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Revealed: the ‘black box’ wastewater trade that rakes in millions for UK utility companies

Attributed to The Guardian. ENC is not independently verifying these facts.

Revealed: the ‘black box’ wastewater trade that rakes in millions for UK utility companies

Still from the source feed, not produced by ENC.

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The Guardian is currently the only allowlisted source on the desk for this item.

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  • No second independent outlet is on the desk for this item yet.

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  • Whether the original outlet issues a correction or update.
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Claim states describe the source record, not independently verified truth. Green and cyan never mean “confirmed.”

The Guardian reports the following. ENC is republishing it as an attributed briefing, not as independently confirmed fact. If this item is false or incomplete, the responsibility sits with The Guardian, which released it. Exclusive: Firms made more than £340m last year from processing industrial and commercial wastewater at sewage works that are unable to remove many chemical pollutants Water companies in the UK made more than £340m in revenue last year by pouring billions of litres of industrial and commercial wastewater into sewage treatment works that experts say are not designed to remove most chemicals, leaving pollutants to pass into rivers, seas and farmland. Water companies are required by law to take industrial wastewater and issue permits called “trade-effluent consents” that allow businesses to send it to sewage works, though water companies can refuse applications. Continue reading... Original link: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/oct/09/uk-water-companies-industrial-commercial-wastewater-sewage-treatment

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