Environmental crime is a serious problem - the impacts of which transcend national borders. In the UK, many associate waste crime with activities such as fly-tipping, tax evasion and illegal sites. However, questions are being asked whether this definition is broad enough given the industry's reliance on foreign workers and material exports, and the potential risks this throws up around labour policies, human trafficking and exploitation.This article describes how the "UK Modern Slavery Act 2015" is a pioneering piece of legislation which obligates many large companies, including waste operators, to conduct greater due diligence on labour and recruitment activities, both within their internal business and their external supply chains. Under the Act, commercial organisations with a global turnover of more than £36m supplying goods and services in the UK are obliged to publish a "slavery and human trafficking statement" for each financial year, disclosing the steps they have taken to ensure that slavery or human trafficking is not taking place in their own operations and supply chains.
