The Political Economy of the Mobuoy Illegal Dump in Northern Ireland: A Green Criminology Perspective

In 2012, the discovery of the Mobuoy illegal dump in Northern Ireland came to the attention of society as a shocking scandal. This was not only because the dump (516,000 tonnes of waste) was possibly one of the largest illegal dumps in Europe, but also because it exposed how the waste-management system in Northern Ireland was vulnerable to criminality and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency incapable of crime prevention and enforcement. However, it would be too narrow to focus criticisms solely on a particular governmental agency. From a green criminology perspective, this article provides a political economic analysis of the Mobuoy illegal dump and demonstrates the country’s environmental management system, as well as political resistance against environmental governance reforms that may create favourable conditions for criminal groups to seek financial gains through environmental crime in Northern Ireland.