North’s Environment Minister Mark H Durkan says waste crime has to be tackled

The North’s Environment Minister Mark H Durkan has told an international Waste Crime Conference that the illegal cross border transport of waste is a threat to the environment and the economy.
Addressing an International Waste Crime Conference in Edinburgh, Minister Durkan highlighted the importance of close collaboration across jurisdictions.
Minister Mark H.Durkan told the conference in Edinburgh last evening that due to the land border on the island of Ireland, there are particular challenges with regards to waste crime which have to be faced.
These include fuel laundering and its wastes, illegal dumping and the regulation of transfronteir waste shipments. He said his department is working closely with agencies both North and South, including the Department of the Environment, the PSNI, An Garda Siochana and the Revenue Commissioners, to develop a strategy and tactics to prevent waste crime, and enforce the law against those who are involved in it.
He told the conference that to be effective in our fight against waste crime, experience, expertise and intelligence must be shared on a North / South, East / West and an international basis.