Numerous illegal waste sites unearthed by investigation

Campaigners call for more prompt action to tackle environmental crime plus more legal waste dumps to handle growing population and higher consumption levels 

Hundreds of illegal dumps are operating across England according to a BBC investigation, including a number of ‘super sites’ that contain tens of thousands of tonnes of rubbish.

Among the areas awaiting clearance are a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall, and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

David Mairs, Campaigns and PR Manager at the Campaign to Protect Rural England in Kent, described the implications of these activities as “enormous”.

He said: “At Hoad’s Wood near Ashford in Kent – a Site of Special Scientific Interest – piles of waste reached more than 12 feet high. The stench of hydrogen sulphide gas was overpowering, while toxic leachate was seeping into the water system.

“CPRE Kent would like to see a protocol where such organisations as the Environment Agency, the police and local authorities act as soon as they are alerted to a dumping site.

“For too long we have witnessed a classic case of passing the buck, with a ‘multi-agency operation’ that in reality means a ‘no-agency operation’, with no one organisation stepping forward and taking responsibility.”

Ed Lennox, Director of Operations, Clean Up Britain, said that it was “incredibly easy" to stop these 'supersites’.

He said: “The legislative landscape in this country is designed to encourage environmental crime. If you go back 50 years, there were something like 6,000 recognised locations across the UK where you could take rubbish.

“Fast-forward to the 2020s and the number has dropped to less than 1,500. In that time, the population's risen, consumption has gone up and we have more packaging.

“If you don't make it easy and convenient to do the right thing, people will do the wrong thing.”

“People want somewhere local and convenient to dump their rubbish. If you don't make it easy and convenient to do the right thing, people will do the wrong thing. Similarly, if you're going to impose fines, make them fit the crime. In Buckinghamshire last summer, someone dumped 150 lorry tyres in a watercourse and was fined just £1,500.

“It's the perfect recipe for a complete disaster, which is what we've got.”

An NFU spokesperson was also critical: “Industrial-scale fly-tipping is blighting rural areas and costing farmers precious time and money to clear up. 

“Many of these ‘super sites’ are on agricultural land and see huge amounts of waste, often hazardous, being dumped regularly. Not only are farmers being prevented from growing crops and grazing livestock but are also having to pay thousands of pounds to clear away the rubbish. 

“We need far better collaboration between police, local authorities, landowners and the criminal justice system to ensure effective deterrents are in place. A single reporting system would also make a real difference, reducing the burden on victims.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “We are working across government to wipe out illegal waste throughout the country and make those responsible pay. 

“We are directly supporting the Environment Agency, giving them more officers and 50% more funding to boost waste crime enforcement, and handing out tougher sentences for those who break the law.”

Other government plans include the introduction of digital-waste tracking; reforms to waste permit exemptions; and helping councils to crush fly-tippers' vans and deploy drones and mobile CCTV cameras to identify vehicles.