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Drones armed with lasers to tackle illegal rubbish dumps
The Environment Agency has expanded the Joint Unit for Waste Crime and deployed 33 drone squads with laser mapping to combat illegal waste dumping nationwide.
- The Environment Agency is deploying more than 30 drone squads with laser mapping technology, supported by 33 trained pilots and new software to check lorry permits.
- Organised waste gangs evade landfill tax and exploit lax enforcement, costing the economy around £1bn a year and illegally managing about a fifth of all waste in England, around 34 million tonnes annually.
- The Epping site was blockaded on Wednesday after two men were arrested when their lorry got stuck, and Alex Burghart, local MP, said the EA has 'very serious questions to answer'.
- The Joint Unit for Waste Crime increased from 13 to 20 specialists, including police and the National Crime Agency, while Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said the government is aggressively pursuing waste criminals.
- Environmental organisations warned 'Technology alone won't fix this', noting the EA is underfunded and large illegal sites keep growing despite new measures and investigators tracking fly-tippers.
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24 Articles
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Total News Sources24
Leaning Left1Leaning Right3Center8Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Center
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
67% Center
C 67%
R 25%
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