Environment Agency targets Dover metal sites

Multi-agency visits target rise in theft of cabling and catalytic converters.

Image shows an Environment Agency officer with two British Transport Police officers all wearing high visibility jackets, inspecting a garage surrounded by old wheels and tyres

Waste sites in Kent and South London got a surprise early knock on the door last week from Environment Agency officers working with the British Transport Police (BTP), Kent Police, the Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC) and Openreach.

Officers from the Environment Agency’s Kent, South London and East Sussex area visited 6 sites in Croydon and Dover as part of a multi-agency week of action targeting metal and vehicle recycling businesses.

They are currently investigating one site found to be illegal where they are carrying out enforcement action to improve compliance with regulations. Meanwhile, a number of vehicles stopped during the week were found to have no waste carrier’s licence or duty of care paperwork.

The intelligence led visits were part of a wider BTP operation targeting the theft of cabling and vehicle catalytic converters, which has been rising across the south east this year.

BTP officers searched sites for stolen metal, in particular catalytic converters that are stolen for the precious metals they contain. A surge in the value of these metals has prompted a significant increase in thefts. A number of stolen vehicles were also recovered during the week. They also checked waste companies’ financial records to ensure they adhered to the 2013 Scrap Metal Dealers Act.

Matt Higginson, Environment Manager for the Environment Agency, said:

This should serve as a warning to those who would flout the law that we and our partners are rooting out waste crime and we won’t hesitate to take action.

Unscrupulous scrap metal sites are accepting stolen catalytic converters and cabling, further fuelling their theft across the south east.