The Environment Agency has expanded its watchlist of high-priority waste sites it says are ‘causing concerns within local communities’ to 139.
Published as part of the government’s waste crime action plan, the original watchlist covered 117 waste sites in England that the Environment Agency considered high-priority.
However, the regulator has now expanded the list to 139 waste sites, as well as confirmed details of sites it no longer views as high-priority.
The list includes the name of the site, its location, the type of waste there, and how many tonnes of waste are located at the site.
The publication comes after the Environment Agency announced it stopped 224 high-risk illegal waste sites in 2025-26, significantly exceeding its target of closing 90 sites.
The largest sites on the list are:
| Site name | Site location | Waste type | Waste amount (tonnes) |
| Northwich | Northwich, Cheshire | Contaminated soil | 281,000 |
| Pershore 2 | Pershore, Worcestershire | Mixed shredded waste | 150,000 to 180,000 |
| Iken | Iken, Suffolk | Construction and demolition | 121,000 |
| Binfield | Bracknell, Berkshire | Soil, construction and demolition | 100,000 |
| Broadbridge Heath | Broadbridge Heath, East Sussex | Construction and demolition | 100,000 |
| Over | Over, Gloucestershire | Mixed shredded | 100,000 |
| Stapleford Tawney | Romford, London | Household, mixed shredded waste, soils | 100,000 |
Other notable sites on the watchlist include the illegal waste dumps next to the River Cherwell in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and the site on Bolton House Road, which is owned in part by King Charles.
Since the original list was published in May, the Environment Agency has confirmed it has removed 16 sites.
