Stinking landfill site ordered to stop taking waste

Walleys Quarry waste site has been the subject of numerous protests

A landfill site at the centre of protests about the smell and gases it produces has been ordered to stop accepting waste immediately.

The Environment Agency (EA) has issued a suspension notice to Walleys Quarry in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.

It also ordered operators to improve gas extraction and install additional capping on parts of the site, which processes 400,000 tonnes of waste a year.

Operators Walleys Quarry Limited (WQL) called the suspension unnecessary and entirely inappropriate.

The only exception to the suspension is "inert" waste that does not give off any gas.

An EA spokesperson said: “We recognise there have been recent unacceptable increases in hydrogen sulphide emissions around Walleys Quarry, and in odour reports from local residents.

"We have every sympathy with the local community and remain committed to maintaining long-term improvements in emissions from the site."

Up to 400,000 tonnes of waste is taken to Walleys Quarry each year

Newcastle-under-Lyme MP Aaron Bell has called for the site to be permanently shut down.

Mr Bell has also criticised the length of time it had taken to suspend the licence and previous decisions which, he said, had allowed the operator to "call the shots".

Welcoming the EA's latest decision, he said on Facebook: "The whole community of Newcastle-under-Lyme has come together against this landfill, and I am sure that the EA would not have been in a position to make this important step today without the common purpose of the community."

His closure call was echoed by Lee Walford, from campaign group Stop the Stink FFOT.

She told BBC Radio Stoke the announcement was "bittersweet".

"Obviously, we're delighted the EA has issued a suspension notice... but it's not quite enough yet," she said.

The EA said it acknowledged calls to close the site completely, but that this still remained a "last resort".

The site has been the subject of protests for several years, and previous orders to improve its management.

Most of the waste Walleys Quarry takes can emit hydrogen sulphide as it breaks down. giving off a gas that smells like rotten eggs.

The EA said that, notwithstanding the recent complaints, it had "demonstrably driven improvements" at the site since February 2021.

A spokesperson for WQL said the suspension was "self-serving in terms of seeking to justify the extreme scrutiny under which the Agency has placed Walleys Quarry over the past years".

Bosses said there was extensive work underway involving gas infrastructure and capping at the site, with this already in progress prior to the EA notice being issued.

“Walleys Quarry will be working to the withdrawal of this pointless notice in the minimum timeframe possible as it continues as a responsible business to take all necessary safe and sustainable steps to ensure the eventual completion of the site," a spokesperson said.