A grotesque 500-foot-long, 20-foot-high mound of shredded hazardous waste has turned a peaceful floodplain into a toxic eyesore, just meters from the River Cherwell.
Discovered last month by local anglers, the illegal dump—comprising hundreds of tonnes of plastic, foam, and wood—threatens to leach pollutants into the waterway, a key tributary of the River Thames.
"This is an environmental catastrophe unfolding in plain sight," warned Laura Reineke, chief executive of Friends of the Thames. "Every day that passes increases the risk of toxic run-off entering the river system, poisoning wildlife and threatening the health of the entire catchment."
Liberal Democrat MP Calum Miller raised the alarm in Parliament on November 13, stating: "Criminals have dumped a mountain of illegal plastic waste... weighing hundreds of tonnes, in my constituency on a floodplain adjacent to the River Cherwell. River levels are rising and heatmaps show that the waste is also heating up, raising the risk of fire."
Billy Burnell, chairman of the Kidlington Angling Society, who first spotted the heap, decried the proximity: "A mountain of waste has been allowed to build up just metres from the River Cherwell."
He added, linking it to broader woes: "Our rivers are really struggling environmentally."
The Environment Agency has launched a specialist probe and imposed a restriction order to halt access. Cleanup costs could exceed £1 million, dwarfing Cherwell District Council's annual waste budget.
Environment Minister Mary Creagh acknowledged the crisis: "The government had inherited a failing waste industry that had caused an 'epidemic of illegal fly-tipping'."
Experts fear flooding could wash the mound into the Cherwell, contaminating Oxford's drinking water.
"Criminal gangs are dumping waste on this scale" nationwide, Miller urged, calling for urgent intervention before "pollutants leech out" into rivers. As drone footage reveals the colourful debris slumping toward the water—now just five meters away—activists demand swift action to avert disaster.