Erin landfill site operator has issued an apology following a meeting with local stakeholders – and promised to contain the ‘intolerable’ smell this week.
The Duckmanton site operator Valencia met with local councillors, the Environment Agency, Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins and representatives of Duckmanton and Poolsbrook residents on Thursday, July 16.
This comes after the Environment Agency has received over 300 complaints amid a ‘dramatic increase’ in reports of ‘horrible’ smell affecting residents across both villages.
Families have been forced to choose between keeping windows closed in overheated homes or letting in the odour of decaying waste.
Residents have also faced an ‘invasion of flies’ and ‘clouds of dust’.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Mick Bagshaw said: “It’s not fair on anybody. I’ve spoken to quite a few residents on Friday morning and being near landfill for one morning gave me a headache.
“Why should the residents be cooped up in their own homes where they can’t have windows open in nice weather like this?
“One resident said they spent £500 on fly traps and sprays.
“Duckmanton and Poolsbrook are amongst the poorest parts of the borough, they shouldn’t have to rely on having to get extra fly spray. Why should the community fork out for fly traps and spray?
“Valencia should be giving more back to community and purchasing fly sprays and curtains in bulk for the residents.”
Commenting on the impact of the landfill site odour on families Cllr Bagshaw added: “They just opened a new play area in Duckmanton, a much needed investment, but kids can’t use it because it smells.
“They can’t go out. They can’t play. They are locked up inside.
“They are struggling with education in schools because of the smell.
“It shouldn’t get to this stage.”
Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins, who also attended the meeting, said the situation was ‘unacceptable’ and called on the regulator to take tougher enforcement action.
He said: “Following the dramatic increase in reports that I received this week regarding the intolerable odour and flies from Erin Landfill, I, along with local councillors, met with Valencia, the operator of the site, and the Environment Agency regarding the ongoing landfill odour issues affecting Duckmanton.
“I raised the intolerable impact of the smell on residents, and the very real danger that extreme heat poses to people trapped in their homes, unable to open a window due to the stench.”
Valencia have issued an apology following the complaints and explained that increased odour was caused by stockpiled waste being exposed before being tipped into a new landfill cell.
The landfill site operator said they have now altered their operations to cover the exposed waste and reduce odours.
The company pledged works would be completed by next Friday.
Mr Perkins added: “The Environment Agency confirmed it has received over 300 complaints in the last week and has carried out multiple inspections, with officers describing the smell earlier this week as being at the very worst level on their assessment scale.
“The impact on residents has been unacceptable and I called on the regulator to take tougher enforcement action.
“The regulator believe it is likely that this constitutes a Category 1, the highest category, breach and I have urged them to use their powers to ensure people in Poolsbrook and Duckmanton do not experience this again.
“I remain in communication with both Valencia and the Environment Agency and once this immediate incident has been resolved will be pushing for longer term action to ensure that there are no breaches like this.
“According to Valencia, once the current cell has been capped, they should never be as close to the houses on North Grove and East Crescent in Duckmanton again.”
A spokesperson for Valencia said that the Thursday meeting was ‘constructive’ and saw stakeholders discussing the ongoing issues and agreeing to meet again in a few weeks.
Valencia sent the following message to members of the liaison group after the meeting: “We understand and apologise, again, for the odour issue affecting residents and hope last night went some way to reassuring you that Valencia is working to resolve the issue.
“Please rest assured that Valencia are focused on resolving the issue and the team have continued to work today to move soil to cover the waste, and will pause over the weekend.
“As mentioned at the meeting – we are seeing odour arisings decrease from the start of the week and expect the issue to be resolved by the end of next week.
“At the meeting last night we agreed we would reconvene in a number of weeks, and will broaden this out to enable interested members of the community to join. We will also consider how best to take forward the ongoing fly concerns.”
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We are pressing the operator to take steps to mitigate recent odour issues at this site.
“The situation is gradually improving and operations on site are now focused solely on resolving this issue.
“Communities should not have to tolerate odours, and we understand the impact this can have.
“We are inspecting the site regularly and if we do not see improvements, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action if required.”
