The impacts of quarrying don't stop when the mineral is exhausted.
Take the case of Stowey Sutton Action Group, who fought successfully in 2013 to stop "645,000 tonnes of asbestos and other non-reactive hazardous waste to be dumped at the site"; a site near Chew Valley Lake – a water supply for Bristol.
Despite this, in 2016 SSAG reported "increasingly strong smells" coming from the quarry, and "contacted the Environment Agency and B&NES Council to report lorries bringing waste to the Stowey Quarry from long distances across the UK, Ireland and the Continent".
The EA, who are now carrying out a major investigation into illegal dumping by a 'significant number of companies and individuals', stated:
