Harrods owner backs landfill action

Harrods owner Mohammed Al Fayed has come out in support of residents opposing the construction of a new landfill site in Surrey.

The millionaire department store owner is backing Oxted residents who are urging the Environment Agency to refuse permission for a planned site in the area, the BBC reports.

Locals are reportedly concerned that the landfill site may lead to an increase in traffic emissions and other environmental hazards.

Mr Al Fayed's lawyers are currently representing those opposing the site.

"I am doing it not only for me but … for all the community," he told the news provider. "No-one can financially take that on, but I'm taking them on."

Government's in "other civilised countries" incinerate their waste, burn it, or use it as a fertiliser, Mr Al Fayed noted.

Local resident Cathy Hunt said the landfill site would lead to an extra 55 lorries per day using roads in the area.

However, a spokesperson for the Environment Agency said any decision to grant a permit would take into account human health and emissions.

In related news, the government revealed last December that the amount of waste being sent to landfill sites has dropped by around a quarter since 2001.