Information on Pilsworth South Landfill, Pilsworth Road, Unsworth, Bury BL9 8QZ

Overview

Overview

We have created this page to provide easy access to information on Pilsworth South Landfill Site.

Since November 2023 until mid-2024 we had recorded an increased number of reports of odour from Pilsworth South Landfill site.

We will keep the community up to date with any developments on our response to the increased reports and will share any new updates here. Please check back regularly for further information.

What you will find in this page:

• The role of the Environment Agency
• What is the Environment Agency doing?
• Who else is involved
• Reporting odour
• Health related information
• January 2025 update
• FAQ's

The role of the Environment Agency

Valencia Waste Management Limited holds an environmental permit for waste activities (disposal by landfill) and the Environment Agency regulates the site to monitor compliance with the conditions in the permit.

The Environment Agency’s job is to balance the needs of people and the environment. As part of this we are responsible for permitting and regulating landfill sites, so they don’t harm people or the environment. We can never totally remove the impact, but it is our duty to set high standards for operators and require them to meet these even where that is difficult.

The Environment Agency carries out monitoring and checks to see if an operator is meeting the standards we set. When they don’t, we investigate and take action. In doing this we have to follow both the law and the Regulator’s Code (set by government) which ensures we treat operators fairly.

What is the Environment Agency doing?

Our focus is to make sure that the site operator, Valencia, takes the right actions to minimise odour. We know that odour is very distressing for people, and it affects all aspects of wellbeing.

We are:

• Increasing our compliance inspection frequency of the site.
• We have worked with the operator to improve their existing management plans for the site (which includes gas, odours and surface water management) so that we do not see a return to the unacceptable odour issues of later 2023 and early 2024.
• We are inspecting new engineering work and existing infrastructure at the site to ensure it is of standard to deal with the permitted site activity.
• We have carried out a 103-day period of monitoring from 10^th May 2024 until 20^th August 2024. The Mobile Monitoring Facility known as an MMF was installed at Our Lady and St Pauls RC Primary School, Sutherland Rd, Heywood, which is near to Pilsworth South Landfill Site. 
• The preliminary report from this study shows that H2S (hydrogen sulphide which is often associated with landfill smells) had no exceedances measured against World Health Organisation health limits.
• The MMF is still in situ and is continuing to measure the air quality and will do so for at least 3 months after the site re opens.

Who else is involved.

The Environment Agency is leading a multi-agency group that has been set up in response to the odours coming from Pilsworth South Landfill Site. The other members of the group are UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Bury Council and Rochdale Borough Council.

Reporting Odour

We would like to thank the people who have taken the time to report odours.

This information is instrumental and helps us to build a picture of the extent and impact of the issue.

We encourage residents to continue to report odour to our free 24/7 incident hotline on:

0800 80 70 60

Health related concerns:

We understand that unpleasant strong smells can impact on wellbeing, so we would like to explain more about the effects of odour on health, and what we can do to provide you with further information about this going forwards.

The Environment Agency is working with UKHSA, Bury Council, and Rochdale Borough Council to further understand the impact of the odour issues on your health and wellbeing. We appreciate that this will be concerning, and you will want the problem resolved.

The environmental permits issued by the Environment Agency include conditions that require the operator of the site to ensure they protect the environment and human health. In the case of odour pollution, the operator of the permitted site is required take steps to “prevent or where that is not possible, to minimise odour to a level that is not likely to cause pollution, as perceived by an Environment Agency officer”.

Sites that have the potential to cause odour are required to use appropriate infrastructure, management techniques and abatement equipment to tackle the odour pollution. As the regulator it is our role to robustly challenge the operators of these sites to ensure their systems are fit for purpose and operate effectively.  Where sites are not doing this and we are made aware of odour reports, we will provide advice and guidance, use our enforcement powers or in serious cases, prosecute the operator of the site.

This message has been developed by the Environment Agency, UKHSA, Bury and Rochdale Borough Councils to address heath concerns raised by the community affected by Pilsworth South Landfill Site.

What could I smell late 2023 / early 2024?

The odour pollution from landfill sites falls into two broad categories.

The first is the waste odour, this is caused by fresh waste rapidly decomposing and tends to come from vehicles traveling to and from the site and whilst it is tipped. This is similar to the odours that are contained within a domestic bin. This can be tackled by depositing the waste quickly and covering it with soils called “daily cover”.

