Wiltshire Council and Wiltshire Police work together on stop and search operation to fight fly-tipping

Wiltshire Council Environmental Enforcement Officers and officers from Royal Wootton Bassett police have worked in partnership on a joint operation to target vehicles carrying waste, in a bid to crack down on fly-tipping, unlicenced waste carriers and unlicenced scrap metal dealing.

The teams stopped and inspected the licences and other documents of vehicles carrying waste or scrap metal, with eight vehicles being stopped in total.

Seven out of the eight vehicles stopped were able to produce their waste carrier's licence, but one person, who was collecting scrap metal, failed to produce a valid scrap metal dealer licence to collect in the Wiltshire Council authority area. They did produce a scrap metal licence for the Swindon Borough area, but it was out of date and not valid for use in the Wiltshire Council area. An investigation has been launched into this person's unlicensed scrap metal activity.

Cllr Caroline Thomas, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: "This is a great example of joint partnership working with Wiltshire Police and I would like to thank them for their willingness to assist our enforcement officers. This exercise was beneficial for both us and Wiltshire Police and we are planning more across the county.

"As set out in our Business Plan, we take fly-tipping and illegal scrap metal dealing very seriously here in Wiltshire, and working with Wiltshire Police, we are cracking down on this criminal activity, which is harming the environment."

All scrap metal dealers in Wiltshire must have a valid scrap metal dealer's licence and upper tier waste carrier's licence to operate in the Wiltshire Council authority area. Collectors cannot lawfully trade in other council areas unless they are licensed in that area. In addition, no transactions can be made in cash, and people are advised to be extremely cautious of 'cash for scrap' operators in Wiltshire.

Any business that produces or transports waste as part of its business (including scrap metal and garden waste) must have a valid waste carriers licence issued by the Environment Agency and have valid waste transfer notes for the waste it produces or is transporting. Failure to be licensed or to carry transfer notes is an offence that can attract a fixed penalty notice or prosecution in the courts.

Everyone has a legal duty of care to ensure their household or business waste is disposed of correctly. If people are using a waste clearance service, they should:

• Check they have a valid upper tier waste carrier licence.
• Note their waste carriers licence number
• Get a receipt or waste transfer note.
• Record the vehicle details e.g. registration number and note a description of the people involved.
• Ask for details of where their waste will be taken.

To find out more, people should visit our fly tipping page.