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Officers seized a vehicle and issued four penalty notices after stopping motorists carrying illegal waste.
The Environment Agency team – working with the London Borough Of Bexley, Met Police, Openreach and the Joint Unit For Waste Crime – were pulling over vehicles as part of Operation Cubo in Erith.
The operation is to stop and deter illegal waste disposal.
Vehicles pulled over were checked they were registered as waste carriers with the Environment Agency and had a required waste transfer note which shows what they were carrying, where they picked the waste up and where they were taking it to.
The Environment Agency and their partners stopped 22 vehicles carrying waste and issued four Fixed Penalty Notices for non-compliance and seized one vehicle.
Matt Higginson, environment manager for the Environment Agency, said: “It’s our job to protect people and nature even in these uncertain times, which is why our regulatory and enforcement work continues while we adhere to the government’s guidelines around coronavirus.
“This should serve as a warning to those who would flout the law that we and our partners are still fighting to put a stop to waste crime and we won’t hesitate to take action."
The Environmental Agency says to help avoid giving your waste to an illegal waste carrier you should ask for your waste collector’s waste carrier’s registration number and ask to see their waste transfer note, they must be able to produce both.
They also encourage people to avoid paying in cash.
Unregistered commercial waste carriers often leads to fly-tipping with one such incident reported in Harvel in December.
Joint investigations will continue with the Environment Agency and if convicted as a result of legal action, those responsible could face extensive fines and even prison sentences.
Anyone who suspects illegal waste activity is reminded to report it to our 24-hour hotline by calling 0800 80 70 60, or anonymously contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
You can check your waste collectors waste carriers registration here or call 03708 506 506.
