The Environment Agency completed a 15-month clearance of an illegal waste dump at Hoads Wood near Ashford, Kent on Friday, removing nearly 40,000 tonnes of rubbish at a cost of £15m to taxpayers.
Criminal gangs dumped the waste over six months in 2023 at the site, which sits within a Site of Special Scientific Interest designated for rare plants and wildlife. The dump was piled up to 15 feet in places across the ancient bluebell woodland. Specialist contractors removed the waste using 2,500 lorry loads to a landfill site in Essex after the clearance operation began in June 2025.
This represents the first supersite in England to receive central government funding for cleanup. Two other illegal waste sites, in Kidlington, Oxfordshire and near Wigan, have cost a further £11m to clear, bringing the total taxpayer bill to £26m across three sites.
The Environment Agency, police and local authorities have established a joint "trigger plan" to coordinate rapid response if dumping resumes. The EA has extended a restriction order prohibiting access and dug ditches to prevent waste trucks from entering the site.
Ian Rickards, area manager for Kent Wildlife Trust, said ancient woodland species would take decades to return but noted the cleared land has created new features like ponds and wet bodies that could attract wildlife. He stated: "It won't recover as it was but there are benefits to this."
Campaigners who fought for the cleanup remain concerned about future illegal dumping. One organiser told the BBC: "Our biggest fear now is people are going to be able to access this site and start dumping on it again and unless the authorities are quick it will happen again." At the height of activity in summer 2023, locals reported 20 to 30 trucks per day dumping waste at the site.
Three arrests were made in February 2025 related to the dumping, with investigations ongoing. The government launched a national action plan to tackle waste crime in August, estimating it costs the country more than £1bn annually. The BBC exposed hundreds of illegal waste sites across England earlier this year, including numerous "supersites" containing more than 20,000 tonnes of rubbish each.