UNITAR SCYCLE has a strong expertise in the field of environmental crime, and specifically waste crime. The SCYCLE team has lead and/or cooperated in a number of applied research and capacity building projects related to a wide range of waste crime issues, ranging from illegal waste management to illicit trafficking and transboundary waste movements under the Basel Convention. 

Specific attention has also been devoted to different problematic waste streams (including e-waste, plastics, mercury, batteries, end-of-life vehicles, metals etc.), convergence with other serious crimes such as corruption, money laundering and organised crime, as well as to investigation, inspection and prosecution of waste-related crimes, including forensic aspects in support to the investigations and prosecution.

The SCYCLE team has developed – also in cooperation with key partners (e.g. Interpol, World Customs Organisation- WCO, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime- UNODC, United Nations Environment Program -UNEP, IMPEL, the International Association of Prosecutors – IAP, and national environmental agencies and inspectorates, etc.) – several training materials (e.g. training manuals, webinars, case studies etc.) and organized capacity building activities and trainings tailored to the specific needs of the main actors of the compliance and enforcement chain, including inspectors, customs authorities, police officers, prosecutors and judges.

UNITAR SCYCLE, in the framework of its overall Academies on Circular Economy, is launching the first edition of an Environmental Crime Academy – a format aiming at exploring the topic of environmental crime through the special lenses of sustainability and circularity.