Significant lack of oversight in the waste disposal industry is leading to environmental disaster, says Suzanne Mitchison, Director of Waste Services, Everflow.
Recent news of an enormous illegal dump being discovered in Oxfordshire will have angered many business owners who are trying to do the right thing with their waste. Companies who pay thousands of pounds annually to take part in responsible recycling are suddenly seeing what can really happen once the bin lorry pulls away – their carefully separated rubbish being thrown into one big heap.
The Cost of Waste
Up and down the UK, responsible management of waste has become a significant cost for businesses. Business owners can spend thousands of pounds on waste removal, confident that their provider is doing the right thing with the rubbish.
Positively, SMEs are increasingly seeing recycling not just as something you do to comply with regulation, rather it is an ethical commitment to communities and the planet.
There is still some way to go in terms of making recycling simpler – recently introduced legislation has made it harder and more expensive for businesses to recycle.
Despite this, many are still trying – but the recent developments surrounding illegal dumping sites show that well-meaning, responsible business owners are being duped out of their money by individuals who do not care at all for the environment, or their wallets.
The Wider Danger of Dumps
The sheer scale of the UK’s illegal dumping problem reveals a significant lack of oversight of the business waste disposal industry. Unscrupulous companies are able to pose as legitimate firms and make quick money by exploiting business’ trust.
So large is the problem, in fact, that these “super sites” have to be positioned in remote, hard to reach, hidden spots to evade notice. Often found on floodplains, they allow forever chemicals to leach into soil and water causing significant harm to local wildlife and ecosystems.
The risks go much further than environmental harm. Many businesses produce ‘branded waste’ – waste products with logos on them. When these end up being found in large quantities in illegal dumps, it raises questions about the environmental
