18/12/2013

516k Tonnes Of Waste Discovered At Illegal Dump

An estimated 516,000 tonnes of waste has been discovered by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) at an illegal dump in Campsie, County L'Derry.

The news was released by Environment Minister Mark H Durkan as he announced the outcome of an independent report into the illegal dump and waste management in Northern Ireland.

In June 2013, then Environment Minister Alex Attwood revoked the license of the operator after an investigation into allegations of large scale criminal offending involving the disposal of waste. He commissioned the report from Mr Chris Mills, the former Director of the Welsh Environment Agency.

The key finding from the Mills report is that "the regulation of waste in Northern Ireland is highly vulnerable to criminal infiltration".

It recommends a need to consider the waste system in Northern Ireland in an effort to understand how criminals can exploit it.

Mark H Durkan said: "My predecessor, Alex Attwood MLA, commissioned this review because of his serious concerns about the scale of illegal dumping at the Campsie site and the regulation and management of waste across the north.

"I received the report on the 10 of December. It makes for sober reading. Mr Mills is clear in pointing out that we have serious problems right across our waste systems.

"Mr Mills provides a set of recommended actions to fix these problems. Given the scale of the problems, the implementation of these actions must be done in a powerful way that creates and delivers fundamental change."

(IT/JP)

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