The Minister said: “Illegal waste dumping is a major problem in Northern Ireland. Unauthorised operators - including organised criminal gangs – can generate profits of around £100 per tonne of illegal waste. This leads to a loss of some £24million in taxes each year. In addition, clean-up costs are around £1million per site.
“I want to stress that this will not be tolerated. These new measures, to come into force on 25 June, will help in the fight against those who have no regard for the costs of their actions, not only in terms of the burden on the Northern Ireland taxpayer, but also in relation to damage to the environment and risk to public health. ”
The Waste (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 was made on 6 March 2007 and some of its major provisions are due to come into force on 25 June. These include increased fines and prison sentences for waste offences. The courts will also have powers to consider imposing additional financial penalties on those convicted of such offences, including requiring offenders to pay investigation, enforcement and clean-up costs, and will be able to award the Department possession of vehicles used in the commission of waste offences.
Other provisions due to come into force on 25 June include the removal of the defence of acting under an employer’s instructions for those charged with waste offences; new powers for Departmental enforcement staff to stop vehicles on the public road and more extensive powers to search premises; new powers for district councils to require landowners to remove illegally deposited waste from their properties and a new daily fine for failure to obey a direction from the Department concerning the management of controlled waste.
Other provisions contained in the Order will not come into effect at this stage. These include provisions relating to the registration of waste carriers, the seizure of vehicles involved in waste offences and a requirement for developers and contractors on construction and demolition projects to prepare site waste management plans. Such changes will require subordinate legislation which will be taken forward by the Department over the next few years.
Notes to Editors:
- Further information on the Order can be found on the DOE website.
- The Waste (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (“the Order”) updates the legislation governing the management and disposal of waste, as set out in the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (“the 1997 Order”).
- The powers contained in the 1997 Order were not considered sufficient to deal with this growing problem.
- The new powers largely replicate those in the rest of the United Kingdom but this Order does include some unique provisions because of the nature and extent of the problems faced in Northern Ireland.
