The Environment Agency regulates a range of industrial sectors and various parts of the waste management system, including landfill sites, mining, energy from waste, producer packaging and international waste shipments.44 It issues permits to, and inspects, waste sites. In 2024–25 it inspected 6,618 permitted waste sites.45 The Environment Agency told us that last year 40,000 of the 100,000 phone calls it received were complaints about the smell or disruption caused by permitted waste sites.4...

The Environment Agency regulates a range of industrial sectors and various parts of the waste management system, including landfill sites, mining, energy from waste, producer packaging and international waste shipments.44 It issues permits to, and inspects, waste sites. In 2024–25 it inspected 6,618 permitted waste sites.45 The Environment Agency told us that last year 40,000 of the 100,000 phone calls it received were complaints about the smell or disruption caused by permitted waste sites.46 It also told us that 460 waste sites across the UK had been in the worst performing category for more than one year, indicating these sites are risking Type: conclusion | Number: 18 | Response status: response_pending