A tipper truck linked to waste dumped illegally across London has been crushed by the Environment Agency (EA). Investigators believe the 18-year-old Ford tipper belonged to a group operating at various sites in the capital.
Crime officers removed the vehicle from an address at Chesham in Buckinghamshire during a wider probe into organised waste crime.
Officers continue to investigate the vehicle’s owners, who failed to come forward to claim it before it was destroyed.
The 2004 Ford tipper truck was seized using powers under section 34B of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The decision to crush the vehicle was taken as there was no value in selling it.
Matt Higginson, an Environment Manager for the EA in the South East, said: “Where individuals threaten to undermine legitimate businesses and illegally dump waste, we have no hesitation in using all powers open to us.
“Seizing vehicles involved in waste crime, based upon vital intelligence from the public, is an important weapon in our armoury to disrupt waste criminals and can make a real difference to local communities blighted by illegal dumping of waste.”
Higginson added: “To avoid unwittingly supporting waste criminals, and facing the possibility of an unlimited fine, we ask the public and businesses to always ask for proof of a waste carrier’s registration and waste transfer note – and take photos of them – before having any waste cleared.”
Crushing suspected offenders’ vehicles is one of the tactics of Operation Angola, which investigates large-scale illegal dumping of commercial waste.
