FIRST PERSON AGENCY INVESTIGATOR


AN OFFICER TURNED ENVIRONMENT


Former Police Officer, Ant Coultate, continues to fight crime since joining the Environment Agency. Here he tells POLICE the importance of multi-agency work in preventing organised criminals from making millions in the waste sector impacting the national security


During my 17 years as a police officer the Environment Agency (EA) didn’t feature much. There was the occasional multi agency day of action and generally, they seemed like a nice bunch who had something to do with flooding and waste sites. So, it was quite a surprise in 2021 when I joined the EA Producer Responsibility Investigations Team, to find myself making enquiries into organised criminality at a level I had personally never come across during my police service.


Over recent years the EA has seen


an increase in organised criminals moving into the waste sector with the


34 | POLICE | APRIL | 2025


primary aim of making money with no regard to the wider impacts. Principally the regulator of environmental law for England to protect people, wildlife and


“In 2023, the annual Packaging Waste


Recycling Notes market was estimated to be £596 million, with an approximate fraud and error rate of 20 per cent (£119 million).”


places from harm, now the EA has a major role in detecting and stopping criminals, meaning those occasional multi-agency days of action are now many, involving an increasing number of enforcement partners.


On more than one occasion we have worked alongside police officers who have commented they were surprised when a well-known nominal suddenly seemed to be passionate about the environment and recycling. Sadly, it appears upon investigation they had not suddenly seen the light and stopped their offending.


Of specific interest to waste criminals is Producer


Responsibility. Producer Responsibility regulations require companies who handle electrical goods, batteries, and packaging to pay for the recycling of a proportional amount of waste. Packaging producers (e.g. supermarkets), who


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