The second type of odour is landfill gas. This is gas generated by the breakdown of the waste inside the body of the landfill site. Landfill gas is mostly methane and carbon dioxide, which are odourless and colourless. However, the landfill gas also contains trace components such as hydrogen sulphide that, even in very small quantities, has a strong smell of rotten eggs, which the human body is very sensitive to. Although the smell caused by the trace levels of hydrogen sulphide gas can be strong and unpleasant, it does not automatically mean that it is harmful. Our sense of smell is very sensitive and we can smell hydrogen sulphide at very low levels.

Are the smells causing or going to cause health effects?

The human nose is very sensitive. There are many things that have a strong smell at levels at which there are no direct harmful effects to health. However, strong smells are unpleasant and can impact on wellbeing leading to stress and anxiety. Some people may also experience symptoms, such as nausea, headaches or dizziness, as a reaction to strong smells, even when the substances that cause those smells are themselves not harmful to health.

Short-term transient health effects may be experienced such as irritation to the eyes, nose and throat. People who have health conditions that affect breathing, such as asthma, may experience increased frequency and/or severity of symptoms. With continuing exposure these effects may be prolonged but are not anticipated to continue long-term once exposure is reduced.

Following exposure to any substance, the adverse health effects depend on several factors, including the amount to which you are exposed (dose), the way in which you are exposed, the duration of exposure, the form of the chemical and if you were exposed to any other chemicals. The first noticeable effect of hydrogen sulphide at very low concentrations is its unpleasant odour, which may cause discomfort and some short-term health effects. At higher concentrations it may cause eye, nose and throat irritation. It may also disturb sleep if experienced at night at low levels.

What can I do to reduce symptoms caused by odour?

In order to limit the effects of the odour as much as possible, we would advise:

• Close windows if there is an outdoor odour and open them once any outdoor odour has reduced.
• You could consider closing windows at night and opening them in the morning in the absence of odour.
• Ventilate your property when there is no odour outdoors.
• Contact NHS 111 or your GP if you have concerns about your individual circumstances and require health advice.

Odours can be transient and are more likely to occur overnight and in the early hours of the morning when weather conditions are calm and still. Close windows in the evenings if there is an outdoor odour, and open them in the morning once any outdoor odour has reduced

Recent updates - January 2025

The Environment Agency is the primary waste regulator in England and is responsible for granting or refusing environmental permits for landfill operations, setting the conditions, and making sure that permit holders comply with them. This includes the Pilsworth South Landfill Site operated by Valencia Waste Limited in Heywood and we conduct regular audits and inspections to check operators’ compliance with permit conditions and take action when they are not compliant.  

As the regulator, it is the Environment Agency’s role to assess whether the operator is complying with the permit conditions, including managing odour effectively. Where operators are not complying with the permit, and we receive and can substantiate odour pollution reports, we may consider a range of actions in accordance with our enforcement and sanctions policy. 

We aim to make sure our enforcement response is proportionate and appropriate to each situation. We can provide advice and guidance, and where appropriate consider use of specific enforcement notices. We will normally consider all other options before considering criminal proceedings. 

Odour Pollution  

Following reports from the local community and site inspections by our staff, we had concerns that the Pilsworth South Landfill Site was operating in a manner that was allowing odour pollution to escape the site at a level likely to cause pollution, in breach of the conditions in their Environmental Permit. Determining odour pollution from a permitted site requires an Environment Agency officer to detect odour at a level that they feel is likely to cause pollution when they attend site.  

To support the officer’s observations on the ground, we arranged for our national Ambient Air Monitoring Team to deploy air quality monitoring equipment in the car park of Our Lady and St. Pauls RC Primary School, Heywood between 10 May and 20 August 2024.  

This monitoring equipment is installed inside a trailer called a Mobile Monitoring Facility. A mobile monitoring facility contains monitoring equipment which capable of measuring concentrations of hydrogen sulphide, sulphur dioxide, methane and particulate matter. Metrological data such as wind speed and wind direction measurements were also collected. 

As it is not possible to monitor for odour pollution in the same way the human body does, we monitor for methane and hydrogen sulphide gas as a surrogate of odour pollution as these gases are the main components of landfill gas.  

The site was not accepting waste for disposal during this study. 

The results of this study are presented in an interim report which can be requested by emailing inforequests.gmmc@environment-agency.gov.uk

The report is very detailed and we have provided an executive summary below. 

Executive Summary

The overall objective of the study was to identify the sources of air pollution in the local area and to quantify the environmental impact of the emissions from these sources on the surrounding area. The aims of this study were:  

• To assess the general air quality of the area relative to the Air Quality Strategy objectives.  

• To quantify the impact of surrounding pollution sources on local air quality.  

