07Jan

Environment Agency scorecard shows waste sites challenge

Posted on 7th January, 2019

Figures published recently by the Environment Agency under its corporate scorecard show that tackling illegal waste sites still remains a challenge for the organisation.

Out of its eight measures for protecting the environment, only “reducing the number of high risk illegal waste sites” received a “red” forecast.  The scorecard is based on quarter one for the financial year 2018-19 and was published in mid-December 2018.

The Agency explains that “We use a red amber green system to see at a glance how we are performing. Green means we are performing at or above the target(s) set, amber means we are falling slightly short of the target and red means there is improvements to be made.”

According to the data, there were 13 “category two” incidents in quarter one. This matches the average per quarter incidents over 2017 but is better than the average of 23 in 2016.   Of the incidents 10 were from illegal waste sites, 2 from burning and one from an unauthorised activity.

Commenting on the data, the Agency said: “The incidents display no pattern across the country but it is notable that almost half were associated with vehicle dismantling… We continue to tackle waste crime as a corporate priority. We have a targeted programme of work on scrap metal crime which should reduce incidents.

We have significant additional Government funding to explore new opportunities to prevent and disrupt waste crime and to undertake a forensic analysis of our tactics to improve our effectiveness.”