Drug waste dumped in Lelystad

Manufacturers of illegal drugs dumped dozens of barrels containing chemical waste in a wooded area in Lelystad last night.

Police say a passerby found the 45 barrels strewn along Pijlstaartweg trail early this afternoon. The barrels were probably thrown out of a moving vehicle.

They contained hundreds of liters of chemical fluids, possibly chemical waste from a drug lab. Police are now trying to ascertain where they came from. They were probably dumped last night.

There have been countless reports of drug lab waste dumped in nature areas recently; Police say it went from 150 finds in 2012 to 300 last year. The 100 percent increase prompted environmental organizations earlier this year to call for stronger law enforcement, because the dumping of chemical waste is damaging the environment and provinces are left with enormous costs of removing the waste and land rehabilitation.