Story perspectives
Agency Warns as UK Firms Profit £340M From Wastewater Permits
By Drooid · · How we work
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Story summary
- UK water companies earned over £340 million last year by accepting industrial wastewater into sewage treatment works.
- Trade-effluent permits covered 608 billion litres of industrial wastewater for 2025-26.
- United Utilities earned £61.6 million and Yorkshire Water £48.8 million from industrial-waste fees.
- Thames Water processed the most permitted volume, 113 billion litres, followed by United Utilities with 105 billion.
- Permits allow hazardous chemicals like cyanide and mercury, which most plants cannot remove, raising Agency concerns.