• To identify specific sources causing an appreciable impact on air quality.  

• To identify and understand the conditions that may rise to episodes of poor air quality. 

The interim report concludes that; 

 

Please Note  

The currently available data has been made compared with annual air quality standards.  

As with any measurement, there are uncertainties and variabilities. In the absence of standards in how to undertake ambient air monitoring we have used industry standards and custom and practice to collect the data in the most reliable manner possible. However, there will still be margins of error in the data we have collected – this is unavoidable. 

Health Information 

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care, and a distinct organisation with operational autonomy. UKHSA provides government, local government, the NHS, Parliament, industry and the public with evidence-based, professional, scientific expertise and support.  

UKHSA has no statutory powers in relation to landfill sites and works with multi-agency partners like the Environment Agency to ensure public health is protected. When UKHSA is notified of a site with potential health concerns, they provide an expert and independent opinion to the Environment Agency on the potential human health impacts of emissions from regulated facilities. 

UKHSA has reviewed the interim report provided by the Environment Agency and the data collected and has concluded that overall, the results for hydrogen sulphide, particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and methane from the available monitoring data are below relevant health based guidance values, and therefore there would be minimal risk to health at these levels of exposure. This is based on the currently available monitoring data.  

Forward Look 

As the site was not accepting waste during the monitoring study the mobile monitoring facility will remain in place for at least three months after the site opens and starts to accept waste again. A final study will be done at that time for comparison. 

The Environment Agency will continue to regulate the landfill site and ensure that the operator complies with its environmental permit.  

The Environment Agency will share ambient air quality monitoring results with UKHSA as they become available, and UKHSA will review the data collected.  

Who should I contact to report odour or other types of pollution?  

To report odour or other pollution please contact the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60.  

Who should I contact if I am concerned about my health?  

You should contact NHS 111 or your GP if you have concerns about any individual symptoms and require health advice. 

Questions and Further Information 

If you have any questions about the monitoring study or the interim report, then please email; correspondence.gmmc@environment-agency.gov.uk  

Odour Pollution Reports

See the table below for a summary of the odour pollution reports received from the public to our National Incident Reporting System (NIRS). The summary is based on their proximity to the Pilsworth South Landfill Site from 1 September 2023 until 31 December 2024.

The Environment Agency has undertaken many recent site inspections at a regular frequency. We were not able to substantiate any odour complaints as part of our recent visits.

 

FAQ's

What guarantees do the public have that the control of the smell is long-term (i.e. that there won't be significant breaches in the future)

The permit stipulates the level of controls that must be implemented by Valencia for the life of the site. The Environment Agency ensure the permit is being followed and takes appropriate regulatory action where the permit is not being adhered to. 

What enforcement action is being (or will be) taken by Environment Agency against Valencia for the breaches?

The operator is currently subject to an investigation so the details cannot be shared. The enforcement action will follow our enforcement and sanctions policy as found at: Environment Agency enforcement and sanctions policy - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

When will the public get to see results from air testing & health advice/info?

We have carried out a 103-day period of monitoring from 10^th May 2024 until 20^th August 2024. The Mobile Monitoring Facility known as an MMF was installed at Our Lady and St Pauls RC Primary School, Sutherland Rd, Heywood, which is near to Pilsworth South Landfill Site. The preliminary report from this study shows that H2S (hydrogen sulphide which is often associated with landfill smells) had no exceedances measured against World Health Organisation health limits.

The MMF is still in situ and is continuing to measure the air quality and will do so for at least 3 months after the site re opens.

The report is now available.

Will the issues of the past 12 months impact on Valencia getting extensions to their licence in the future?

This is purely a decision for the Planning Authority.

What are the longer-term plans for the site?

We have received an application to vary the permit from Valencia. It is to add a recycling centre onto the site to remove metals from waste entering the site in the future. Planning permission has been granted for this activity.

We have a duty under the Environmental Permitting Regulations to consult with the public on new high public interest permit applications, and we want to ensure that we take all relevant information including local information into account as part of our decision-making process.

We also consult other stakeholders who can provide expert advice on the environmental impact of the proposal including the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency and the local authority’s Director of Public Health.

The public consultation for this application was open from 25 July 2024 until 23 August 2024.The Environment Agency are currently working through the responses received.

The current planning permission for the landfill site extends until 31^st December 2028. We have required the operator to provide us with comprehensive plans to operate the site within the terms of the Environmental Permit whilst the site is operational.

We have asked the Operator to provide future plans for the site on their agreed public engagement platform to keep communities updated.