Not in My Backyard
Waste disposal is very big business. In Britain, it's worth £5 billion a year and, in the United States, it's said to be the fastest legal way to make a fortune. But as environmentalists demand tighter controls, there's a worldwide crisis: no one wants waste in their back yard. So, as ash from Philadelphia is shipped to Panama, and West European waste is dumped in East Germany, waste brokers are looking for new sites - including Britain.
Imports of foreign waste are rising dramatically as European industry takes advantage of our willingness to treat, burn or dump their waste. But are our standards and regulations too weak?
As Robin Denselow reports, different parts of the country have different rules, and consignments of hazardous waste from abroad are being transported on our roads without anyone knowing exactly what they contain. Producer JANA BENNETT Editor DAVID DICKINSON