Tewkesbury Borough Council is working with Gloucestershire Police and the Environment Agency to tackle illegal waste activities in the borough.

On October 18 a joint waste carrier stop and search exercise was undertaken at a location on the A38 south of Tewkesbury.

A total of 92 vehicles were stopped and asked to provide details of their waste carriers licence. The exercise proved to be very successful and a number of businesses will now be subject to follow-up action and further enquiries.

The council says it is committed to tackling waste crime and will continue to work with the police and the Environment Agency to address this matter.

Part of that commitment involves informing businesses that they have a legal duty of care regarding the waste that they produce. If a business transports waste, it must be registered with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier. Details of how to register can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/waste-carrier-or-broker-registration .

Equally, if a business transfers any of its waste then it must ensure that the person/business it has transferred the waste to is authorised to receive it and a waste transfer note is completed. Further advice on how to comply with waste duty of care can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-duty-of-care-code-of-practice 

Cllr Jim Mason, leader for Clean and Green Environment, said of the exercise "Working alongside our partners in the police and the Environment Agency, we are sending a clear message to those who would flaunt the law and dispose of their waste inappropriately.

"We are taking a tough stance and it is good to see pro-active activities such as this happening within our community"

During the day, officers from the council also undertook safety checks on a number of taxi vehicles.