Waste crime: how online advertising platforms are facilitating illegal dumping

James Bevan, the head of the UK government’s Environment Agency (EA), has labelled illegal waste dumping the “new narcotics”. In England, about three unlicenced waste sites are detected every day by the EA. Local authorities deal with over one million fly-tipping incidents every year. 

Cheap and easy waste disposal is big business. Research that Ray Purdy (University College Dublin) has led highlights the central role played by online platforms, which allow unregistered companies to advertise their waste disposal services, without scrutiny.

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