17,000 tonnes of waste removed on over 700 lorries by A34

The Environment Agency said the remaining circa 4,000 tonnes will be removed in the coming weeks in what has been a major clear-up operation of the Kidlington site.

The piles of waste, up to 10 metres tall, that were illegally dumped by “unscrupulous” criminals, have now been cleared from the northern and southern sections of the site, the agency said in its latest update.

And what remains to be disposed of is stockpiled within the site boundaries ready for collection.

The site at Kidlington now (Image: Environment Agency)

All of the waste that has been cleared so far has been taken to permitted waste management facilities.

A spokesman from the Environment Agency said: “This waste has blighted local communities and the environment, so we have been working at pace with over 700 lorry loads of waste leaving the site since we began clearance in April.

“We are now focusing efforts on clearing the site boundaries and peripheries.

“When this has been completed, we will dig trial pits and carry out ‘walk over’ inspections to identify any further pockets of buried waste that may need to be removed.”

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To clear such a huge pile of waste, it will cost taxpayers £7.3m and was done so with the help of a Yorkshire-based contractor.

But the Environment Agency is hoping to get that money back once those responsible are prosecuted.

Four men, all from out of Oxfordshire, have been arrested so far as part of the criminal investigation, but no charges have been brought.

The Environment Agency did not give any further information on its investigation when asked by this newspaper.

Progress made at the Kidlington dump (Image: Ian Middleton)

Having started in April, the clean-up is expected to take about six months and that progress so far is on track.

“In July we hope to begin reinstatement works,” the Environment Agency added.

“This includes inspections by our partners National Highways, to ensure their boundary that runs alongside the A34, the fencing and drainage ditches are all still fit for purpose.

“We will remove the Heras fencing and jumbo sandbags that were installed to protect the River Cherwell from pollution and decommission the site compound removing the staff welfare facilities, aggregate and access track.

“The aggregate that formed the underlay of our site compound and the contents of the jumbo sandbags will be sent for cleaning rather than disposal, allowing re-use in the future.”

Spanning about 8,000 square metres, the pile consists of mixed domestic and commercial waste, shredded plastics, polystyrene and tyres.