Illegal waste dumpers should ‘bear the costs’ of clean-up, says First Minister

Alec Doyle, Local Democracy Reporter

The First Minister has told the Senedd that those responsible for illegal waste dumping should ‘bear the costs of the clean-up’ – whether tipping today or decades ago.

During First Minister’s Questions at the Senedd on Tuesday, Fflint Wrecsam’s Plaid Cymru MS Marc Jones asked Rhun ap Iorwerth: “What consideration has the Welsh Government given to ensure the costs of remediating illegally dumped waste are paid by the people responsible rather than by the taxpayers?”

Mr Jones was referring  to both the current illegal waste dumping off Talwrn Road and Castle Road in Coedpoeth and the historic dumping of toxic ‘forever chemicals’ around Wrexham highlighted in Michael Sheen’s BBC documentary Buried.

Illegal waste dumping has continued in Coedpoeth despite an enforcement notice to clear the site issued by Natural Resources Wales earlier this month.

Mr ap Iorwerth told the Senedd: “In line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle, those responsible for illegal activity should bear the costs of clean up.

“That is as true for illegal dumping today, as it should be for historic contamination.

“We are committed as a Government to reducing the burden of illegal dumping on taxpayers and on landowners.  Landfill Disposals Tax ensures that those responsible for unauthorised disposals pay 150% of the standard tax rate.”

But Mr Jones raised the challenge of operators dissolving or restructuring companies to escape scrutiny – a problem that has specifically impacted the ability of agencies like NRW to enforce the clean-up of historic dumping sites by making it unclear where ultimate responsibility lies.

“In Fflint Wrecsam you may be aware communities continue to deal with both the historic legacy of illegal waste dumping and the current active sites that are causing ongoing problems for residents in my constituency,” said Mr Jones.

“Time and again we see the companies responsible for these environmental crimes avoid accountability by entering liquidation and walking away from the costs of remediation.

“This leaves local communities to deal with the consequences and shifts the burden of cleaning up onto the public purse. How will Welsh Government work with the UK Government, local authorities and relevant public bodies to address this ongoing issue?”

The First Minister was insistent that those responsible for ‘waste crime’ should pay and said his Government would support those agencies that investigate and enforce penalties.

“It is an issue that blights many communities,” he said. “They should not have to bear the consequences of waste crime and neither should the taxpayer.

“We’re committed to supporting regulators to pursue those who are responsible. Funding NRW’s waste crime work is important, supporting multi-agency work to tackle organised criminality – because this is criminality – sharing intelligence where we can coordinate enforcement action.

“This is also an issue on which we are eager to work with UK Government and indeed Governments across the UK. The Welsh Revenue Authority wants to build links with HMRC and so on to strengthen the system to close loopholes and ensure waste crime does not pay.

“When it comes to historic contamination – something that has received significant publicity recently – we have to make sure that every avenue is pursued to deal with this as one of our lasting post-industrial legacies.”

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