Environmental awareness takes different forms and people tend to be more focused on some areas above others. For example, some are more mindful of what they are putting into the air but less focused on what might be ending up in the ground.
The consequences of landfill and waste are significant. Landfills can produce objectionable odours and landfill gas can move through soil and collect in nearby buildings. Of the gases produced in landfills, ammonia, sulphides, methane, and carbon dioxide are of most concern. These are forms of greenhouse gases.
In the context of the U.K., Warrington is the town with the most contaminated land, with 1759 contaminated sites across 41,603,277 square meters. The Liverpool borough of Sefton secured a second spot with a combined 975,050 square metres of contaminated land sites. These areas have high levels of leachates.
Leachate is a liquid that forms when landfill waste breaks down and water filters through that waste and picks up toxins.
Among the less contaminated areas is Scotland. The country only has one site (the borough of West Dunbartonshire) in the top 10, with the rest of the top spots being taken by English boroughs.
The ductwork, extraction and fabrication firm Airmatic has recently assessed which towns hols the most contaminated land in the U.K. By culminating a list of indicators, the approach has enabled an assessment of land contamination per square meterage.
The top 10 are (“m2” represents square metres):
- Warrington – 41,603,277m2
- Sefton – 975,050m2
- Hillingdon – 700,000m2
- Waverley – 382,000m2
- Mendip – 280,000m2
- Gateshead – 243,000m2
- West Dunbartonshire – 180,000m2
- Hull – 163,578m2
- Herefordshire – 156,000m2
- Calderdale – 137,000m2
In these areas, there is a common concern with toxins since most of the different materials that end up in landfills contain noxious substances that are eventually released and seep into the soil and groundwater.
The data was collected through freedom of information requests from councils in the U.K., although not all local authorities in the U.K. provided the requested information
