Five waste sites with 'large' rubbish piles:
- Rondin Road, Manchester. Clearing an 80,000 tonne, 30ft mountain of waste is expected to cost several million pounds
- Orpington, Kent. Landowner and Environment Agency in legal battle over who should cover the £1m cost of clearing 20,000 tonnes of waste
- Great Heck, Yorkshire. 10,000 tonne pile left spring 2014 and still being cleared. Multiple fires have started
- Cheney Manor, Swindon. Abandoned in summer 2014. 11,000 tonnes left for council to clear
- Brierley Hill, Dudley. 40ft, 20,000 tonne mound piled up at the site for more than six years leading to a lengthy court battle to have it removed. Now being cleared
*Sky News
Picture: Illustration only.
A Rocha spoke on Premier's News Hour after a Sky News investigation revealed piles of waste up to 40ft high have been left to rot at 64 sites across England and Scotland.
It has emerged some piles of domestic and building waste have been catching fire in warmer weather, costing local firefighters hundreds of thousands of pounds each year.
Speaking on the News Hour, Andy Lester from A Rocha said creating a waste recycling company can be much easier than keeping it financially viable in the longer-term.
He also called for the way waste recycling sites are licensed to be tougher: "Right at the outset there needs to be an understanding that companies that don't clear up their waste are subject to very stiff penalties. It [also] means more inspections of sites.
"The vast majority of people would not be aware that there was recycling taking place on a site near [them]. It's when it goes wrong that people are suddenly aware of it but it's desperately unfortunate for the local residents who happen to be right on the doorstep of one of these locations."
The Environment Agency (EA) has been dealing with approximately 50 sites in England, including ten described as more than 5,000 and a 'fire risk,' while the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) says it is taking enforcement action on a further 14 sites of undisclosed size in Scotland.
The EA says 95% of permitted waste sites are well run, while a SEPA spokesperson said: "While rigorously investigating abandoned sites to pursue those responsible for waste deposits SEPA would take site specific factors into consideration in relation to the risk or threat posed by abandoned wastes and take appropriate action along with other Scottish Authorities (e.g. The Scottish Government, Local Authorities) where the immediate removal of waste is required to prevent significant pollution of the environment or harm to human health."
Members of The Country Land And Business Association have reported being left with piles of waste.
Shane Brennan from the group said: "I think we need a new and more rigorous approach to licencing. If there are companies setting up and depositing waste on land, and they start to go awry, they need to be closed down immediately.
"We need to stop them getting to the point like we've seen with large sites and we need measures in place to make sure we can clean up the mess after the cowboys have ridden off into the night."