Probe into waste-filled trailers left at roadside

The Environment Agency (EA) said it was investigating the dumping of trailers packed with shredded and baled waste in laybys on A roads in the Derby and Nottingham areas.

Four incidents occurred on the A50 near HMP Foston, and one between Sudbury and Doveridge, near Derby.

Two others occurred on opposite carriageways on the A38, north of Burton-upon-Trent, and one on the southbound carriageway of the A38 at Stretton.

There have also been two on the A453 near Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station, south of Nottingham.

Some of the trailers contain loose shredded waste, whilst others contain baled waste. Some have also had their tops cut off to make them easier to fill.

Each trailer can hold about 100 cubic metres of waste and range in design, including old refrigerated and rigid ambient units.

Further afield, and possible linked to these incidents, a trailer containing baled waste was left in a layby on the westbound A6 at Chapel-en-le-Frith in early October.

Around the end of October, a refrigerated trailer containing waste was also dumped in a layby on the southbound A38 at Weeford, Lichfield in Staffordshire.

An EA spokesperson said: “This kind of waste crime is a blight on our communities, the environment and is costly to the taxpayer who foots the bill to dispose of the trailers and the waste.”