When a mountain of rubbish appeared in the English countryside, everybody had questions.<\/p>\n
Some locals claim the trash was first spotted in September. Others say it could have been July. Wait, was a digger there in March?<\/p>\n
Trucks dropped everything off at night. Or was it the day? Now the dump is at least 60 \u2014 no, 150 \u2014 metres long. And 10 high!<\/p>\n
They reckon garbage is “the new narcotics”, could a criminal gang be to blame?<\/p>\n
And who should clean it up? The army? The police? What about the council?<\/p>\n
Incensed environmentalists have described this festering fly-tip as a “biodiversity nuclear bomb” that was dropped in plain sight over the course of a few weeks.<\/p>\n
Working out who’s responsible looks set to take a lot longer. And that, some say, is a bigger problem.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Authorities believe organised crime groups dumped tonnes of rubbish illegally in the British countryside. (ABC News: Riley Stuart)<\/p>\n
The Oxfordshire region, in England’s affluent south-east, is known for its chocolate-box villages, rolling green hills and ancient university.<\/p>\n
Lately, though, it’s a sprawling illegal rubbish dump that’s been hogging the headlines.<\/p>\n
Images of it have sparked an outcry around the country, and drawn unflattering comparisons with the “third world” online.<\/p>\n
As one post on social media mused: “How has this been allowed to happen?”<\/p>\n
The attention has got authorities scrambling, and residents seething.<\/p>\n
“I really can’t believe its been happening on our doorstep and nothing’s been done about it. I’m furious,” local woman Monica Notarmarco, who’s lived in the area for 30 years, told the ABC.<\/p>\n
But this isn’t the first time industrial amounts of garbage have turned up somewhere they shouldn’t in Blighty. In fact, it’s big business.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There are concerns toxic chemicals from the dump could seep into local waterways. (ABC News: Riley Stuart)<\/p>\n
A UK parliamentary committee began investigating “waste crime” in September, and has identified multiple problem areas around the country.<\/p>\n
Baroness Shas Sheehan, the politician leading this probe, said at least 38 million tonnes of rubbish was disposed of illegally in England every year.<\/p>\n
“The scale of the issue really surprised and shocked us,” she said.<\/p>\n
Baroness Sheehan’s inquiry was told criminal gangs had a stranglehold on the industry.<\/p>\n
It’s a simple scam: crooks posing as a legitimate operation get paid to remove trash. Instead of taking it to legal landfill facilities \u2014 which incurs fees \u2014 they do dirty deals to dump it somewhere else.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Baroness Sheehan, a life peer in the House of Lords, has been investigating waste crime. (ABC News: Daniel Pannett)<\/p>\n
Baroness Sheehan said mobsters were exploiting a cycle of incompetence and “buck passing” between multiple authorities.<\/p>\n
She accused local councils of being reluctant to act, and said police were “not doing what they should have been”.<\/p>\n
The UK’s Environmental Agency (EA) \u2014 which is responsible for regulating waste \u2014 was “a complete failure” on the issue, she said.<\/p>\n
“This is happening in broad daylight,” Baroness Sheehan said.<\/p>\n
“It’s very attractive to serious organised crime groups because it’s a low-risk, very high-profit enterprise for them.”<\/p>\n
Gangs had become so prolific in dumping waste illegally, former EA boss Sir James Bevan described it as “the new narcotics” in a 2016 interview with the Guardian.<\/p>\n
These strong words, critics contend, had no impact. Since he said them, the problem has spiralled.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The fly-tip is estimated to be around 150 metres long and up to 6 metres deep in places. (ABC News: Daniel Pannett)<\/p>\n
The Oxfordshire dump is somewhat obscured behind trees on private land between a highway and the River Cherwell.<\/p>\n
Authorities say they first became aware of it in July, but couldn’t obtain a court order to close the site until October 23.<\/p>\n
The pile is now estimated to be around 150 metres long and up to 6m high in some places.<\/p>\n
“I share the public’s complete disgust at this shocking case of environmental crime,” Anna Burns, an EA director, said this week, adding the organisation was pursuing “several lines of inquiry”.<\/p>\n
With the help of police, the local council and other agencies, “we are hunting down those responsible”, she said.<\/p>\n
So far, no arrests have been made. The land owner has been issued a cease-and-desist letter.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The dump contains a vast array of household and industrial waste. (ABC News: Riley Stuart)<\/p>\n
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer this week said “all available powers” would be used to ensure whoever was behind the illegal fly-tip paid to clean it up.<\/p>\n
The local municipality has estimated the cost of removing the rubbish could be more than its entire annual budget. There’s even been suggestions the army may need to help.<\/p>\n
A solution can’t come soon enough for residents in the nearby village of Kidlington, who are now not only living next to the issue but sometimes smelling it too.<\/p>\n
“Nobody cares about the environment,” lamented Ann Crane, 90, who’s lived in the area for more than six decades.<\/p>\n