Poplars Cannock information page

Overview

This information page is now closed and will no longer be updated.

Page created January 2020. Last updated 13 October 2020.

Coronavirus: The Environment Agency response

We are working hard with Government and other emergency responders on protecting the public and the environment from the effects of Coronavirus. The Environment Agency remains fully operational, with the majority of our staff working from home. 

In accordance with the Government’s and our own internal guidance, we continue to carry out regulatory visits to sites that could cause serious environmental harm.  Since restrictions have lifted further we are also now able to recommence visits to sites with sustained amenity issues, where needed.

Background

We regulate the Environmental Permit held by Biffa Waste Services Ltd for Poplars Landfill Site and Anaerobic Digestion Facility. The permit contains conditions relating to site operations, which includes the waste types allowed, the handling of them and any relevant emissions standards and monitoring requirements.

A copy of the Environmental Permit for the site can be viewed here

Mobile Monitoring Facility (MMF)

To enable us to further understand the potential impact on air quality from the Biffa Poplars Landfill site, we installed a mobile monitoring facility (MMF) on 31 January 2020 in the car park of the Newhall Farm Pub in Cannock.

Our air quality monitoring team have now analysed the data which was collected from the monitoring unit between 3 February 2020 and 17 June 2020. The full report on the measurements and findings is saved here. A document summarising the findings of this report has also been produced which can be viewed here.

The full report and summary document will be made available to Cannock Chase District Council and Public Health England for them to update any advice as necessary.

If you have any questions about these reports or would like either of them in a different format, for example if you use assistive technology, please email enquiries_westmids@environment-agency.gov.uk.

In previous updates we said the air monitoring unit would measure methane (CH4), hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). CH4 and H2S were monitored, as these are the main gases of concern from a landfill. NOx was not included in this monitoring exercise. We apologise for any confusion this may have caused.

The photograph below shows the mobile monitoring facility in the pub car park.

Current Landfill Situation - October 2020

Poplars has remained operational throughout the period of restrictions due to Coronavirus, albeit with a much reduced waste input to the site.

During September, Biffa have commenced further permanent engineered capping of the site and expect to cap approximately 16,000 metres squared (m² ) in 2020. 

Since the 22 August 2020, odour reports have been at a relatively low level.

The photograph below shows an Environment Agency Officer inspecting the temporary capping work earlier this year on the slopes of the active tipping area.

Operational life of the landfill

As explained in our February 2020 update, this is something which is decided by the County Council, whose contact details are included in the FAQs section of this page. However, Biffa stated in their December 2019 newsletter that the site takes in 500,000 tonnes of waste a year, and has a void of approximately 4.5 million tonnes to fill until completion.

Keeping local residents updated

We know the importance of face to face conversations, which is why on 21 January 2020 and 5 March 2020, before social distancing was put in place by the Government, six of our experienced Regulatory Officers visited the Heath Hayes area of Cannock to distribute our late February newsletter to the local community by hand. We spoke to a number of residents during the leaflet drop and were able to provide feedback in person and re-assure people that even though the landfill odour situation is much improved, we continue to work with the site to ensure they operate in accordance with their permit requirements.

During this period of restriction due to Coronavirus we will only update you if there are any significant changes we need to make you aware of.

We are also members of the liaison group organised by Biffa Waste Services Ltd.

You can view our previous community updates below:

December 2019

January 2020

Early February 2020

Late February 2020

March and April 2020

July 2020

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

We have produced a generic landfill FAQ document, which you can read here. Please note - this FAQ document is not an Environment Agency national guidance document. This FAQ document is a local area - Poplars Landfill document.

For any concerns regarding the operational life of the site, final height and profile of the landfill, hours of operation and traffic movements to and from the site, please contact Staffordshire County Council on Regulation@Staffordshire.gov.uk or via their general enquiries number on 0300 111 8000.

Incident reporting

We want to hear from you if you have an environmental incident or concern to report, including any odour concerns.

To do this, call our free 24 hour incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60

Reporting odour incidents

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