A cow was handed a waste handlers licence. Now MPs are calling for tighter checks

Ministers are set to introduce stricter background checks for waste haulers after the current system allows a cow to be legally approved for domestic rubbish disposal.

The Environment Agency (Defra) confirmed this week that new laws will be introduced requiring anyone who handles and transports waste to prove their qualifications. Ministers announced that operators found to have mismanaged waste will also face up to five years in prison under the new rules.

These changes are part of the government’s wider crackdown on illegal waste operators and criminals, following a recent increase in illegal dumping and dumping across the country.

Under the current system, waste carriers only need to register with the Environment Agency (EA) through a basic paper-based process and through limited identity and background checks.

Ministers say this means both organized criminals and “rogue operators” who dump their waste ineffectively and leave huge clean-up bills can gain access to the system.

The relaxed process also allowed animals to obtain consent; The BBC recently reported that Country Land and Business Association (CLA) director Ann Maidment had successfully applied for a license on behalf of one of her cows, Beau Vine.

The new system, which ministers have said will come into force in 2027, will require applicants to undergo stricter identity and criminal record checks, as well as an online qualifications assessment, before receiving a permit.

Approved operators will then be required to display their permit numbers in advertisements, including on their vans.

The goal is to make it easier for the public to identify good actors or report unlicensed operators, officials said.

Waste minister Mary Creagh told the Press Association: “Under our new system, Beau Vine will fall at the first hurdle because it does not have a digital ID.

“He will need to prove his identity and then prove that he is a technically competent person, so there is a double hurdle to eliminate fictitious operators or prevent them from accessing the system.”

Ministers added that introducing permits for waste carriers would give the Environment Agency stronger powers to revoke these permits and impose sanctions.

They also hope that the introduction of prison sentences will deter more operators, given that those found transporting or trading waste illegally currently only face court fines.

“It’s a Cinderella industry,” Ms Creagh said.

“People don’t want to think about what will happen to the items in their blue, green and brown recycling bins after they leave the curb.

“But behind this there is a huge industry around recycling, reusing and reprocessing these materials.

“And once criminals realized it was a paper-based system, they started exploiting it ever since.”

While the cost of enforcement will be covered by the Government, waste operators will have to pay for their permits as well as other compliance fees that will help fund the new system.

The Environment Agency will consult on these charges over the next few months, officials said.

Asked whether the burden and cost of this system would result in punishing good players, Ms Creagh said: “That is not the intention.

“Fewer permits will likely be issued under the new system so operators will actively demonstrate that they know what they are doing when dealing with and transporting waste, that people are who they say they are and that there will be consequences if they fall outside the permit system.”

He added that responsible operators have been “begging” the Government to introduce these reforms for years and look forward to “eradicating the rampant crimes that were allowed to occur under the old paper-based system”.

The new laws are supported by the Government’s recently announced waste crime action plan, which sets out a range of measures to tackle waste crime.

Official figures show fly tipping on public land rose by 9% last year, reaching new records, and large illegal dumping sites such as the 150-metre-tall rubbish mountain near the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire have sparked public outrage.

Ms Creagh compared the “flying epidemic and waste crisis” to water pollution and said the previous government had allowed it to grow.

“People look around and think: ‘My place doesn’t matter, or my place has been forgotten,'” he said.

“So this is about restoring pride to the places where people live.”