4 hours agoShareSaveMalcolm Prior,rural affairs producerandJenny Kumah,rural affairs correspondentShareSaveHundreds of illegal dumps are operating across England, including at least 11 so-called “super sites” containing tens of thousands of tonnes of rubbish, a BBC investigation has found.More than 700 illegal tips were shut down in 2024/25, but data released by the Environment Agency has revealed some 517 dumps were still active at the end of last year.Among the largest sites that have yet to be cleared up are a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall, a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent and a 20,000-tonne dump in Oxfordshire.Most sites are in countryside locations, often hidden, and on what should be agricultural land.Police say many are run by organised crime gangs, who are making cash by charging much less than legitimate operators to take and bury waste.An Environment Agency spokesman said it was committed to tackling waste crime and was “pulling every lever to disrupt those who profit from the harm illegal waste sites cause”.
