Report waste crime

Dumping or burning waste where it's not allowed, or allowing others to do so, is a criminal offence. Find out more about waste crime and how you can report it.

What is waste crime?

Waste crime is the illegal management of waste and it is becoming an increasing problem in Northern Ireland.

Criminals are involved in waste management – from waste collection and the provision of skips to illegal landfilling and burning of the waste to get rid of it. Their motive is making money. They usually charge the legal going rate to collect and transport waste and then dispose of it illegally and pocket the profits.

Why does it matter?

If it is not handled properly waste can cause serious pollution of the environment – air, land and water – and this can be harmful to our health.

Criminal waste management also has an economic impact on legitimate businesses involved in waste disposal. These companies are unable to compete effectively in the waste industry because they are undercut by criminals.

It affects us all because there are huge costs involved in ‘cleaning up’ illegal waste, which means that less money is available for things like hospitals and schools.

What are the penalties?

The Department of the Environment (DOE) takes waste crime very seriously. Criminals involved in waste management can receive very substantial fines of up to £50,000 and be sentenced to six months imprisonment per charge.

At Crown Court level the fines are unlimited and criminals can be sentenced to up to five years imprisonment per charge and be required to pay back the profits they have made.

What can you do?

If you need to dispose of waste, either from your home or business, remember to ask the provider of the service lots of questions about where your waste will be taken and what records you will receive to show it was managed legally.

List of current registered waste carriers - NIEA website

How can you report illegal waste management ?

You can report illegal waste management to Crimestoppers or to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency’s Environmental Crime Unit.

What you should do:

visually try to work out what sort of waste it is and how much of it there is
make a note of the dates and times you saw any waste being tipped and its exact location
make a note of how many people were involved if you saw them tipping waste or working on the site
make a note of the details of any vehicles you saw – make, model, colour, registration number and any livery

Do not:

touch waste – it may contain syringes, toxic substances or asbestos
disturb the site – there may be evidence there that will assist an investigation
put yourself at risk by tackling anyone you think is involved or by taking photographs or making yourself obvious

For more information about waste crime you can download the following leaflet