Mountain of rubbish illegally dumped in Oxfordshire contains waste from councils

Waste from local authorities in the southeast of England is among the vast mound of rubbish dumped illegally next to a river in Oxfordshire, it can be revealed.

- Sandra Laville

The finding provides evidence of possible large-scale corruption in waste management, a legal expert has warned.

Household rubbish remained rotting and stinking in a mountain of waste about 150 metres long and up to 6 metres high this week in a field next to the River Cherwell outside Kidlington in Oxfordshire.

There is evidence some of the waste comes from primary schools and local authorities in southeast England. Paul Powlesland, a barrister and the founder of Lawyers for Nature, said: “If confirmed this shows the waste is the result of large-scale fraud or corruption in local authority waste management.”

The local MP, Calum Miller, is calling for the government to issue an urgent directive for the clearance of the illegal dump in his constituency.

The site is in a floodplain, and when the Guardian visited on Tuesday the rubbish was already leaching into the River Cherwell, which has risen after heavy rain last weekend.

The Environment Agency has mounted what it says is a major criminal investigation, but has said it will not clear up the waste. Instead it said it would try to “ensure those responsible” clear it up. It said it was monitoring the site to protect people and the environment from harm.