The landscape of Britain has been transformed over many millennia but in more recent times industrialization has had a major impact, with chemical industry and industries using chemical processes at the forefront. The waste products are varied in their potential danger and in their quantity, but remediation of these sites has become very important in the last 30 years or so. This meeting will review a number of different sites each with its own challenges to understand the progress being made. The Olympic stadium would not be there had the toxic waste not been removed: our opening talk by speakers attached to the Olympic Delivery Authority will address the issues.