Photos show major clean up next to A34 at Kidlington

The Environment Agency is on a mission to clear 21,000 tonnes of waste that was illegally dumped in one go in Kidlington.

The massive heap of hazardous rubbish, described by an MP as “threatening an environmental disaster”, stretched 150m and was around 20ft (6m) deep in November last year.

Photos show the major clean-up alongside the A34 at Kidlington (Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)

Photos show the major clean-up alongside the A34 at Kidlington (Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)

Photos show the major clean-up alongside the A34 at Kidlington (Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)

Photos show the major clean-up alongside the A34 at Kidlington (Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)

Photos show the major clean-up alongside the A34 at Kidlington (Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)

Photos show the major clean-up alongside the A34 at Kidlington (Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)

Diggers and lorries can now be seen picking up and clearing rubbish from the site next to the A34 and River Cherwell near Kidlington.

However, the sheer scale of the dump, which is nearly 12 metres high in places and contains plastic, foam, tyres and wood, means the substantial operation will take another five months to complete.

The agency, which declared a critical incident into the enormous pile of waste back in November 2025, started the clean up in April this year.

It has said the total operation is expected to cost around £7 million – but the agency is hoping to reclaim this money in court by seizing money from the criminals who illegally dumped the waste.

To date, four men have been arrested as part of the criminal investigation.

The four men include a 52-year-old man from Ashford, Surrey, who was detained in February, a 39-year-old man from Guildford who was held in November, a 69-year-old man arrested at a property in Andover, Hampshire, and a 54-year-old man arrested in Slough, Berkshire, who were arrested in January.

Green party leader Ian Middleton questioned why there has been no charges yet.

He said: “It’s good to see that the clearance of the site is progressing but disappointing that there have still been no prosecutions of those responsible, despite some early arrests.

“As the work is now underway, I think it’s appropriate for some further reflection on the early involvement of the Environment Agency and for us to ask why more direct action wasn’t taken by them at the time.

“To that end I am writing to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – Emma Reynolds – to ask her to implement a public inquiry at the earliest opportunity.”

The dump was first visited by the Environment Agency in July 2025.

Anna Burns, Environment Agency area director for Thames, said the agency had spent time profiling the waste to ensure it was taken to the correct disposal sites, managing the wildlife, ensuring vehicles could come and go quickly and working with the local community and local authority on traffic management.

Work was also delayed slightly by the heavy rain in February, which made the site waterlogged, but Ms Burns said the team was “back on track now”.

“We have taken time to plan so that we can act quickly, and we hope that over the next few weeks we’ll start to see really rapid removal of the waste, with up to 30 lorry loads a day,” she said.