Officials accused of 'failing' to tell Lords about three large-scale illegal waste sites

Environment Agency bosses have been accused of "failing" to tell a cross-party committee of peers about three large-scale illegal waste sites - including one that was recently exposed by Sky News. 

Our investigation into waste crime in Wigan heard from residents who repeatedly complained to the Environment Agency that 20 to 30 lorries a day drove down their street last winter and dumped industrial amounts of waste.

The rubbish now sits at a staggering 25,000 tonnes. It burnt for nine days in July, and has seen local homes infested with rats and flies.

Since then, a similarly sized site in Kidlington near the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire sparked national outrage. One man has been arrested in connection with the dumping.

Despite the scale of these two locations - which were well known to the Environment Agency - it neglected to name them when asked by the Lord's Environment Committee's inquiry into waste crime how many "significant" sites there were around the country.

Phil Davies and Steve Molyneux of the Environment Agency gave evidence on 17 September.

Just six sites were cited, but three more have been exposed in the past few weeks alone. These are Wigan, Kidlington and a mound of dumped waste in Wadborough.

Now, the Lords are worried there are more environmentally destructive locations the public aren't aware of.

Read more:
A community plagued by 25,000 tonnes of illegal waste
Urgent action needed to stop fly-tipping by gangs, peers say

In a letter to the EA's chair Alan Lovell and chief executive Philip Duffy, Baroness Sheehan, chair of the Environment and Climate Change Committee, said: "We are increasingly concerned that there may be other sites of a similarly large and environmentally damaging scale."

She asked how much progress has been made to remove waste from the various sites, why restriction notices in places like Wigan weren't served sooner - and for a full list of other sites of a similar size.

Baroness Sheehan also expressed her "disappointment" that these three new locations "were not deemed necessary to bring to the committee's attention", though she thanked journalists for "bringing these sites to the public attention".

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "These claims are inaccurate. We have engaged with Baroness Sheehan's inquiry in good faith and have responded comprehensively to the questions posed to us. We will continue to work closely with the Committee on their further questions.

"The Environment Agency is relentlessly pursuing waste criminals - last year alone our dedicated teams successfully stopped activity at 743 illegal waste sites. We take robust action every day to shut down illegal operations that blight our country, protecting communities and our environment."

Baroness Sheehan's original report saw the Lords call for an independent "root and branch" inquiry into how waste crime is tackled. She said the crime, which costs the UK £1bn every year, has been "critically under-prioritised".

Sky News has been investigating the scourge of waste crime all year, exposing how criminal gangs involved in drugs, weapons and people trafficking can make "millions" from illegally dumping waste.

In the summer, we tracked down a group of suspected organised fly-tippers who waved wads of cash on TikTok after dumping waste in the countryside.

It's so lucrative, it was dubbed the "new narcotics" by a former head of the Environment Agency.

(c) Sky News 2025: Officials accused of 'failing' to tell Lords about three large-scale illegal waste sites