A Liverpool ECHO investigation has unearthed “utterly shocking criminal activity”, causing serious concerns about the potential health impacts on the local community, and the enormous cost it will take to clean it up
06:00, 05 Feb 2026Updated 08:16, 05 Feb 2026
illegal waste dump in Knowsley(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Tens of thousands of tonnes of heavy duty rubbish has been dumped on a field near Kirkby, in what local leaders are labelling an act of “utterly shocking and organised criminal activity.”
The scale of the site – estimated to contain approximately 30,000 tonnes of rubbish – makes it one of the largest illegal waste dumps ever found, and presents immediate and long-term health, environmental and financial concerns.
For decades, the area was a natural beauty spot covered in mature trees and lush, green foliage, but that has all been destroyed now. Where once there was a thriving and diverse habitat, there is now tens of thousands of tonnes of illegal waste, expertly dumped, and likely to cause catastrophic harm for several years to come.
The Liverpool ECHO began to investigate after we received an anonymous tip off, and visited a site on the border of Knowsley and Liverpool, just off junction 4 as it connects to the M57. From the road, the land we were about to investigate seemed no different to the other nearby areas of countryside that make up the wild and largely untouched landscapes bordering the motorway.
illegal waste dump in Knowsley.(Image: Liverpool Echo)
However, behind the trees lining the roadside, was a shocking and horrific scene, which is currently being investigated by Merseyside Police, the Environment Agency and Knowsley Council.
There are now serious concerns about the potential health impacts on the local community, the existential threat to the wildlife, and the enormous cost it will take to clean it up – likely to run to several million of pounds.
The ECHO understands the scale of the site makes it one of largest and most serious examples of illegal waste dumping in UK history, and if left undetected, it would have dwarfed any other illegal operation of its kind.
We were told the site was found by sheer happenstance, when someone noticed a ‘large construction operation’, with HGVs and JCBs moving around the land. The people working on the site – without permission and unbeknownst to the landowner – reportedly said they were operating as a base of operations for a nearby roads and infrastructure project.
This was not true and appears to be a story designed to cover-up what the authorities believe to be a highly-sophisticated criminal enterprise.
Concerns were soon raised to Knowsley Council and the Environment Agency who acted to shut down the site, but not before those responsible had disappeared, taking with them the machinery and equipment used to excavate the land.
illegal waste dump in Knowsley.(Image: LDRS)
When the ECHO visited on Wednesday (February 4), we had to walk along a makeshift road, bolstered by hardcore, and made possible by the uprooting of dozens of large trees. As we arrived at the first clearing, we came across the first sign of what had been happening.
To the left of the clearing was what looked like a bomb crater, filled with tonnes of unidentified waste, some of it falling into a mini-reservoir of blackened water. To the right were stacks of rubbish two metres high, with a smoky-gas-like vapour rising from the peaks of the stacks.
The smell was overwhelming, choking, putrid and set off an involuntary alert response, indicating this was no place for living things.
All this was bordered by mountains of dirt, more rubbish, and mounds and mounds of excavated soil, professionally sited along the compacted delivery routes, stretching on for acres. Whoever did this, knew exactly what they were doing, how to do it, and how to get away with it.
The trees which remain untouched are those facing the motorway, and provide perfect coverage for this criminal operation. Anyone taking a cursory glance would have assumed this was a construction site, with all necessary permits in place.
‘Super size’ illegal waste dumps like the one we discovered are becoming the focus of major criminal investigations, and cost England’s economy around £1 billion a year in damages.
During a House of Lords committee session last year, it was heard that organised crime groups are making millions every year from illegally dumping and burning rubbish, after an inquiry found a lack of enforcement made it a “low-risk, high-reward” criminal enterprise.
Trees cut down at illegal waste dump in Knowsley(Image: Liverpool Echo)
As we left the site, covered in dirt, mud and assorted debris, we compiled our photographs and reported our findings to the Environment Agency, Knowsley Council and Merseyside Police, who were already engaged in an ongoing investigation.
A spokesperson for Knowsley Council said: “We are deeply concerned about what has been discovered here and the long-term impact there could potentially be for our residents.
“This is not just in terms of immediate issues like odour and loss of habitat on site but longer-term concerns about potential health impacts. We don’t underestimate the seriousness of this situation.
“That’s why we have used all of the limited powers available to us to prevent further waste from being dumped on site and we will of course fully support the investigation that is being carried out by the Environment Agency, who own the powers to act in this situation.
“Given the scale of illegal tipping on this site, it is crucial that swift and robust action is taken by the Environment Agency and / or the landowner without delay. The criminal actions of those responsible cannot go unpunished, and it is completely unacceptable that residents in Knowsley should have to live next to a mountain of illegal waste for a moment longer.”
Cllr Graham Morgan, Leader of Knowsley Council, told us: “I am totally shocked by what has happened here. It’s horrendous and we are furious at the sheer contempt those responsible have shown for our residents and for the habitat on this site.
“We were notified by the Environment Agency late last year that an illegal waste dump had been created. We immediately put a stop order, and as far as we’ve been told, no further waste has been dumped there since.
“But let’s be clear, there’s still a significant amount of rubbish there, and I think it’s estimated at around 30,000 tonnes. It is utterly shocking and organised crime activity.
Excavated area prepared for illegal waste dump in Knowsley(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“We know we aren’t alone in having this issue, but this is really a great concern for me, my colleagues and indeed our community. We have done all that we all possibly can with our powers here, and I understand that a full investigation is underway by the Environmental Agency and the police. We will support them, and those responsible need to be pursued and prosecuted.
“In the meantime, however, I need some significant action by the Environment Agency to clean up this site and reduce the clear risk to our residents. I know that they are currently clearing a site in Oxford, so I can’t see what differences between that and Knowsley, and it should be dealt with in the same way.”
Cllr Morgan was referring to the illegal waste dump found in Oxford last year. The Environment Agency declared a ‘critical incident’ into the enormous pile of waste, estimated to be around 21,000 tonnes.
That incident caused a national outcry, but the early indications at the site near Kirkby indicate this latest discovery is much bigger in scale. The ECHO understands initial assessments at the site suggest only 10% of the excavated land was used for dumped waste.
If it had gone unnoticed, a further 270,000 tonnes would likely have been disposed of, making it by far the largest illegal waste dump in UK history.
The ECHO further understands the Environment Agency attended the site at the start of December following reports of mixed waste being deposited and started a criminal investigation. The majority of waste on the site appears to have been deposited in November, and there have been no more waste deposits since the closure and the site is closely monitored.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We took action with Knowsley Council and Merseyside Police to shut down access to this illegal waste dump and are hunting down those involved.
“The public should be assured that we will use all our powers to prosecute the criminals responsible.”