The leader of Staffordshire county council wrote to Red Industries’ chief executive on 14 May to criticise his “stewardship” of the Walley’s Quarry landfill site near Newcastle-under-Lyme.
The controversial site in the Staffordshire village of Silverdale has been the subject of protests by residents due to its smell.
The Walley’s Quarry landfill site, pictured in November 2016 (picture: Red Industries)
Red Industries has taken some measures to tackle the odour, including by capping part of the site as ordered to by the Environment Agency (see letsrecycle.com story). However, local authorities in the area have expressed frustration at the Agency’s handling of the situation, suggesting the regulator has not been hard enough on Red Industries.
Having announced it would “voluntarily” curtail landfill operations at Walley’s Quarry on 13 March, Red Industries started receiving waste at the site again from 10 May.
On Friday, Alan White, who was re-elected Conservative leader of Staffordshire county council on 6 May, wrote to express his “complete dismay and anger” at Red Industries’ chief executive Nigel Bowen’s stewardship of the site.
Cllr White said: “The residents of Newcastle are suffering. Not only physically, but mentally: the daily dread of coming home from work and wondering if the smell will be in your house or going to sleep fearing you will be woken in the night by this stench is hard to imagine unless you are experiencing it, and they have my utmost sympathy and my determination to see this sorted.”
Letsrecycle.com contacted Red Industries for comment.
Responsibility
Red Industries appointed Mr Bowen as its new chief executive in February this year.
Nigel Bowen was appointed Red Industries’ new chief executive in February this year (picture: Red Industries)
Cllr White claims Red Industries has shown “a general reluctance” to acknowledge responsibility for the odour, having carried out remedial work only “when required” rather than voluntarily and seeking to apportion some of the blame for the smell to disused mine workings.
Red Industries renamed the subsidiary which runs the landfill operation on 27 April, from Red Industries RM Ltd to Walleys Quarry Ltd. At the time, the company told letsrecycle.com this was to reflect the changing nature of its business. In his letter, Cllr White questioned why the company had decided to change its name “at a time of national interest in this site”.
Cllr White called on Red Industries to reimpose the suspension of deliveries of waste to the site, saying: “You may have a licence to accept waste to Walleys Quarry, but I would urge you to reflect on your moral responsibilities as well as your legal responsibilities.”
Hydrogen sulphide levels
The Environment Agency has been publishing weekly updates on the situation. In its most recent, released yesterday, the Agency said for the week beginning 10 May, hydrogen sulphide levels were below the World Health Organisation (WHO) 24-hour average health guideline level to protect against short-term health effects.
However, they were above the 30-minute average odour annoyance guideline level for between 1% and 20% of the week.
The update added that the Agency now requires Walleys Quarry Ltd to check every load before disposal. “As a result of our action, six separate waste loads were rejected between 30 April and 14 May on the grounds that the waste did not comply with the type allowed by their permit,” the Agency said.
The Environment Agency installed a mobile monitoring facility near to the site on 24 February to measure air quality (picture: Environment Agency)
Staffordshire county council has asked Newcastle-under-Lyme residents affected by the smell to complete a daily survey detailing any health problems.
The Agency says it received 1,194 odour reports in the Newcastle-under-Lyme area from 10 May to 16 May.
The regulator added it had completed an assessment of the surface emissions survey and the follow-up action plan submitted by the operator for reducing odour. It proposes to have this further work completed by 1 June.
“We have instructed the operator to implement the actions in the plan immediately and are considering whether further enforcement action is needed,” the update reads.
National interest
The situation has attracted national interest from several high-profile politicians.
Simon Tagg, Conservative leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council, wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 26 May to request an independent investigation into the regulatory performance of the Environment Agency in their handling of site’s permit.
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, wrote to the Agency on 4 May expressing “grave concerns” about the “current situation” at Walley’s Quarry (see letsrecycle.com story).
Aaron Bell, Conservative MP for Newcastle-Under-Lyme, said he was “grateful” to Mr Hancock for adding his weight to the campaign against the site and writing to the Agency on behalf of his constituents.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
