Anger as Fleetwood landfill site operators Transwaste miss deadline to stop odorous chemical emissions

Transwaste, the company running Fleetwood’s landfill site on Jameson Road, had been give until yesterday (Wednesday May 15) by the Environment Agency to address the issues at the site.

Apart from the vile smell, said to be like rotting eggs or rotten onions, there have been complaints from some residents that the emissions have led to headaches, breathing problems and nosebleeds.

The landfill gas, predominantly composed of carbon dioxide and methane, also includes hydrogen sulphide, known for its 'rotten egg' odour, which has become a source of discomfort for the community.

The Environment Agency (EA) identified a breach of the site’s environmental permit and served notice on Transwaste to cap the problem ‘cell’ area by the Wednesday deadline.

But at a meeting held today at Wyre Civic Centre to discuss the latest situation regarding Jameson Road, Transwaste admitted it was 10 working days behind in completing the work.

The meeting, which was not open to the public, was attended by councillors, EA, Transwaste and a small number of invited residents.

The session was chaired by Andrew Acum from communication specialist Mercury Group, working with Transwaste, and attended by Alex Hornshaw, the site manager.

What residents say

Jess Brown, one of the invited residents who has actively campaigned to stop the odour said after the meeting; “Alex hornshaw, the site manager, said the odour problem will be solved within 10 working days.

“Despite this, they have opened up yet another cell and are going to carry on opening more cells. The same problems will carry on happening.

“The operators don’t care about anybody’s health -people are still going to suffer going forward, with no end in sight.”

Transwaste comment

Transwaste said in a statement: "The work was delayed slightly by bad weather but should be complete in the next few days, depending on ongoing weather conditions.

"Most of the face is now covered and odour is starting to reduce. Once the capping is completed and the gas capture wells are ‘balanced’, this should resolve the issue of any odour escaping from the site." EA says it has been on site today and is deciding on the next steps to improve the situation.

Barbara Kneale, another resident who has campaigned against the smell, also attended the meeting.

She said that despite there having been 8,000 complaint calls to Wyre Council, the authority said it was not in a position to pursue ‘statutory nuisance’ action against Transwaste.

This was because those who had called had not filled in a follow-up letter sent by post, in which residents needed to complete an odour diary and send it back to Wyre Council.

She said only four had been received by the authority.

“I would have thought the council would have done more to advise people that they needed to complete the diary in order for the council, to pursue a statutory nuisance,” she said.

“Wyre Council is the landlord of the site and has the power to hit Transwaste with a statutory nuisance order.

“It seems to me that Wyre Council simply isn’t doing enough to help the people of Fleetwood, and the area around it,

“The site is causing a public health issue and if it cannot demonstrate that is can run the site without dealing with that issue, it should close down.”

Wyre Council’s viewpoint

Coun Roger Berry, deputy leader of Wyre Council, said the proimary objective was to get the smell killed off, without taking out lengthy legal proceedings.

He said after the meeting: “The odour diaries would certainly be needed for the council to set out a strong case if it were go to a tribunal hearing.

“Howver, if that were the case, such proceedings would need the consent of the Secretary of State and a formal procedure would need to be followed.

“People in Fleetwood and Wyre have suffered long enough and it would be better to get the problem sorted out quickly, and done properly, than that process beingh delayed by lengthy proceedings and finally a tribunal hearing.”

What the Environment Agency said

John Neville, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in Cumbria and Lancashire, said: “We understand how unpleasant the odour issues are and we are committed to ensuring that Transwaste make the necessary improvement for residents and the environment. We are continuing increased inspections of the site, and our officers are out assessing the odour and its impact daily in the community.

 “On 9 April we served an enforcement notice setting out action the site operator, Transwaste, needed to take to bring the site back into compliance with its permit. This included covering the problematic areas of the landfill site by 15 May. 

 “We have had officers on site to check compliance with the notice and are deciding next steps to improve the situation for residents. We will provide an update as soon as possible.

“Members of the public can continue to report odour to our 24/7 incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.”

Campaigners were due to protest outside Wyre Civic Centre from 6pm tonight.