US EditionMassive Illegal Waste Dump Found Near River Cherwell in Oxfordshire
Hundreds of tonnes of shredded waste dumped by organised crime gangs pose severe environmental and public health risks, with cleanup costs exceeding the local council's £25 million budget.
- Last month, a 150m-long, 6m-high heap of shredded plastic, foam, and wood weighing hundreds of tonnes was found beside the River Cherwell near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.
- Charities and peers warned last month that organised gangs are dumping millions of tonnes of waste and called for a root-and-branch review by the Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee.
- Drone footage and police reports show the site was prepared with earth-moving vehicles and the rubbish was pre-shredded, while police used a helicopter with heat-seeking cameras to detect decomposition and heating.
- The Environment Agency has obtained a court order to close the site for at least six months, citing removal costs exceeding the local council's approximately £15m budget and limited enforcement resources.
- Friends of the Thames chief executive Laura Reineke said `This is an environmental catastrophe unfolding in plain sight`, and Calum Miller urged government intervention to prevent pollutants reaching rivers.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Video. A vast illegal landfill near Kidlington, Oxfordshire, concerns: authorities fear an environmental disaster and off-budget cleaning costs.
Drone footage shows hundreds of tonnes of illegal waste dumped in a field next to a river in the British town of Kidlington. The cost of removing the massive pile of rubbish is estimated to exceed the council's entire annual budget, Sky News reports.
Oxford: waste crime ‘lucrative’ as penalties ‘less severe’, says environmental sociologist
It’s slowly gathered pace to become a national talking point. How come a massive pile of illegally dumped rubbish has been allowed to happen and now risks polluting a major river flowing close by? The largely plastic heap is over eighty yards long, around twenty feet high and left next to the River Charwell, apparently by an organised crime gang. It would now cost the local council more than its entire annual budget to clear it up. We spoke to D…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 35% of the sources lean Left, 35% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
