England and Europe’s hidden landfills at risk of leaking toxic waste into water supplies but Scotland’s sites are all known and level is now only one third, of that under Labour

Professor John Robertson OBA

The Guardian today has two big reports on leaking landfill sites in the UK (sic):

UK and Europe’s hidden landfills at risk of leaking toxic waste into water supplies – Thousands of landfills across the UK and Europe sit in floodplains, posing a potential threat to drinking water and conservation areas if toxic waste is released into rivers, soils and ecosystems, it can be revealed.

and

‘I kept smelling a horrible nasty smell’: the risks of England’s old dumping grounds – For some, the smell brings on nausea and headaches. Others fear ‘forever chemicals’ seeping into the water – UK and Europe’s hidden landfills at risk of leaking toxic waste into water supplies

There’s no mention of Scotland though I feel your local Labour MP will happily suggest it’s just the same here, in Westmnister debate, for their boss, the PM

What is the situation in Scotland after 18 years of SNP Government?

In 2007, in the last days of Labour, there were 110 known landfill sites. The data is checked for completeness by local authorities which, in Scotland, have not been subject to decades of Tory cost-cutting initiatives such as those mentioned in the Guardian report. There are currently only 40 landfill sites in Scotland.

Click to access waste-landfill-quality-report.pdf

Also:

Waste sent to landfill fell from around 7 million tonnes in 2005 to 2.3 million tonnes in 2022, and 2.0 million tonnes in 2023. Rapid decline in waste going to landfill recently, driven by shift from landfill to incineration. https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/4jsdkdg1/waste-landfill-quality-report.pdf

Landfill under SNP is now only 33%, one third, of that under Labour

5 thoughts on “England and Europe’s hidden landfills at risk of leaking toxic waste into water supplies but Scotland’s sites are all known and level is now only one third, of that under Labour”

  1. While the SNP Government is dealing successfully with landfill and reducing toxic runoff it is unfortunate that the same cannot be said of the UK Government’s approach to their nuclear sites in Scotland .

    There appears little Government action to tackle the continuing problems/accidents that are leaking dangerous radioactive materials into Scotland’s air/water from rotting subs or nuclear storage areas . The only action appears to be attempts by the DoD to ban criticism of leaks using legal means .

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  2. Couldn’t help but notice the headline the UK and Europe. Now is this REALLY the UK Scottish unionists fight SO hard to remain a part of or is it what they usually mean by THE UK = England, which would then include Scotland in its dirty dealings.

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    1. The usual Guardian take on things when it uses ‘UK’ in the headline to hide that it is England that they are writing about. In fact England seems to be the country that dare not speak its name. It is variously Britain, the UK or the country but rarely England.

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      1. Birmingham bin strike still ongoing, started in January 2025. Agency workers brought in the help have voted to go on strike as well.

        uk labour government very duiet about that.

        dottieb

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        1. Seems like it’s all mounting up. The corridor care on the news last night looked absolutely horrendous. I don’t see how hospitals can go on operating in battlefield conditions like we saw last night. Something has to give.

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