No-one wants toxic waste dumped in their back yard. Dioxins and furans from incinerators, dangerous chemicals leaching from landfill sites and the apparently random dumping of nuclear waste are all clear threats to our health and lives. In fact any waste not properly dealt with can become dangerous - yet industry and state seem to collude recklessly in its production.

Robert Allen describes the waste produced in Britain and Ireland and the woefully inadequate means of dealing with it. He looks, too, at governmental intransigence and dishonesty and at industry’s refusal to consider the needs of local communities. He also gives an account of the available legislation governing toxic waste and the degree to which it will need radical change in the face of a rapidly growing problem.

Waste dumping impinges on people’s lives, and he examines some of the very successful campaigns against the many ill-considered dumping grounds. As governments only respond to pressure, there are valuable lessons to be learnt from these campaigns. This book sets out the nature of the problem and provides a basis on which to tackle it.

Originally published in 1992