A major investigation into a cross-Border sham recycling operation is under way after six trucks were caught in Northern Ireland containing hundreds of tonnes of illegal waste from the Republic
Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed that investigations had been launched by three local authorities from where the waste is believed to have originated - Waterford City Council, Wexford County Council and Louth County Council.
The investigation arose from a cross-Border sting operation last month, involving the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the Garda and waste enforcement staff from both sides of the Border.
The six trucks were stopped in Northern Ireland and found to contain household and commercial waste, which was exported using false papers and was destined to be illegally dumped.
According to an EPA spokeswoman, the lorries were stopped in Northern Ireland following a tip-off to the PSNI by waste enforcement officials in Dublin.
The EPA's Office for Environmental Enforcement (OEE), the Environment and Heritage Service of Northern Ireland and the Garda have been involved at various stages of the operation.
The investigation began after the newly established waste enforcement taskforce for the Dublin region targeted a recycling and waste operator in the capital.
Officials suspected the operator was using recycling as a front to export rubbish to a recycling facility in Northern Ireland.
As part of a surveillance operation last month, six trucks with up to 30 tonnes of waste in each truck were tracked from the Republic to Northern Ireland, where the PSNI took over the surveillance.
The trucks were then stopped and searched at various stages of their journey north of the Border.
The waste, some of which was contaminated with oil, was officially listed as material for recycling on official documentation.
The official destination was listed as a recycling facility in Northern Ireland. Instead, it was being taken to an illegal dumping site nearby.
Last Tuesday the PSNI returned three of the lorry trailers, and the contents were returned to Louth, Wexford and Waterford, where tests have been undertaken to identify the local waste companies that collected the rubbish in the first place.
A number of licensed waste collectors are under investigation as a result.
The operation is the first successful cross-Border initiative to clamp down on illegal dumping rackets, which has seen thousands of tonnes of waste from the Republic being dumped illegally in Northern Ireland.
A cross-Border policing initiative, announced last month, identified the organised gangs involved in the operation as a major target for investigation.
On Thursday a cross-Border task force, the Illegal Waste Working group, held its first meeting to discuss initiatives to combat the illegal activity.