The rise of organised crime in the waste management sector has prompted the Environment Agency to stepped up its use of drone surveillance.
As part of a crackdown on waste crime, an enhanced 33-strong drone squad will now track down illegal dumps from the air. The drones, some of which are being upgraded to carry laser mapping technology, will capture evidence to help secure successful prosecutions.
The aspiration is that waste criminals will be detected and stopped before they even get started.
The Environment Agency has 33 drone pilots putting a greater focus on waste crime. Since July last year, the drones have been in the air for 272 hours.
Drones will soon be equipped with light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technology to create detailed maps of illegal waste sites. Currently flown from a dedicated aircraft mainly to capture flood information, moving Lidar onto drones will allow even more precise mapping, pinpointing exactly where waste has been dumped. These maps can be used as evidence in court to and so should help bring waste criminals to justice.
The Environment Agency has also developed a new screening tool that enables its officers to scan and cross-check lorry licence applications against waste permit records 鈥� with suspect operators flagged before they have a chance to move waste illegally.
The new capabilities are backed by a reinforced joint unit for waste crime 鈥� increased from 13 to 20 staff 鈥� working with law enforcement agencies to dismantle organised criminal networks.
This builds on a record year for waste enforcement, with 751 illegal waste sites shut down. Since March 2025 there have been 221 prosecutions against waste criminals.
Phil Davies, head of the new joint unit for waste crime, said: 鈥淚llegal waste dumping is appalling, and we are determined to turn the tide on this heinous crime. With organised criminals becoming ever more sophisticated, we are adopting new technologies to find and, importantly, stop them.
鈥淭hrough the greater use of drones, stronger partnerships and more officers on the ground, we will build on our action so far and send a clear message to those committing waste crimes 鈥� we will stop you.鈥�
Environment secretary Emma Reynolds said: 鈥淏y increasing the Environment Agency鈥檚 enforcement budget by over 50% to 拢15.6m, we鈥檙e investing in cutting edge technology that allows us to shut down illegal operators faster and more effectively.
"From advanced laser mapping to drone surveillance and new vehicle scanning tools, this technology is helping us track, expose and stop waste crime, ensuring those who blight our communities are held to account.鈥�
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