Unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal etc of waste / Illegal discharges to air, land and water

Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010, regulations 12 and 38(1), (2) and (3), Environmental Protection Act 1990, s.33 · Triable either way

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Sentencing framework

Sentencing for the offence of unauthorised or harmful disposal of waste is structured around identifying the category of the offence based on culpability and harm. Courts classify the severity into different categories and determine an appropriate starting point and sentence range. Judges also evaluate aggravating and mitigating factors to adjust the final sentence within the determined range.

Maximum sentence

5 years’ custody

Court

Triable either way

Offence range

Conditional discharge – 3 years’ custody

Aggravating factors

·Previous convictions
·Offence committed whilst on bail
·History of non-compliance with warnings by regulator
·Location of the offence, for example, near housing, schools, livestock or environmentally sensitive sites
·Repeated incidents of offending or offending over an extended period of time, where not charged separately
·Deliberate concealment of illegal nature of activity
·Ignoring risks identified by employees or others
·Established evidence of wider/community impact
·Breach of any order
·Offence committed for financial gain
·Obstruction of justice
·Offence committed on licence or post sentence supervision

Mitigating factors

·No previous convictions or no relevant/recent convictions
·Remorse
·Compensation paid voluntarily to remedy harm caused
·Evidence of steps taken to remedy problem
·One-off event not commercially motivated
·Little or no financial gain
·Self-reporting, co-operation and acceptance of responsibility
·Positive character and/or exemplary conduct (regardless of previous convictions)
·Mental disorder or learning disability, where linked to the commission of the offence
·Serious medical conditions requiring urgent, intensive or long-term treatment
·Age and/or lack of maturity (which may be applicable to offenders aged 18-25)
·Sole or primary carer for dependent relatives
·Pregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care
·Difficult and/or deprived background or personal circumstances
·Prospects of or in work, training or education

Sentencing range explorer

Select the culpability level and harm category to see the guideline's starting point and category range. This is an educational illustration of the published guideline — not a sentence calculation, and not legal advice. Courts apply the full step-by-step process, aggravating and mitigating factors, and the totality principle.

Culpability

Harm

Select a culpability level and a harm category above.

The sentencing process, step by step

Step 1 — Compensation
Step 2 — Confiscation
Step 3 — Determining the offence category
Step 4 — Starting point and category range
Step 5 — Ensure that the combination of financial orders removes any economic benefit derived from the offending.
Step 6 — Consider other factors that may warrant adjustment of the proposed fine.
Step 7 — Consider any factors which indicate a reduction, such as assistance to the prosecution.
Step 8 — Reduction for guilty pleas.
Step 9 — Ancillary orders.
Step 10 — Totality principle.
Step 11 — Reasons.
Step 12 — Consideration for time spent on bail.

Always read the full guideline

This is a one-page summary. For any live case, sentencing exercise, or legal advice the authoritative source is the Sentencing Council's own definitive guideline — including the category bands, step-by-step sentencing approach, and all statutory factors not captured here.

Open the full guideline on sentencingcouncil.org.uk

Source: Sentencing Council · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-28. Not legal advice — see a regulated adviser for any live case.