THE Environment Agency is investigating whether the Hills group have breached their permit at Westbury’s Northacre Resource Recovery Centre after a “rancid” smell, believed to be caused by bio-filters, left residents in tears and unable to sit outside or open their windows in the recent heatwave.
Masses of people reported the “nasty” odour to the EA and also to Ethandune Wiltshire councillor, Suzanne Wickham, in early June in great upset, cllr Wickham told White Horse News.
“The distress that people were in was awful,” cllr Wickham said. “I called the Environment Agency and they sent somebody very quickly who came back to me and said Hills had failed to change a filter that was due to be changed, and that was what was causing the smell.
“I asked if they had breached their permit and the EA said in this instance, the failure could have been due to them being unable to get the parts needed, because of something like Brexit or lockdown.
“The officer explained to me this is a major operation – the filter is in a room and a digger needs to be used to replace it. He told me Hills would do it within a couple of weeks.
“But since then, it’s got worse and worse and I’ve had people in tears telling me they couldn’t sit outside or open their windows in the recent heat. There is a compost-type smell but this other smell is not that – it’s horrible, nasty and rancid.”
An EA spokesperson told White Horse News, “We know that odours and hot weather can have a real impact on the community.
“In response to odour complaints, our officers are visiting the area up to three times a day at various times, including early morning and late in the evening, to establish the severity and source of the problem.
“We are aware many residents believe the smell is associated with the Northacre Resource Recovery Centre at Stephenson Road and is linked to the replacement of their bio-filters at the plant. This is a possible source that we are investigating and the operator has been told to carry out extra deodorising and use a similar agent at the site boundary to reduce the smell.
“The operator is also ensuring the replacement of the filters remain their priority.”
MP welcomes investigation
Local MP Andrew Murrison has welcomed the EA’s investigation, but has asked “why has Hills Waste taken so long?” He said, “I’m pleased Hills is now apparently replacing its filters but the fact it made my constituents endure the smell for so long hardly suggests they would be reliable operators of the incinerator they now want to dump on Westbury.”
Wiltshire Council public health officers had also investigated and the EA is engaging with local councillors and residents.
The EA said, “This intelligence gathering is helping us build a picture to establish any patterns towards finding possible sites which could be emitting odours.
“This intelligence allows us to investigate if the waste processing plant is the sole source of the complaints or if there are multiple sources.”
Hills estimates that the deep clean of the bio-filter will take a maximum of 10 to 12 weeks, and they are halfway through the replacement programme.
Planned maintenance programme
The company told White Horse News, “The work on replacing the Northacre Resource Recovery Centre bio-filter is part of a planned maintenance programme that is required every three to four years of the plant’s operation and was last undertaken in 2017.
“Hills Waste Solutions has been working with the Environment Agency on the 12-week replacement programme and has been keeping the agency informed of its progress. In addition, on 8th June, the company advised members of the site’s liaison committee of the works prior to commencement.
“The company takes all complaints it receives seriously. These are logged and investigated, and includes an assessment of the prevailing weather conditions and activities taking place on site at the time of complaint.
“If a member of the public wishes to contact the company, then they may do so via the contact from on the company website www.northacrerrc.co.uk/contact-us/ or leave a message on 01793 781207.”
The EA spokesperson said, “We expect odour to reduce as work is completed on each section of the bio-filter, but we cannot guarantee that the site will always be totally free of odour. This is because an environmental permit does not require a site to be always free from odour, but rather that odour must be at such a low level that it does not impact on people’s quality of life.”
The EA is also investigating if any other local sources are creating an unpleasant odour which adds to the issue.
The spokesperson added, “At our request Hills are carrying out extra deodorising activities in their buildings to help reduce the smell whilst work continues to refurbish the bio-filter.
“We also asked the company to use a deodorising agent at their site boundary, again to help reduce any smells off site.
“We also asked the company to change the movement of their leachate (liquid organic waste) on site and to seal air vents from the main building – both to try to reduce the escape of odour from the site.
“We are also aware that some of you have reported an increase in fly numbers, again not helped by the hot weather. We are working to understand if this represents any increase in background numbers or whether this is normal for this time of year.”
Hills started work to replace the material in the first part of the bio-filter on 14th June, which involves removing all of the ‘spent’ material and carrying out a deep clean of that section before adding new material and moving on to the next part.
The company has taken longer to complete the first part of this work than they originally anticipated, but continue to take delivery of new materials for the bio-filter.
Officers will visit the site at different times of the day to check the strength and type of odour and where it can be smelt, and continue to monitor it to ensure it complies with its environmental permit and operates in line with its odour management plan.
The EA said, “We have also asked Hills to carry out their own odour surveys whilst the bio-filter is being refurbished, so that we better understand the impacts it is having. We are investigating if the release of odour means that the permit has been breached and if so, we will take appropriate enforcement action against the company.”
Odour complaints can be reported to the EA hotline on 0800 807060.
