Further arrests made in packaging export note fraud investigation
Environment Agency and Metropolitan Police detain two men for unlawfully selling fictitious recycling export documentation.
A 53-year-old man was apprehended at a property in Chelsea, while officers detained a 31-year-old man in Westminster. Both suspects have been interviewed and released on bail pending further investigation, with evidence gathered during the arrests supporting ongoing inquiries.
These latest arrests bring the total to four individuals detained in the investigation, following the March arrests of two men in Manchester. The investigation centres on allegations that fictitious packaging export notes were unlawfully issued and sold by a suspected shell company.
Matt Hindle, Head of Policy at the Environmental Services Association, said: "Fraud in packaging export schemes damages legitimate businesses that follow the rules and ultimately undermines confidence in the recycling system altogether."
Alison Matthews, Deputy Director for Environmental Markets and Regulation at the Environment Agency, commented: "We're cracking down on fraud in the recycling industry. It harms legitimate businesses, impacts the environment, and hampers our progress to a more circular economy.
"Together with the Metropolitan Police, these arrests in the capital will further assist our work to shut down those illegally using recycling export paperwork."
Packaging export notes a target
The Packaging Producer Responsibility Regulations require businesses that produce packaging waste to contribute towards recycling and disposal costs. Obligated companies must purchase credits, known as Packaging Export Recovery Notes (PERNs), from approved waste reprocessors or exporters as evidence of compliance.
These notes provide proof that packaging materials such as plastic, glass, and cardboard have been properly exported or reprocessed. However, the EA says that the value associated with these credits has attracted organised criminal groups seeking opportunities for fraud and money laundering.
It has previously warned of a dramatic rise in waste export fraud over the past three years, with criminals falsely claiming to have exported packaging waste that never existed, wasn't UK-sourced, or had already been claimed.
Broader crackdown on recycling fraud
This case forms part of a larger-scale operation by the Environment Agency to combat fraud and money laundering in the waste sector. Total waste crime is estimated to cost the UK economy approximately £1 billion annually.
The previous arrests in this investigation took place in Manchester on 12 March, when a 45-year-old man from Rusholme and a 43-year-old man from Stretford were detained in a joint operation with the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.
Vernon Smith, Acting Deputy for Environmental Markets and Regulation at the Environment Agency, said at the time: "Fraud in the recycling industry is waste crime. It undercuts legitimate businesses investing in growth in the circular economy impacting the environment we are striving to protect. The Environment Agency is determined to clamp down on it."
Environmental charity RECOUP has recently called for a review and overhaul of the packaging recovery note system, arguing that the current scheme lacks the stability needed to prevent waste crime and false recycled content claims.
The Environment Agency encourages anyone with information that may assist this investigation to call their 24-hour hotline on 0800 807060 or report it anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or their website.
