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Hunt to find 400-tonne waste dump culprits

Damian O'Neil,in Newcastle,
Hannah Mitchelland
Federica Bedendo,North East and Cumbria
News imageBBC A person wearing a high-vis jacket with 'Environment Agency' logo on the back and a hardhat is raking through a pile of waste. The rubbish is piled as high as the person's waist. BBC
Environment Agency officers are sifting through hundreds of tonnes of commercial waste near Newcastle airport

Illegal waste dumped near an airport and weighing an estimated 400 tonnes is being sifted through in an attempt to identify those responsible for it..

Officers from the Environment Agency (EA) are searching the commercial waste at Callerton Hill, near Newcastle Airport, which is one of three major fly-tipping sites discovered in north-east England this summer alongside ones in Hartlepool and Peterlee.

The EA's crime team said there had been "large-scale industrial dumping" and warned landowners were responsible for footing the clean-up bill.

The agency's Mark Rumble said the items found in Newcastle had probably come from a waste processing facility.

Labour MP for Hexham Joe Morris said: "We need to do far more to take on those that are doing this.

"But we also need to make sure those who are victims of the crime, whether it's the community or those who own or manage the land, are looked after and given support."

He said the priority "needs to be going after those who are responsible for organised crime".

News imageWaste dumped at the Callerton Hill site. There is a large mound of shredded rubbish surrounding a concrete yard. A grey car is parked in the middle of it and there are trees bordering the site.
The Callerton Hill site is estimated to contain about 400 tonnes of waste

Rumble said of the dump near the airport: "A lot of the good recyclables have been removed and what's left here is processed, shredded and ready for landfill disposal.

"We're conducting a search through the waste to look for leads as to where it has come from.

"It almost certainly has come from a waste processing facility."

News imageEA Waste dumped at a disused quarry in Hartlepool. There is a large mound of shredded rubbish sloping down a hole at the quarry. Three people in high visibility clothing are at the top of pile.EA
A larger site in Hartlepool was discovered recently in a disused quarry

He confirmed the Peterlee site, which has a similar amount of waste, was discovered at the end of July.

A couple of weeks later, "significantly more waste" was discovered at a disused quarry in Hartlepool, which left a "more complex operation for the landowner to clear".

News imageMark Rumble, team leader for the environmental crime team at the Environment Agency in front of waste dumped at the Callerton Hill site. He has short dark hair and is wearing a yellow high viz jacket with the EA's logo. He is looking at the camera with a serious expression. The background is blurred and shows mounds of shredded waste.
Mark Rumble said landowners remained responsible for paying for clean-up costs

Rumble said: "The responsibility to clean up always falls to the landowner, so there is quite a large bill associated.

"That's why we're asking landowners to be vigilant, to ensure sites are secure and if they're not using them, consider blocking them off before they become victims of crime like this.

"Off the back of a successful conviction there are opportunities to recover costs, but it's really important that it doesn't fall upon the taxpayer to pay for the clean-up."

News imageEA Waste dumped at a site in Peterlee. There is a large mound of shredded rubbish surrounding an area of land that has been cleared, with some debris remaining on the ground. The site is surrounded by trees and shrubs.EA
A site in Peterlee was discovered at the end of July

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