UK and Europe’s hidden landfills at risk of leaking toxic waste into water supplies

Thousands of ageing dumps across Britain and Europe lie in flood-prone areas. Photograph: Nature Picture Library/Alamy

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.

The findings are the result of the first continent-wide mapping of landfills, conducted by the Guardian, Watershed Investigations and Investigate Europe.