The Environment Agency has reported that it closes 25 illegal waste sites every week, a dramatic increase on the previous year, and a total for the year of 1279, an increase of 70%.
The agency reports that legitimate waste businesses are being undercut by these sites because they have no intention of disposing of the vehicles safely and it is estimated they take in excess of 1billion pounds a year from licensed operators and HM Treasury. Dumping cars is also on the increase.
Just some of the major crimes that were stopped last year were:
- Illegal exports
- Serious dumping incidents
- Illegal waste sites
- Infestations of flies
- Acrid smoke
- Ugly piles of waste
- Serious pollution incidents
They pointed out that illegal sites not only take business away from legitimate businesses, they risk the environment and put peoples health in danger. Improved intelligence and stronger enforcement partnerships have led to their success.
Once they have closed an illegal site, the illegal operators are not forgotten, they site two cases of recent prosecutions:
- One man has just started a 25 month prison sentence for running an illegal waste operation – he already had a suspended sentence for similar crimes. He had been storing skips of unpermitted waste at two sites in West Yorkshire.
- This man had stored up to 14,000 tyres on his farm, which presented a serious fire risk. If there had been a fire, burning tyres can cause significant pollution, releasing toxic smoke and chemicals into the atmosphere. He was fined £20,000, ordered to pay £7284 in costs and given three months to clear his farm of tyres.
Why do illegal waste operators do it?
Illegal waste operators, just like the illegal running of any business, see it as a way of making money without having to pay any taxes – they would soon run to the hospital if they were ill though, call the police if they had a theft and we are fairly certain they all make their children go to school – all things our taxes pay for.
If you are employed by someone, your tax is deducted at source every payday. If you are self employed, you are supposed to pay your tax in 2 halves, January and July each year, and the majority of the British people pay what they should when they should.
Apart from the environmental issues, why should they get the services they have not paid for?
Legitimate recycling
You need have no such concerns about National Scrap Car – we are totally legitimate and pay all our taxes. As well as complying with the law in this respect, we also comply with the law when it comes to scrapping cars, not just comply – we go above and beyond to make sure our customers get the best service available in our industry. For our customers, we will:
- Quote you a top price for your scrap vehicle, and that is the price we pay.
- Beat any other quote providing it is from a recognised competitor
- Collect the car whenever you want from any location within the UK
- Deal with the DVLA paperwork to ensure you don’t get any fines and penalties
- Not charge you for any of these services
- Dispose of your scrap car in the environmentally friendly fashion it is meant to be handled
At National Scrap Car we realise that the value of scrap changes constantly, but our team monitor the prices constantly, so you are always getting the best scrap car prices.
Just call us on our freephone number, 0800 86 20 958, and speak to one of our friendly and helpful advisors, you will soon see the difference between a legal and illegal operator, and you will be glad you chose National Scrap Car.