Fly-tippers have dumped a mountain of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.
The “environmental catastrophe unfolding in plain sight” is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.
The enormous pile has appeared in a field next to the River Cherwell near Kidlington.
Calum Miller, Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock, raised the issue in parliament, saying it was “threatening an environmental disaster”.
Charity Friends of the Thames said the illegal rubbish dump was created about a month ago by an organised crime group.
Chief executive Laura Reineke said: “This is an environmental catastrophe unfolding in plain sight.
“Every day that passes increases the risk of toxic run-off entering the river system, poisoning wildlife and threatening the health of the entire catchment.
“The Environment Agency must act now, not in months or years, which is their usual reaction time.”
A restriction order had been put in place by the Environment Agency.
It is hard to distinguish any particular bits of waste as it appears to have been shredded with earth mixed in.
Some of the rubbish from the top of the pile has toppled and is now only five metres from the river.
Calum Miller MP said the cost of removing the waste would be high [Parliament TV]
Miller asked the government for help to remove the illegal tip before it caused a fire or was washed away into the river system.
Addressing MPs on Thursday, he said: “Criminals have dumped a mountain of illegal plastic waste… weighing hundreds of tonnes, in my constituency on a floodplain adjacent to the River Cherwell.
“River levels are rising and heatmaps show that the waste is also heating up, raising the risk of fire.
“The Environment Agency said it has limited resources for enforcement, that the estimated cost of removal is greater than the entire annual budget of the local district council.”
Environment minister Mary Creagh said the government had inherited a failing waste industry that had caused an “epidemic of illegal fly-tipping”.
She told MPs the agency had served a restriction order to prevent further access to the site.
In a statement, the agency said it was investigating and appealed for information.
It said: “We share the public’s anger about incidents like this, which is why we take action against those responsible for waste crime.”
A recent House of Lords report found efforts to tackle serious waste crime have been “critically under-prioritised” despite the problem becoming bigger and more sophisticated.
The Environment and Climate Change Committee recommended an independent “root and branch” inquiry into how “endemic” waste crime is tackled.
You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
More stories like this
Related Links
