Supersized illegal waste dumps hidden across English countryside

Hundreds of illegal landfills operate across England, including at least 11 so-called “supersites” containing tens of thousands of tonnes of waste, a BBC investigation has found.

More than 700 illegal landfills were closed in 2024/25, but data released by the Environment Agency revealed some 517 landfills were still active at the end of last year.

Among the largest sites yet to be cleared are a 280,000 tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000 tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall, a 36,000 tonne landfill in Kent and a 20,000 tonne landfill in Oxfordshire.

Most sites are in the countryside, often hidden, and on what should be agricultural land.

Police say many of them are run by organized crime gangs, who make money by charging far less than legitimate operators to collect and bury the waste.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said it was determined to tackle waste crime and was “pulling every lever to disrupt those who profit from the damage caused by illegal dumping”.

Conservationists and residents living near the sites across England say little is being done to clean up the dumps, even though the culprits in many cases have already been identified and prosecuted.

In Gloucestershire, tens of thousands of tonnes of waste were dumped in Over.

Witnesses told the BBC that at its peak, 30 to 50 vehicles visited the site near the Over roundabout each day.

A fire in June 2025, which required the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service to respond, led to operations at the site largely stopping, although it was not closed.

Fires regularly break out at the site, which is close to a busy main road and behind a popular country park and farm. During the BBC’s visit, plumes of smoke could be seen rising from a few places on the point.

Although the Environment Agency is investigating, many residents believe not enough has been done to crack down on those who use the site to dump waste, nor to clean it up.

Charlie Coats, chairman of Highnam Parish Council, said the site was now a “significant stain on the landscape” and waste was flowing into the floodplain of the River Leadon, which flows into the River Severn.

He said trucks dumping waste daily over the years had created road safety, noise and pollution problems.

“It caused an odor, there was smoke, there was noise. It damaged a lot of vegetation, trees and bushes were destroyed and this represents a significant stain on the landscape. Some of the pollutants seep into the waterways.

“Added to this are incidents of spontaneous combustion during which materials heated up and caught fire. The firefighters were called several times to mitigate this phenomenon.

“People are concerned that there really have been no effective control measures to stop this activity and no indication from the Environment Agency as to what they are going to do,” he said.

The BBC was unable to contact the landowner, but contacted one of the people suspected of using the Over site. He declined to comment.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said it was “actively investigating” the spill and had shared “as much information as possible with the people of Highnam without prejudging any further enforcement action”.

Most of the networks operating across the country are run by organized crime gangs. The scale of illegal waste activity in England has earned it the nickname “the new narcotics” by the former head of the Environment Agency, Sir James Bevan.

Gangs often bring shredding equipment to rural sites, located off otherwise quiet country roads, which then see trucks arriving bringing waste – from household waste to soil and aggregates from construction sites – to break it down into smaller quantities that can be thrown away.

Truck loads are then evacuated, either to be dumped into increasingly larger mountains of waste, buried under farmland or bridleways, or stored in barns.

Earlier this month, almost £100,000 in cash was seized and two men arrested during a series of raids linked to suspected money laundering and wasteful crimes in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire.

Officers also seized six firearms, suspected counterfeit electrical devices and a suspected stolen vehicle.

A villager, who lives near one of the raided sites in Worcestershire, told the BBC that tonnes of waste were being ground up at the site before being dumped elsewhere.

“The environmental impact is simply enormous. Smoke escapes from the site daily and the smell is sometimes intoxicating.

“There have been times in the summer when we don’t let the children play outside because of the smell of the site, because of the fumes coming from it,” he explained.

The resident, who wished to remain anonymous because he fears reprisals from the operators of the sites, added: “We know they were found with weapons. I know the people behind this. I know what they are capable of.”

Inspector Dave Wise, of West Mercia Police, said litter crime was “not a problem that can be solved overnight”.

But he added that the force was carrying out complex investigations into organized crime gangs, with links to money laundering and other financial crimes, as well as individuals who “profit from environmental pollution”.

The owner of the Worcestershire site refused to comment when approached by the BBC at his home, but previously said the land was leased. The tenant did not respond to contact attempts.

Concerns about the scale of illegal waste activities hit the headlines late last year when around 20,000 tonnes of waste were illegally dumped on a field next to the A34 at Kidlington in Oxfordshire over a period of several months.

But using the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) to request data, the BBC discovered there are at least 11 sites over 20,000 tonnes.

This figure is likely higher, as the Environment Agency acknowledged in its response to the EIR request: “this figure is based on the data we hold; however, we do not have this information for each site.”

Erica Popplewell, of environmental campaign group River Action, questioned why details of the largest sites had only been made public in response to the BBC’s EIR request.

“Why doesn’t the Environment Agency say what’s happening more publicly so we can see what action they’re taking and the secrecy around landfills can be eroded?” she asked.

The Agency had previously refused to give the exact locations of the largest sites so as not to interfere with ongoing investigations.

However, it has now revealed that six of the largest sites are in Northwich, Cheshire (280,000 tonnes); Camborne, Cornwall (50,000 tonnes); Burnley, Lancashire (25,000 and 50,000 tonnes); Sittingbourne, Kent (36,000 tonnes); Fakenham, Norfolk (originally 35,000 tonnes). Spills have been stopped at four of these sites, but none of them have yet been cleaned up.

In total, it said, it has stopped activity at 743 illegal landfills in 2024/25, including 143 high-risk ones, but there remain 517 active landfills.

Emma Viner, the Environment Agency’s head of enforcement and investigations, added: “We share the public’s disgust at the things that are happening and the waste crime we are seeing and we are taking action.

“Every year we close hundreds of illegal landfills.

“But it’s a dynamic picture. For all the landfills we’re closing, we’re seeing more and more popping up all over the country.”

Baroness Sheehan, who chairs the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee, which investigates waste crime, said the BBC’s research had “revealed widespread illegal dumping of waste across the country”.

“Clearly, whatever measures the government takes will not be enough to solve the problem,” she said.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “We are working across government to eliminate illegal waste across the country and make those responsible pay.

“We are directly supporting the Environment Agency to end the exploitation of our waste management system, giving them more officers and 50% more funding to step up enforcement of waste crimes, and imposing tougher penalties on those who break the law.”