Mountain of dumped waste appears beside the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England.

A mountain of waste 150 m long and about 6 m deep has appeared in a field near the village of Kidlington in Oxfordshire, England. The waste appears to have been dumped illegally between March and September 2025, despite the site being monitored by the UK's Environment Agency. The agency visited the site in July, following complaints from local residents that several vehicles were visiting the site every day, dumping large volumes of waste, and issued a 'cease and desist' order, and subsequently obtaining a court order banning the dumping of waste at the site. However, no physical barrier to dumping appears to have been put in place, with dumping subsequently continuing till September.

Waste dumped in a field beside the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire. The road to the left is the A34. Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images.

The location where the waste has been dumped is on a floodplain, and the area has been subjected to heavy rainfall during recent storms, causing the river level to rise, with waste visibly being washed into the river on Tuesday 18 November. Despite this, the Environment Agency apparently has no plans to clear the site, instead stating that it is launching a major criminal investigation into the dumping activity, and will ensure those responsible are made to clear the waste.

Much of the waste at the site appears to have come from schools and local authorities in the Southeast of England, which are legally obliged to ensure their waste is disposed of properly by licensed contractors,  leading to speculation that the dumping may be linked to large-scale fraud and corruption within those organisations. Local MP, Calum Miller, has raised questions as to whether the Environment Agency is equipped to deal with events of this nature, where organised criminal gangs are engaged in industrial scale activities. He has further asked for the government to order the clearing of the site.

Legal waste sites in the UK are subject to strict monitoring and environmental regulations, and a landfill tax of £124 per tonne. Criminal organisations which circumvents these regulations and pay no tax can therefore make a lot of money in a short period of time, leading to a rising number of incidents similar to the one in Oxfordshire (although generally smaller). The Environment Agency estimates that there are currently over 100 criminal organisations involved in illegal dumping in the UK, the majority of which will also be involved in other criminal activities.

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