Mountain of dumped waste by Oxfordshire river 'visible from space' contains rubbish from councils

The Environment Agency (EA) launched the probe into the illegal waste dump, which stands at 150 metres long and up to 6 metres high, in a field next to the River Cherwell outside Kidlington in Oxfordshire.

An organised crime group were believed to be behind the hundreds of tonnes of rubbish, which can now be seen from space, but evidence has emerged linking the waste to local authorities and primary schools in the south-east.

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Paul Powlesland, a barrister and founder of Lawyers for Nature, told the Guardian that the shocking findings provide evidence of possible large-scale corruption in waste management.

Calum Miller, Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock, called on the government to issue an urgent directive for the clearance of the rotting waste mound before it was too late for the River Cherwell.

Rubbish on the floodplain site - once a grassy field - is reportedly already falling into the river, which has risen after heavy rain over the weekend.

The EA as said it will not clear up the waste, but is "monitoring the site" and will try to “ensure those responsible” for the dump remove it.

“This is a sickening case of large-scale illegal waste dumping and we share the public’s disgust,” an Agency spokesperson said.

“After the Environment Agency was made aware of the incident, we took immediate action – issuing a cease and desist order in July. When the risk of further dumping emerged we subsequently secured a court order to close the site to prevent more waste from being illegally tipped.”

Officials first visited the site in July and continued to regularly monitor the area but did not seal off the gates.

The field was transformed into a mountain of rubbish in September, all while the EA was monitoring the area.

Mr Miller said the monstrous rubbish pile "highlighted the fact that organised criminal gangs are carefully planning operations to dump industrial waste in the countryside".

Waste crime is believed to be a lucrative business for as many as 177 organised gangs, costing the taxpayer £1bn a year.

According to evidence to a recent inquiry by the House of Lords environment committee, these criminals dump around 38 million tonnes of waste each year, enough to fill Wembley Stadium 35 times.

Gangs can make a whopping £2,500 for each lorry-load of waste they tip, charging customers who believe it is being taken to landfill, before pocketing the cash and illegally dumping it an unauthorised sites.

Criminals also exploited the landfill tax of £124 a tonne to dispose of rubbish to make their hefty returns.

Evidence from the Environment Agency shows 97 per cent of the gangs involved in illegal waste dumping are also engaged in other criminality - including firearms, modern-day slavery and money laundering.

But the crime is not considered a priority by the police.

To catch the perpetuators responsible for the River Cherwell dumping, the EA must gather witness evidence of the waste being dumped and pursue the findings to trace the waste to its source, said Dan Cooke, director of policy at the Chartered Institute of Waste Management.

“We would hope that that happens.” he said. “When it is on this scale, the amount of money criminals can make from this mountain of material is huge.”