The Environment Agency has taken action to crackdown on suspected illegal waste activity at Blackpole Recycling Ltd in Worcester.
The Environment Agency issued the site operator with a suspension notice due to piles of wood and plasterboard exceeding safe limits and a failure to maintain fire breaks on 17 February.
However, responding to reports of recent vehicle activity, Environment Agency inspections on 23 and 25 February confirmed new waste had been brought onto the site. The waste had been pushed up into a pile around 6 metres high, both inside and outside of the main shed.
On 27 February, the Environment Agency served the operator with a restriction notice, which prohibits access to the site due to the risk of serious pollution.
Enforcement officers have put concrete blocks at the site entrance to support the restriction notice and disrupt any further illegal waste activity.
These actions form part of wider active investigations into waste crime, fraud and money laundering in the Midlands.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said:
Illegal waste scars our environment and communities. Working with local councils, the police force and our other partners in Worcestershire, we’re committed to stopping this appalling issue.
Together we’re pulling every lever available to us to disrupt those who profit from the harm illegal waste activities cause.
In 2024/5, the Environment Agency stopped activity at 743 illegal waste sites, 84 of which were in the West Midlands Area.
Anyone who suspects illegal waste activity is asked to report it to the Environment Agency’s 24-hour hotline - 0800 80 70 60 - or anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ea-stops-suspected-illegal-waste-activity-at-worcester-site