Three men arrested for major fly-tipping incident
© Tim Scrivener Three men have been arrested in connection with large-scale illegal waste dumping at a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) in Kent.
About 30,000t of household and construction waste were found discarded at Hoads Wood, near Ashford, Kent in 2023.
Environment Agency (EA) enforcement officers worked alongside Kent Police and the Joint Unit for Waste Crime to track down the suspects.
Sgt Darren Walshaw of Kent Police’s Rural Task Force said: “Fly-tipping and environmental crime is a blight on Kent’s beautiful landscape, and we are committed to supporting the EA in its ongoing efforts to bring those responsible to justice.”
Two of the men arrested, aged 44 and 62, are from the Isle of Sheppey, while the third, aged 41, is from Sittingbourne.
See also: Planned waste exemption charges to hit farmers from April
Simon Hawkins, regional director of operations at the EA, said: “The EA and Kent Police have been working tirelessly to uncover the identity of those responsible and bring them to justice, and to take the fight to organised criminal networks.”
The arrests were welcomed by Tim Bamford, south-east regional director of the Country Land and Business Association, who said fly-tipping had a huge impact on the environment, farming and natural landscapes.
The Countryside Alliance has been working to raise awareness that fly-tipping is not a victimless crime, with its members ranking it as the second most important issue for rural policing to tackle, after agricultural machinery thefts.
A spokesperson for the alliance said: “Farmers and other private landowners who fall victim are required by law to clear their land and bear the costs of doing so, which can be especially ruinous at a time when they are already under pressure from shifts in the agricultural subsidy regime.”
© Warwickshire Police Operational Patrol Unit
Fly-tipping figures
Fly-tipping remains a significant problem for many farm businesses, with industry figures suggesting that more than half of farms have been victims of fly-tipping in recent years.
There were more than 1m cases of fly-tipping dealt with by local authorities in 2022-23.
The EA successfully shut down 63 illegal waste sites in the past year and prevented almost 34,000t of waste from being illegally exported by waste criminals.
Defra was due to introduce a mandatory digital waste tracking system in April, but this has now been delayed until April 2026.
The latest figures on fly-tipping incidents in England are expected to be released by Defra on 26 February.
© Adobe Stock
National waste crime survey
Farm businesses in England are encouraged to complete the national waste crime survey to help inform the EA of the scale of waste crime and what changes need to be made.
The survey opened for submissions this week and is due to close on 23 February.
NFU vice-president Rachel Hallos said: “Fly-tipping continues to be a huge problem and one that plagues the lives of so many of us living and working in the countryside.
“The scale of waste crime is staggering, with nearly a fifth of all waste – an estimated 34m tonnes – being handled illegally every year.”