Joint enforcement tackles incorrect waste disposal

Blackburn with Darwen Environment Services Team joined forces with the Environment Agency and Lancashire Police to carry out inspections at waste permitted sites across the borough.

Waste permitted sites are those that have the necessary Environment Agency permits to accept waste.

Waste permitted sites have to follow strict rules around where waste is stored, and the type of waste they can accept.

In total, 20 sites in Blackburn with Darwen were visited to inspect and tackle any breaches of licence and on June 1, the following were found:

·       5 suspected breaches in licence on 2 of the licensed sites that were visited.

·       2 sites that did not have a licence but were trading

·       1 stolen vehicle

·       1 fly tipping hotspot

Two premises in Blackburn were found to be in breach of their licence with the Environment Agency and were not following the rules set out by them.

Councillor Jim Smith, Executive Member for Environment, said:

These are the sites that have the permits to ensure that waste is being disposed of properly across the Borough and to find them to be breaching their licence is ridiculous. Working together with the Environment Agency and the Police will help reduce the amount of illegal activity going on in Blackburn with Darwen.

Victoria Pearson, Assistant Manager of Environment Services at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said:

The Environmental Crime Team work tirelessly in an ever-evolving environment, and in order to achieve their goals the need for collaborative working with both other Council Departments and external agencies such as Police and The Environment Agency is vital in ensuring that residents within the Borough are given the opportunity to live in a greener, cleaner environment for all to enjoy.