Landfill water treatment bid looks set for approval

Waste management company Biffa wants to treat contaminated water at Meece Landfill in Staffordshire

Plans to treat contaminated water at a landfill site in Staffordshire are set to be approved despite noise and odour concerns from residents.

Biffa Waste Services' plan to install a leachate treatment plant at Meece Landfill, between Swynnerton and Yarnfield is to be considered by the county council on Thursday.

Currently, contaminated water at the site has to be removed by tanker vehicles, with up to five lorries a day leaving the landfill.

However, Biffa said the current method was "unsustainable" and the new plant would instead reduce HGVs and allow treated effluent to be discharged into surface water or sewers.

The site, off Swynnerton Road, has been used for landfill since 1986, with planning permission in place until 2035.

The proposed reverse osmosis plant would consist of tanks and containers and a carbon dioxide stripping tower.

But, residents living in the area have raised concerns over potential odour and noise problems, with fears leachates from other sites could be brought to the landfill for treatment.

Planning officers have however, recommended the scheme for approval, after Biffa gave them assurances any noise would comply with guidelines, and the treatment system would be fully contained, meaning the potential for odours was "negligible."

The firm also confirmed there was no intention to import leachate from other sites.

No objections on the plans were received from the Environment Agency or Severn Trent Water, with county council planning committee members set to consider the application at a meeting on Thursday.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.