Environment Agency faces landfill tax bill worth millions to clear illegal waste

An aerial view of the 25,000 tonnes of waste that has been dumped near to residential homes in Bickershaw in Wigan, England. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Millions of pounds in landfill tax owed to the government has to be paid by the Environment Agency (EA) if it clears any of the thousands of illegal waste dumps across the country.

Of the £15m that taxpayers are paying for the clearance of the only site the agency has committed to clearing up – a vast illegal dump at Hoad’s Wood in Kent – £4m is landfill tax.