A new online platform to combat waste crime will be showcased at a conference in Reading, UK, hosted by Recycle2Trade, the Institute for Environmental Analytics and the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA).
The Open Waste Compliance Project Final Conference will feature a one-stop verification register of licensed waste management contractors in the UK and across Europe, developed to rapidly check compliance when a contractor is changed and to reduce waste crime by avoiding illegitimate waste companies fly-tipping waste illegally or diverting materials to non-authorised waste sites. It will be held at the University of Reading on Monday, February 25th – click here to book.
The online platform enables potential clients – such as local authorities or businesses – and regulators to identify whether a particular waste management contractor has a valid permit to collect and manage waste. The Reading-based Institute for Environmental Analytics has built the platform database and the front-end together with Recycle2Trade Ltd which provided the design and the software architecture.
Yuri Ponzani, Managing Director of Recycle2Trade, said: “Waste crime has been described by Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency as the ‘new narcotics’, making huge profits for criminals and latest figures estimate it cost the UK economy £604m in 2018. The Open Waste Compliance platform will help in the fight against illegal dumping of waste.”
The second part of the 1-day conference is focused on EU Waste Legislation and the Brexit Dilemma. As reported by the European Commission in the COM(2018) 10 final “EU actions to improve environmental compliance and governance” (Brussels, 18.1.2018) the EU already has an extensive body of mature environmental legislation, however there are major challenges to its implementation, such as weak mechanisms for securing compliance and effective governance at national, regional and local level (“The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results”, COM(2017) 63). Non-compliance may occur for different reasons, including confusion, poor understanding or lack of acceptance of rules, lack of investment, opportunism and criminality.
The conference, held at the University of Reading, is aimed at the waste management sector, waste regulators, local government, environmental law specialists and practitioners in the areas of sustainability and the circular economy. It is free to attend although places are limited and early registration is encouraged. It will finish with a networking wine-tasting.
