Landfill has been the foundation of UK waste management for more than a century.Since the 1920s,controlled tipping at the coast reflects how we have devalued the natural environment.Historically,using the coastal zone was seen as a way to dump our waste and to reclaim land for other uses.The UK has some 1,200 historic coastal landfill sites at risk of coastal erosion and flooding,as James Brand outlines overleaf.Vast amounts of waste and associated pollutants could be released into the marine environment from these sites,particularly where existing coastal defences are ageing or were never built.It may be difficult to predict levels of flooding and erosion of these sites over the next century,but climate change and sea-level rise significantly raise the risks.
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