Recycled aggregates sector calls for EA U-turn on waste permit levy
Sheehan Group raise concerns over damaging aspects of Environment Agency’s new waste crime levy
LEADING UK recycled aggregate firms have urged the Environment Agency to rethink its controversial new levy imposed on the industry to fund efforts against waste crime. The EA intends to enforce a 10% levy on the waste permit fees of compliant firms starting in April to help address unscrupulous operators.
The levy has been described as a ‘kick in the teeth’ for compliant businesses, which may also discourage further investment in the circular economy. Companies that recycle and reuse millions of tonnes of demolition and construction waste to produce essential recycled aggregate will be impacted by the levy designed to recover policing costs for unrelated illegal waste activities.
Katie Sheehan, sales director of the Sheehan Group, commented: ‘This is an unjust levy, and I’d appeal to the Environment Agency to reconsider its plans as a matter of urgency. It needs to punish the perpetrators of crime harder, rather than decent operators. If it imposed the maximum fines possible for those convicted of waste crime, it would not need to levy operators who are compliant with their environmental responsibilities.
‘Companies like ours have invested millions in the best technology available to help the UK construction industry hit net-zero. I’d like to see stronger measures that tackle those who commit waste crime directly alongside improved support for businesses that follow and encourage sustainable practices.’
David Kinloch, director of UK and Ireland, Australasia and MEA at CDE Group, said: ‘This is incredibly disappointing for the very businesses who are doing the right thing and helping the construction industry reduce its carbon footprint. CDE customers invest millions in equipment, sites and processes to divert waste from landfill and play a major role in the circular economy and deserve support, not additional unjust costs.
Echoing Mr Kinloch’s sentiments, Matthew Lawman, director of land reclamation and circular economy at AA Environmental Ltd, a leading consultancy to the waste-recycling sector, commented: ‘The Environment Agency’s action is potentially harmful to the pioneers and leading lights of the minerals recycling sector. The Environment Agency’s waste permitting regime is already cumbersome and costly, causing delays and additional costs to the sector. This comes in a year when the Government is already putting additional commercial strain on businesses.’
MPA executive director Mark Russell added: ‘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. This decision flies in the face of the Government’s drive to kickstart economic growth, and it will discourage investment in the circular economy.’
