Environment Agency officers are continuing to monitor odour from a landfill site at Blaydon Quarry, near Newcastle.
The Blaydon Quarry site first made headlines in 2016 after complaints from local residents over odour, claimed to be coming from the site (see letsrecycle.com story).
Capped cells at Blaydon Quarry landfill
This led to action from the owner of the landfill, Octagon Green Solutions, which included improving internal monitoring systems, capped waste cells and drilled additional extraction wells.
Last week (18 February), the Environment Agency issued a statement which suggested that it had received additional reports concerning odour from the Blaydon Quarry landfill site, which had prompted investigations from Agency staff.
Investigation
The investigations had uncovered “issues regarding the covering of waste” which are believed to have contributed to the odour problems.
Subsequently the Agency served a permit suspension on the operator, which prohibited waste being allowed onto the site in Blaydon-on-Tyne, until steps to address odour at the site had been undertaken.
The Agency claimed that large areas of waste had been left uncovered and the waste had been deposited in a manner making it difficult to cover. This uncovered waste was causing the odour issues, it claimed.
In order to have the suspension lifted Octagon Green Solutions was required to re-profile the uncovered waste and to apply appropriate levels of cover, actions which were required to be completed within a fortnight.
Monitoring
In a subsequent statement issued yesterday, the Agency revealed that it has now lifted the suspension, but that monitoring is continuing to take place at the site.
It said: “We have today withdrawn the suspension notice in effect at Blaydon Quarry landfill. This is because the operator have complied with the actions detailed in the notice. As instructed, they have re-profiled the waste deposited in the current tipping area which was too steep. They have also covered this area of waste appropriately.
“We will continue to monitor the site closely and are investigating this matter formally.”
Previously operating as a sand gravel quarry for more than 20 years, the Blaydon Quarry site was acquired by Octagon in 2013 and planning permission from Gateshead council allows extraction and landfilling with household waste until 2026.
Octagon Green Solutions’ made a request to the environmental permit to another operator, Recyclogical, in August 2017, which was rejected by the Environment Agency (see letsrecycle.com story). A subsequent request in February 2018 was also rejected (see letsrecycle.com story).
Octagon Green Solutions has been contacted for comment.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
