OXFORDSHIRE has been described as a ‘dustbin’ for the rest of the South East by the county council’s Green group leader.

David Williams said figures showing the county brought in waste from 112 other areas made a mockery of recycling efforts, which place the county as one of the best in England.

In 2013, a total of 670,436 tonnes of waste was imported to Oxfordshire, of which 422,375 tonnes were sent to landfill, according to Environment Agency figures released by the county council following a Freedom of Information request.

That is about 140 times the size of the infamous Kennington superdump, which saw travellers dump 3,000 tonnes of rubbish at Redbridge Hollow over two decades.

Our top stories

Mr Williams said: “At the moment we are the dustbin for the South East and taking in everybody else’s waste like a huge dustbin is not really a solution.

“The county has a good record on recycling but this makes a mockery of that.”

Sutton Courtenay waste campaigner Callum MacKenzie, 59, added: “We were hoping the landfill site in the village would close by 2030 but taking in all this waste from elsewhere could mean it will stay open for longer and residents don’t want that.”

David Nimmo Smith, the council’s minerals and waste cabinet advisory group chairman, has agreed to review the situation following calls from Mr Williams.

Mr Nimmo Smith said: “We don’t want to be everyone’s dumping ground so we will review imported waste shortly.

But he added there were “long contracts” at some sites that could not be varied.

On top of the waste imported, 562,652 tonnes of waste is generated in Oxfordshire that is already dumped at landfill sites.

The amount imported was up on the previous year’s figure of 594,472 tonnes and brings the the total amount of Oxfordshire waste managed at sites around the county to 1,244,831 tonnes.

In 2009 the amount of waste imported was 740,063, in 2010 it was 947,618, and in 2011 it was 862, 335.

The imported waste that was not sent to landfill was either recycled, transferred back out of the county or deposited in or on land.

Waste is being imported to landfill sites by train or truck from locations up to hundreds of miles away including those in Northumberland, Cornwall, and County Durham.

Ten landfill sites receiving imported waste include those at Sutton Courtenay near Abingdon, Ardley near Bicester and Tubney Wood near Oxford.

Environmental campaigner Robin Draper, who lives in Sutton Courtenay, said: “I don’t see why Oxfordshire should be the dumping ground for the rest of the country. In the Vale and South Oxfordshire people struggle to recycle as much as possible so our recycling rate is about 68 per cent yet, at the same time, we are having to put up with everyone else’s waste and all the traffic that involves.”

County council spokesman Paul Smith said: “Oxfordshire is one of the few counties in the South East of England that still has significant remaining permitted landfill capacity.

“While this capacity remains, the market will operate on a commercial basis to fill it with waste both from Oxfordshire and from other areas where landfill capacity is more limited or does not exist.”

The council does not get paid for importing waste and has no contracts for processing imported waste.