Hazardous waste among 30,000 tonnes of rubbish dumped in woods linked to organised crime
A monumental cleaning operation began in the city to remove 30,000 tons of dangerous waste poured illegally in a forest area in the city.
Coordinated by the Environmental Agency, the extensive effort in Hoad’s Wood in Ashford is expected to be completed for a year.
Numerous harmful materials, which first emerged in 2023, were stacked up to 15FT height in some parts of the forested areas.
Most of the garbage of households and construction wastes have already been treated with mechanical treatment and notes the “Dangerous Waste Pockets” in the mounds.
The illegal garbage launched an important criminal investigation with three arrests made in February this year.
Authorities follow a “significant number of” investigations because they continue to investigate organized crime connections behind environmental destruction.
This week, the first trucks, safe disposal facilities, pointing to the beginning of the beginning of the comprehensive lifting process marked the installation of the contaminated material.
ENMA VİNER, the Enforcement and Investigation Manager of the Environmental Agency, said, “Today, it points to an important step in its journey to bring Hoad’s wood as a shelter for both wildlife and a shelter for people.”
The cleaning operation is expected to cost £ 15 million.
Hoad’s Wood has been identified by Natural England as a special field of scientific interest, and is home to rare plants and wild life that can fight to heal after waste removal.
Kent Wildlife Trust’s Regional Manager Ian Rickards said to the PA news agency: “It was destroyed and disappeared, but it was possible to create a habitat that will work with the forest area and provide some benefit to the wild life.”
So far, 170 trees had to be cut due to dirty soil on the field.
Mr Rickards, mushrooms, wild flowers and invertebrates, as well as icezars, foxes, Porsuks and deer, all of the illegal dumps, he said.
He continued: “There is only one aspect to go from this, you cannot do it… I really shouldn’t get worse, I hope the lessons have been learned because even worse, this is elsewhere.”
Nature Minister Mary Creagh said the government was “stable” to destroy waste criminals.
It is likely that the trucks that start their work this week will continue to run to Christmas.
After Christmas, Environmental Agency and Contracted Waste Services Company Acumen will evaluate how much of the site of the site has been damaged.
There was a concern about what would happen to the site when the cleaning was finished between the workers, and the court order ended that allowed the agency to check the site.
Viner said, “The Environmental Agency is not the landowners in Hoad’s Wood, but we support the conversations between different parties to look at the future.
“So, we will not just get away, we are involved in supporting these conversations and we will proceed.”
Mr. Rickards said he was worried that the environmental agency could move away from the site without setting a clear way for the future.
Orum I hope that the target of the environmental agency and other agencies here is to restore this forest as best as possible, ”he said.
