Fly-tippers dump ‘mountain’ of waste in Oxfordshire field | Waste

Fly dumpers are dumping such a large “mountain of illegal waste” in Oxfordshire that removing it could cost more than the local council’s annual budget, the county MP has said.

Hundreds of tonnes of waste were discovered piled 10 meters high in the area between the River Cherwell and the A34 near Kidlington. A charity has described the huge pile of rubbish as a “spectacular environmental disaster”.

Calum Miller, Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock, told parliament that the “estimated cost of removal is more than the local district council’s entire annual budget”.

He added: “Criminals dumped a mountain of illegal waste weighing hundreds of tonnes on the floodplain next to the River Cherwell in my constituency. The Environment Agency said it had limited resources to enforce.”

Friends of the River Thames say the illegal dumping site was created by an organized crime group about a month ago. He said no apparent containment or mitigation measures appeared to be in place.

Laura Reineke, chief executive of the charity, said: “This is clearly an environmental disaster.

“A mountain of waste has been allowed to grow just meters from the River Cherwell, an illegal dump site located on the floodplain of one of our most important waterways.

“Every day that passes increases the risk of toxic runoff entering the river system, poisoning wildlife and threatening the health of the entire catchment.

“The Environment Agency must act now, not months or years later – that is their usual response time.”

Billy Burnell, a local fisherman who fishes the area regularly. said The BBC noticed the pile in September. He said it was “horrific” and described the potential flow into the river as “an environmental disaster waiting to happen.”

Anya Gleizer, a geography researcher at the University of Oxford, said: “What we have now is an environmental and health emergency that not only threatens the River Cherwell and its ecosystem, but also poses a direct risk to communities living downstream of the dump site.”

“As an ecologist, river ranger, paddler and also, more simply, as the mother of a boy who enjoys splashing around and fishing for aquatic invertebrates, I must emphasize that this crime has far-reaching consequences.”

The Environment Agency has obtained a court order to close the site to all public access for at least six months.

A spokesman said: “Specialist officers are investigating waste dumped near the A34 at Kidlington. “Their job will be to find out who dumped the waste there and take appropriate action.

In a report published last month, the Lords Committee on Environment and Climate Change said organized crime gangs were illegally dumping millions of tonnes of waste into the countryside every year.

The committee found incompetence at the Environment Agency was a factor in the growing crisis.

But the agency’s chief executive, Philip Duffy, hit back and said: “I think it is very unfair for my hard-working staff to be accused of incompetence.”