Illegal dumpers bury open land in enormous heap of garbage
Billy Burnell
Waste criminals have discarded a huge quantity of rubbish in a rural area in Oxfordshire.
The "ecological disaster developing in plain sight" is around 150m (490ft) extending and 6m (20ft) tall.
The enormous heap has materialized in a plot of land adjacent to the River Cherwell near Kidlington.
Elected official brought up the issue in parliament, stating it was "posing risk of an environmental emergency".
Conservation group said the unauthorized rubbish dump was created about a recently by an criminal network.
"This is an environmental crisis taking place in full view.
"Each day that elapses raises the risk of toxic drainage getting into the aquatic network, poisoning animals and endangering the health of the complete river basin.
"Environmental authorities must respond immediately, not in months or years, which is their usual reaction time."
A restriction order had been established by the environmental authorities.
It is challenging to identify any individual bits of waste as it appears to have been broken up with earth mixed in.
Some of the rubbish from the peak of the mound has fallen and is now just five meters from the stream.
The River Cherwell is a feeder stream of the River Thames, which means it travels through Oxford before connecting with the Thames.
Parliament TV
The MP petitioned the administration for assistance to clear the illegal site before it triggered a fire or was swept into the river system.
Addressing parliament members on Thursday, he said: "Illegal operators have discarded a mountain of illegal polymer rubbish... totaling substantial weight, in my electoral area on a water-adjacent land alongside the River Cherwell.
"Water heights are increasing and thermal imaging demonstrate that the rubbish is also heating up, raising the threat of fire.
"Regulatory body stated it has inadequate resources for enforcement, that the estimated expense of clearance is larger than the complete yearly allocation of the local district council."
Government official said the authorities had taken over a underperforming recycling sector that had created an "widespread problem of unauthorized waste disposal".
She advised MPs the organization had issued a access ban to halt additional entry to the site.
In a statement, the organization confirmed it was investigating the situation and requested for evidence.
It said: "We acknowledge the community's anger about situations like this, which is why we intervene against those culpable for environmental offenses."
A recently published report determined efforts to address serious environmental offenses have been "extremely neglected" notwithstanding the situation becoming bigger and more advanced.
A parliamentary committee proposed an autonomous "comprehensive" investigation into how "widespread" illegal dumping is tackled.
