MP calls for waste management clean up

A clampdown on rogue waste traders in the UK is needed, according to Labour MP Nick Smith.

The MP for Blaenau Gwent has criticised “careless and hazardous practices” which he claims have lead to a number of costly waste fires.

Mr Smith intends to bring the issue to parliament, where he hopes to attract the support of MPs across the country to reduce the number of waste fire sites across the UK.

Criticising the number of fires which take place on private land, Mr Smith said: “I want a real clampdown on rogue traders who are giving the industry a bad name – especially as a disproportionate amount of fires are at private sites.

“Just because a business deals in rubbish, it doesn’t mean its service should match – and when sites begin to store tonnes of potentially hazardous waste haphazardly, or ignore the guidelines that allow them to store it in the first place, that’s when action should be taken.”

In addition to the environmental benefits which reducing waste fires would bring, Mr Smith believes that decreasing the number of fries which take place could also reduce costs.

According to the Department for Food and Environmental Affairs and the Welsh Government, waste fires in England and Wales cost the tax payer £32.5 million between 2012 and 2013.

MR Smith now wants to see the government take action and believes that the encouragement of best practice between businesses could help reduce the impact waste fires have on the communities which they have affected in the past.