Thousands of tonnes of toxic landfill liquid added to sewage and spread on English farms

Watershed evealed that vast quantities of toxic liquid from landfills are being mixed into sewage and spread on English farmland. The liquid, known as leachate, is generated when rain filters through waste dumps, creating a contaminated cocktail containing PFAS “forever chemicals,” dioxins, flame retardants, solvents, endocrine disruptors and microplastics. Around 3.5 million tonnes of leachate are produced each year in England, with more than 750,000 tonnes trucked into sewage treatment works.

Most sewage works are not designed to filter out these persistent pollutants. Instead, the leachate is given basic biological treatment alongside sewage before being released into rivers or bound up in sludge. This sludge—rebranded as fertiliser—is then spread on farmland across the country, exposing soils, crops and food chains to harmful substances that are poorly regulated or not regulated at all.

Sludge regulation still relies largely on 1989 rules focused on heavy metals. Campaigners, scientists and some insiders warn that the system fails to address modern chemical threats, while official monitoring remains patchy. The revelations highlight how landfill and wastewater management practices are combining to recycle industrial and household toxins back into the environment, raising urgent questions over food safety, regulation and public health.  To read in full, click on the link below.

Four stories make up the investigation so far:
Thousands of tonnes of toxic landfill liquid added to sewage and spread on English farms‘

A Trojan horse’: how toxic sewage sludge became a threat to the future of British farming

Millions of tonnes of toxic sewage sludge spread on UK farmland every year

Environment Agency insider alleges ‘cover-up’ over sewage sludge on farmland

Landfills across England could be leaking harmful toxic ooze, warn experts

Thousands of old landfills littered across the country potentially leaking toxic ooze and vapours are more likely to be found in deprived areas, our analysis of the sites from our new WATERSHED POLLUTION MAP reveals.

Thousands of polluted landfills across England could be leaking toxic chemicals into the environment and harming people who live nearby, experts have warned.

A few decades ago, the method for getting rid of industrial and domestic waste was to stick it in a hole in the ground, cover it up and hope for the best. It was known as “dilute and disperse” and it assumed toxic substances would seep into the surrounding soils, air and water and become harmless.

There are more than 21,000 of these “historic” landfills across England, with contents that are largely unknown. A report in the British Medical Journal found that 80% of the British population lives within 2km of a functioning or closed landfill site. The location of historic landfills and current waste sites can be viewed on a new pollution map published by Watershed Investigations, along with thousands of other potentially polluting sites.

In a second story, published simultaneously in the Guardian, we spoke to communities affected by both old landfills and operational waste sites.

 

PM’s constituency in top 10 of water pollution ranking, investigation finds

Rishi Sunak is running for a constituency that has ranked in the top 10 for potential water pollution, reports The Independent, using Watershed’s Pollution Map.

Richmond and Northallerton – a new constituency in North Yorkshire following boundary changes – ranked ninth in data analysis by investigative journalism platform Watershed.

Mr Sunak was previously MP in the old Richmond (Yorkshire) constituency, which has now been split mostly into Richmond and Northallerton, with some of the original area going to Thirsk and Malton.

CLICK HERE TO LAUNCH THE POLLUTION MAP