities play their part, too, so will the Secretary of State join me in praising the work of the Wombles of Hambleton, whose volunteers do an excellent job of organising monthly litter picks, collecting hundreds of bags of rubbish and ensuring that North Yorkshire remains the most beautiful part of the country?
As a Yorkshirewoman myself, I will not disagree about the beauty of Yorkshire, though it might get me into trouble. I am happy to join the right hon. Member in praising the Wombles of Hambleton. I need him to show me a photograph of them out doing this job next time we bump into each other. Many community-organised litter picks and clean-ups are going on in all our communities, including one at Seacombe in my own constituency a couple of weekends ago. Much litter is picked up, but we have a lot of work to do to persuade people to be more responsible by not dropping it in the first place.
Source: UK Parliament Hansard API. Debate ID: 5423130.