FLY-TIPPERS will be forced to pay for the clean-up when they dump waste illegally, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said today, as he laid out plans to crack down on waste crime.

Mr Burnham visited an illegal waste dump in Bradford alongside Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle and local MP Naz Shah, announcing plans to seize cash, cars and homes from criminals, alongside a bigger role for police and the National Crime Agency. 

Fines for waste offences will rise from £300 to £5,000, and the use of drones will also increase.

The newly identified dump sites contain around 22,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste combined, harming an estimated 2,900 families. 

Vowing that the days of criminal gangs making easy money from dumping waste are over, Mr Burnham said the government had “begun a much more networked approach to this.”

Asked why the National Crime Agency was involved, the Prime Minister said: “It’s building the intelligence as to who is behind this, the networks that are orchestrating what is a very serious crime, and then using the Proceeds of Crime Act to make them pay for the clean-up.

“It cannot be right that we leave the situation to build, [and] the public purse [is] then exposed in relation to the clean-up.

“But actually we should be getting in much earlier, apprehending them, using all of the intelligence that comes through that investigation to make sure the polluter pays.”

Some offenders could also be forced to join “clean-up squads” to clear the waste they dumped.

Ms Eagle said: “If you fly-tip it, you should be the one cleaning it up and paying for it. It’s that simple.”

Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali welcomed the crackdown but warned it addressed only part of the problem.

“Smaller-scale fly tipping makes up the bulk of the problem, so extra ring-fenced funding and resourcing for local councils and landowners – who are responsible for clearing up the mess – is  needed,” he told the Star.

“We also need to boost the circular economy, so households and businesses are better able to reuse, repair, repurpose and recycle goods and make manufacturers and producers responsible for the safe disposal for the goods and packaging they produce.”

The consultation on charging waste criminals runs until October 16.