NRW pushes for action on odour at Withyhedge landfill 

It told the operator Resources Management UK (RML) to deal with the ongoing odour and landfill gas emission issues at the site. 

The NRW has issued site RML with a Regulation 36 Enforcement Notice which requires the operator to deliver a series of actions by specified deadlines – the first of which was to be achieved by 21 April 2024. 

Measures 

The measures outlined in the Enforcement Notice include managing the gas infrastructure, further capping of areas of the site, as well as improving interim cover arrangements as the work progresses.   

Each of these steps have to be completed by 14 May, although the notice stipulates that the majority of the works will be required to be completed before 8 May. The measures are intended to address the odour issues experienced by communities surrounding the site. 

The tasks outlined in the February Section 36 Notice, concerning the preparation and capping of a waste cell, as well as the installation of gas infrastructure to manage landfill gases, seem to have been carried out. However, the site operator has pinpointed additional potential areas on-site that could be a source of odours. 

Action 

Huwel Manley, head of Southwest Operations, NRW, said: “NRW is taking additional enforcement action to ensure RML takes the urgent action they have identified that is needed to get the odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill under control.   

“We fully understand the growing discontent from the affected communities, and we feel that it is unacceptable for residents and visitors to the area to continue to be affected by these odour and landfill gas emissions. 

“We want to reassure everyone that we are committed to ensuring RML deliver the actions they have identified, and that they work quickly to bring this issue to a resolution. 

“While the pressing work required by the operator progresses over the coming days and weeks, the site remains under investigation, and we will continue our regulatory presence. 

“Nothing is off the table. If the series of actions required in this Notice are not complied with, we will have no hesitation to take further enforcement action, considering every option available to us under the regulations, including suspending the environmental permit if appropriate.” 

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