Since 2000, more than 100 old landfill sites across England that may contain toxic substances have been flooded, raising concerns about serious environmental and public health risks, according to an investigation by Unearthed, a journalism platform funded by Greenpeace.
Some of these sites are located next to parks and residential areas, placing hundreds of households potentially at risk. Although local councils are expected to monitor the safety of such landfills, the report reveals that many lack the funding or awareness to fulfill this duty.
David Megson, an environmental chemist at Manchester Metropolitan University, explained that while most sites likely contain relatively harmless waste, others may be far more dangerous.
“Historic reporting of what went into these sites wasn’t great, so in many cases, you’ve got little idea what is in there until you dig into it,” he said.
The investigation focused on landfills used between 1945 and the mid-1990s—before strict recordkeeping laws were introduced—and those known to contain industrial or “special” waste.
Researchers, including mapping expert Dr. Paul Brindley from the University of Sheffield, compared data on 20,000 former landfill sites with Environment Agency flooding records. They identified 105 high-risk sites where over half of the surface area had been flooded. Sites known to be safe, containing only household waste, or already regulated were excluded. The remaining locations may contain harmful materials such as pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, “forever chemicals,” or hazardous sludge.
These potentially dangerous sites were found to be concentrated in northern and lower-income parts of England.
Professor Kate Spencer of Queen Mary University of London, who contributed to the study, noted that waste disposal practices over centuries failed to consider long-term impacts.
“We now know far more about the potentially harmful effects of the waste materials and pollutants we’ve dumped, particularly chemicals like Pfas and PCBs, and how the impacts of climate change, such as flooding, could reopen pathways for those pollutants to enter the environment.”
Additionally, the investigation uncovered 2,600 former landfills with possible toxic contents located within 50 metres of rivers or streams—heightening the risk of pollution during floods.
Charles Watson, the chair and founder of campaign group River Action said: “Everywhere you look, polluters can find easily accessible loopholes in the enforcement regime to break the law and degrade the environment. However, the failure to provide adequate funding to regulate something as basic as landfill sites that could be leaching highly hazardous waste is all the more shocking.
“If our regulators can’t sort out how to protect us from pollutants that in theory have already been ‘safely’ disposed of, then we have little hope of ever seeing a holistic approach to combating the wider sources of water pollution.”
Until 2017, local authorities could apply for contaminated land capital grants from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to manage these risks. However, those funds were cut, leading to what Dr. Grant Richardson, an environmental consultant, described as an “erosion of funding” for remediation efforts.
“If there’s no obvious risk of harm or pollution emanating from these sites, nothing will be done to investigate or remediate them unless sites come to be developed. That means there are likely hundreds or potentially thousands of sites that have not been properly investigated that could be leaching contaminants at harmful levels into the environment,” he said.
The Local Government Association warned of potentially “devastating consequences” due to this funding gap. With councils already facing a projected £8 billion shortfall by 2028–29, a spokesperson said local authorities “desperately need a significant and sustained increase” in budgets to keep up with demands placed on them.
Green Party peer Natalie Bennett called for legislation mandating proper records of landfill sites to prevent future public hazards.
She said, “The lack of adequate regulations on contaminated land poses a threat to human life and welfare, especially given climate breakdown, rising sea levels, increased rainfall and flooding.
“Greens urge Labour to add this law to the statute books and provide the necessary funds for local authorities to meet the requirements of such a new law.”
In response, the Environment Agency stated it would continue supporting local councils in managing the environmental risks associated with former landfill sites.
“In circumstances where the Environment Agency leads on remediation, we work tirelessly with partners to reduce unacceptable risks to human health and the environment,” it added.
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