An illegal waste dumping operation in Bromley, a town in Greater London, was shut down thanks to the Bromley Council's Neighbourhood Investigation Officers and local police.
According to the News Shopper, significant amounts of burnt waste were found hidden in the woods of a privately owned site, and authorities seized four vehicles related to the illegal operation during the course of the investigation.
A council spokesperson explained, "It appears that an illegal industrial scale waste disposal operation has been set up, with the significant profits this can generate."
Depending on the results of the investigation, these vehicles, including a box panel van, flatbed tippers, and a mini skip van, may be crushed. Additionally, police arrested at least one person during the raid on the illegal dumping site.
Altogether, authorities estimate that the suspects may have unlawfully dumped hundreds of tons of waste.
Illegal dumping, or fly tipping as it's known in the UK, is a global issue with a significant impact. People worldwide dump approximately 100 million tons of waste unlawfully, and in the U.S. alone, people illegally dump around 1.5 million tons each year, according to Dumpsters.com.
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The ramifications of this dumping are numerous, both for those caught and for local communities. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, improper waste disposal harms people's health, property, and the environment.
When people burn unauthorized waste, the fire can quickly spread out of control, leading to wildfires and brush fires, or simply spreading to neighboring residential areas and causing untold damage. The same can happen when garbage spontaneously combusts, as was the case with a neighborhood fire in Dorset County.
Contamination is also a major issue, as illicitly dumped waste often contains chemicals and toxins that leach into ground, surface, and well water, harming both people and aquatic ecosystems.
Additionally, this trash can attract a number of pests, many of which carry disease, such as mosquitoes, roaches, and rats. These pests can move from garbage-filled areas into local homes, causing annoyance and spreading disease.
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As a Metropolitan Police spokesperson stated, according to the News Shopper, "It is a stark reminder as well to us all to carefully check the credentials of anyone we are proposing to use to dispose of waste, including checking they are a licensed waste carrier, to help ensure that waste is properly disposed of."
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