The Environment Agency has decided to fund its efforts to combat waste crime by charging businesses that play by the rules.
The policy has been branded illogical and unfair by aggregate producers.
Following a consultation that ended in January, a new 10% levy on compliant firms’ waste permit fees is set to come into force in April on sites in England regulated by the Environment Agency – at a time when regulatory fees paid by legitimate businesses have already reached an all-time high.
The Mineral Products Association (MPA) represents companies that recycle and reuse millions of tonnes of demolition and construction waste to produce recycled aggregate as part of the circular economy or to restore former quarry sites. It is not happy.
MPA executive director Mark Russell said: “This decision is illogical and unjust. It flies in the face of the government’s drive to kickstart economic growth, and it will discourage investment in the circular economy. Why should businesses that operate to high environmental standards — yet are facing deteriorating quality of service from the regulator — pay even more to fund unrelated crime-fighting?
“We strongly back initiatives to tackle waste crime and address the environmental harm it causes. However, this yet another example of the burden being put on reputable operators, despite the chancellor calling on businesses to drive growth and ‘tear down regulatory barriers’.
“Regulators often view increasing fees as the solution to their financial problems, when from our perspective such charges rarely deliver the desired improvements. But the waste crime levy takes things to a disturbing new level. Compliant businesses should not be treated as a ‘cash cow’ to raise additional income to support other activities.
“Cumulative regulatory drag is real and is already harming the British economy. Yet we continue to see incremental changes that introduce additional cost, bureaucracy, time and effort, often with little meaningful effect, that simply increase the burden not just on legitimate operators but also on the regulators responsible for administering them.”
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