Tanker drivers 'face 300-mile trip to empty waste'

James Martin from Pellows in Cornwall says the county does not have enough disposal sites

Septic tank companies have said the number of sites available for them to unload waste has been reduced from 12 to five across Cornwall and Devon.

They say the "unsustainable" situation has forced them to travel to sites in Bristol and South Wales to empty their tankers.

South West Water (SWW) has confirmed some of its waste water treatment works in Cornwall which have permits to accept commercial waste have been forced to close at times recently due to increased rainfall.

The Environment Agency (EA) said it had "encouraged operators to invest in their own infrastructure".

James Martin, a director of Pellows, said the firm had been collecting septic tank waste from sites around the South West for more than 50 years.

He said the limited number of disposal sites, combined with new environmental rules, had created an unsustainable situation.

"There used to be 12 sites to bring waste to across Cornwall and Devon and now there's just five - and they're often closed because they can't comply with environmental regulations," he said.

"We used to process the waste, then farmers could spread it on the land but that practice has been banned.

"At the moment we're taking our waste to Bristol and that costs about £700 in fuel per trip and that's not sustainable."

South West Water said it sometimes had to temporarily close sites to comply with Environment Agency regulations

Steve Jones, who runs RM & SJ Jones & Son based near Helston, said it used to dispose of waste in Hayle but now constantly encountered capacity issues.

"We've had to hire a much bigger tanker to take the waste up to Taunton just to make it economically viable," said Mr Jones.

"South West Water are being pushed from both sides. On one hand they need to accept more waste from new houses and on the other they're been told by the Environment Agency they need to be cleaner. W're stuck in the middle, what are we supposed to do?"

'Encouraged operators'

The EA said it had no power to require water companies to increase septic tank holding capacity at the St Erth/Hayle Waste Water Treatment Works although it had "encouraged them previously to do so".

A spokesperson added: "We have encouraged operators to invest in their own infrastructure and operating techniques by obtaining the correct environmental permits (licences) to better manage the peaks of supply and demand, which some operators have already done and others have plans in place.

"This will make the industry more resilient, increase competition and less reliant on the water company."

'Resilient commercial outlet'

SWW said it did not have a legal obligation to accept commercial waste deliveries but it had worked with the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs and the EA to "provide septic tank operators with a resilient commercial outlet for their septic tank waste".

It said it had expanded its network of sites, including opening up additional commercial reception centres at Truro and Launceston in 2022, and building a new tank to increase capacity at Hayle Sewage Treatment Works in 2023.

Dave Swiggs, SWW's director of waste water services for Cornwall, added: "Some of our wastewater treatment works in Cornwall have had to close at times recently due to increased local rainfall in order to make sure the sites stayed within the limits of their permit conditions.

"Our treatment works in Hayle, St Leonards and Newham are all open."