Hertfordshire County Council is dealing with what it has called one of the most serious fly-tipping incidents seen in the county in recent years, after four trailers loaded with suspected asbestos waste were abandoned on the A10 and A120.
Initial investigations indicated each trailer held approximately 50 tonnes of shredded material - around twice the legal carrying capacity of the vehicles involved - putting the total at roughly 200 tonnes. The material is believed to be asbestos, though the council has not yet published confirmation of analysis.
Two of the trailers are not considered structurally safe to move. The council is working with specialist contractors to establish a safe method of removal, with licensed waste management specialists handling recovery because of the hazardous nature of the load.
Costs have not been finalised. Comparable incidents have run to between £35,000 and £50,000 per trailer, which would put this clean-up in the region of £200,000 - a bill falling on the taxpayer rather than on those responsible.
Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst OBE, executive member for highways at Hertfordshire County Council, said: "This is one of the most serious fly-tipping incidents we have seen recently in Hertfordshire. Disposing of hazardous waste in this way is reckless, irresponsible and can be very dangerous."
He added that the council would do everything possible to support efforts to identify those responsible and recover costs where it can, and urged the public, businesses and road users to stay alert. The trailers, he noted, are unremarkable in appearance, and early reporting helps limit both environmental and financial damage.
Why this matters to the sector
Incidents on this scale are a direct consequence of demand for cheap disposal. Shredded material loaded at twice a trailer's legal capacity did not originate with a licensed carrier following the duty of care - it originated with someone who accepted a price that could not cover compliant removal, transport and disposal at a permitted facility.
The consequences land on everyone else. Local authorities absorb six-figure clean-up costs. Members of the public and road users are exposed to material that should never have left a controlled environment. And licensed contractors who price the job properly - notification, controlled removal, consigned waste transfer, permitted disposal - are undercut by operators who simply skip those steps.
NORAC continues to press the point that duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 does not end when a skip or trailer leaves site. Duty holders commissioning asbestos removal should verify carrier registration and permitted disposal routes, and retain consignment notes as evidence.
