Key Points
- Waste Crime Conference is taking place for the first time in Liverpool City Region on Friday 16 October 2026 in Widnes.
- The conference is organised by Environment Agency and Merseyside Police & Crime Commissioner and hosted by Halton Borough Council.
- Partners are Merseyside Police, Joint Unit for Waste Crime, six Liverpool City Region councils, Defra, UKHSA and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service.
- Agencies have agreed to exchange intelligence and cooperate in enforcing laws to prevent and stop any illegal operations involving waste.
- The Environment Agency reports that waste crime costs the English economy more than £1 billion per annum with 20% of all waste being treated illegally.
- The government will be allocating an extra £45 million over the next three years, in addition to £5.6 million extra already announced for the current financial year.
- This conference is part of the Prime Minister’s campaign against waste crime and Waste Crime Action Plan of the government.
- Environment Agency closed down an illegal waste site in Knowsley in December 2025 and restricted access while investigations are ongoing.
- A Waste Crime Crackdown Group led by the Environment Secretary, Angela Eagle, will be established soon.
Liverpool (Liverpool standard) October 19, 2026 – Agencies across Merseyside and Halton have agreed to strengthen their joint response to illegal waste activity after the Liverpool City Region’s first Waste Crime Conference brought police, councils, regulators and emergency services together in Widnes.
The conference, held on Friday 16 October, was organised by the Environment Agency and Merseyside Police & Crime Commissioner to improve partnership working against environmental crime. As reported by the Environment Agency, it was hosted by Halton Borough Council and attended by the Environment Agency, Merseyside Police, the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, the six local councils in the Liverpool City Region, Defra, UKHSA and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service.
What Did Agencies Agree At The Summit?
Partners agreed to work more closely by sharing intelligence, expertise and resources. The stated aim is to prevent illegal waste operations, disrupt criminal networks and protect local communities and the environment.
The Environment Agency said the conference was intended to strengthen the collective response to waste crime across Merseyside. It described the event as the first of its kind to bring these partners together in the Liverpool City Region.
According to the Environment Agency, the gathering comes under the Prime Minister’s wider crackdown on waste crime, which aims to ensure that serious and organised criminal gangs have “nowhere to hide”.
How Much Does Waste Crime Cost?
Ian Crewe, Area Director of the Environment Agency in Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, said waste crime harms communities, damages the environment and undermines legitimate businesses and landowners. As quoted by the Environment Agency, he said it costs the English economy over £1 billion every year, with an estimated 20% of all waste illegally managed.
Mr Crewe said no single agency could resolve the problem alone. He added that sharing intelligence and resources could help prevent waste crime and disrupt the criminal networks behind it.
The government says it will provide an additional £45 million over the next three years to strengthen enforcement. This is in addition to a £5.6 million increase for the current financial year announced previously.
What Did Local Leaders Say?
Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell said waste crime has a real impact on local communities, affecting the places where people live, work and take pride. As reported by the Environment Agency, she said bringing partners together to share expertise, intelligence and best practice was essential to disrupt criminal activity and hold those responsible to account.
Neighbourhood Chief Inspector Rob Budden of Merseyside Police said waste crime is “far from a victimless offence”. According to the Environment Agency, he said it blights communities, damages the environment, creates costs for taxpayers and can be linked to wider organised criminality.
Chief Inspector Budden said close partnership working, intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement would help officers identify offenders, disrupt networks and bring those responsible to justice.
James Cruddas, Deputy Director for Waste and Recycling in Defra’s Circular Economy Directorate, said tackling waste crime requires a multi-agency effort. As quoted by the Environment Agency, he said the focus is on combining a clear national strategy with effective local delivery, giving partners the tools, intelligence and powers needed to combat criminality in the waste sector.
What Enforcement Measures Are Planned?
The Environment Agency said the government’s approach includes greater use of drones, a bigger role for mayors and police, more Environment Agency officers on the frontline and a “dramatic rise” in fines for those who dump waste illegally.
A new Waste Crime Crackdown Group, chaired by Environment Secretary Angela Eagle, will bring regulators and law enforcement bodies together to dismantle criminal operations. The Environment Agency said the group is intended to deliver results against organised waste crime.
These measures build on the government’s Waste Crime Action Plan, which the Environment Agency said sets out a zero-tolerance approach through improved prevention, stronger enforcement and the clean-up of the most serious illegal waste sites.
What Has Already Happened In Merseyside?
The Environment Agency said it closed an illegal waste site in Knowsley, Merseyside, in December 2025 and blocked access to the site. It said it is doing everything within its powers and remit to help manage the site while an investigation continues.
The agency said it continues to work with Knowsley Council, Merseyside Police, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and UKHSA on that investigation.
The conference follows earlier joint action in the region. In March, WiredGov reported that a second arrest had been made in an investigation into suspected illegal waste dumping in south Liverpool, following a joint operation involving the Environment Agency, the Joint Unit for Waste Crime and Merseyside Police.
Background Of The Development
Waste crime includes offences such as illegal dumping, operating unauthorised waste sites, misdescribing waste and illegally exporting or disposing of controlled materials. The Environment Agency says such activity can impose clean-up costs on taxpayers, damage land and water, create health risks and give criminal operators an unfair advantage over lawful waste businesses.
The Joint Unit for Waste Crime was formed in 2020 to tackle serious and organised crime in the waste sector. WiredGov reported earlier this year that the unit brings together organisations including police forces and the National Crime Agency to disrupt serious and organised waste crime.
The Liverpool City Region has also faced high-profile illegal dumping cases. The Liverpool Echo reported in September that investigations had identified large illegal waste sites in Kirkby and Eastham, including a Kirkby site estimated to contain approximately 30,000 tonnes of rubbish.
Prediction: What Could This Mean For Local Residents?
For residents across Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral and Halton, closer coordination between agencies could lead to faster reporting of illegal dumps, more coordinated investigations and stronger action against repeat offenders. The Environment Agency’s stated focus on intelligence sharing suggests that information held by councils, police, fire services and health bodies may be used more systematically to identify and disrupt illegal operations.
Local taxpayers may benefit if enforcement prevents sites from expanding and reduces the eventual cost of clearing illegally dumped waste. However, the scale of the challenge remains significant: the Environment Agency estimates that waste crime costs the English economy more than £1 billion a year and that around one fifth of waste is illegally managed.
For legitimate waste businesses and landowners, stronger multi-agency enforcement could reduce unfair competition from operators who avoid disposal costs through illegal activity. For communities affected by dumping, the practical impact will depend on how quickly the new funding, enforcement capacity and partnership arrangements translate into site closures, prosecutions and clean-ups.
