Overview
- Investigators estimate about 30,000 tonnes of waste was tipped on the Kirkby site, with assessments indicating excavation prepared for potentially a further 270,000 tonnes if unchecked.
- Access has been blocked since early December after the Environment Agency, Knowsley Council and Merseyside Police intervened, and no further deposits have been recorded.
- Previous low-level waste exemptions for the land were deregistered and the operation is being treated as a sophisticated organised-crime enterprise that used a bogus roadworks cover story.
- Council calculations suggest tipping alone could cost around £4 million, and responsibility is expected to fall on the polluter or, failing that, the landowner.
- A separate enforcement sweep in Liverpool on 6 February led to an arrest and HGV seizure, which authorities say is not currently thought to be linked to the Kirkby dump.