Eco-criminals driving everyone into the red

We know about fly-tipping, illegal waste management operations, dumping of toxic chemicals in watercourses and even littering but there is a less well-known practice that threatens to cause even more pollution.

Known as fuel laundering, it involves the removal of the red marker dye from diesel that is used for agriculture (so-called red diesel).

For the perpetrators the motivation is clear; red diesel is much cheaper than conventional diesel due to its differing taxation regime. By removing the dye and passing it off as conventional fuel, the criminals can make huge profits.

Removing the dye from red diesel can be done in a variety of ways, but the most common methods are filtration using cat litter as a filter material, or washing red diesel with sulphuric acid and other chemicals.

Both methods leave substantial amounts of residue material, either in form of contaminated cat litter or concentrated cocktails of reactant chemicals.

These residues are typically dumped in the countryside, where they can pose a significant pollution hazard.

Interestingly, red diesel that has been treated chemically can also damage engines as many of the lubricants that form part of the mixture are also removed in the dye-removing process.

In cost terms there is also a double whammy since while the Treasury is being deprived of millions in tax revenue, local authorities are footing the bill for clean-up costs.

The part of the country that has been most affected so far has been Northern Ireland, and police there have admitted that while several manufacturing facilities have been shut down, the detection rate may be as low as one per cent.

In these times of economic hardship there will be even greater temptation for criminals to engage in illicit activity of this nature. If you suspect a case, you should report it directly to the Environment Agency.

Paul Willis is waste strategy manager for Worthing and Adur councils

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