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'Stink bomb' landfill work done but smell remains

BBC Withyhedge Landfill protestors with signs saying Stop the Stink and No More Whiff.BBC
People living near a landfill site in Pembrokeshire likened the smell to a "stink bomb on steroids"

Work to contain the smell at a landfill previously described as a "stink bomb on steroids" has been completed, but the smell remains.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) issued enforcement notices to the Withyhedge landfill in Pembrokeshire in February and April to address its gas emission and smell.

However, NRW said it has continued to receive complaints about the site's odour.

The landfill, owned by a firm which gave £200,000 to Vaughan Gething's Welsh Labour leadership campaign, is also being investigated by NRW to determine if the company breached its environmental permit conditions.

NRW said the requirements of its enforcement notices were met on Friday, but said the landfill still has work to do to manage its gas emissions.

The site operator Resources Management UK Ltd (RML) was asked to cap areas of the site and install infrastructure to collect and contain gas.

Resources Management UK Limited (RML), part of Dauson Environmental Group (DEG) is owned by David John Neal, who was given a suspended sentence of three months in 2013 for illegally dumping waste, and a suspended sentence of 18 weeks in 2017 for not cleaning it up.

Preseli Pembrokeshire Member of the Senedd (MS) Paul Davies said people were "continuing to suffer" and it was "vital that the site is closed down".

He said it was "even more important now that there is an independent public inquiry into the management of the Withyhedge landfill site, so that the community can get the answers it deserves”.

Huwel Manley of Natural Resources Wales said although the site had completed the necessary actions, it "does not mean the job is done".

“We still have a range of enforcement options available to us under the regulations, and we will not hesitate to use them if required.

"The site remains under investigation, and we continue to press the operator to continue to work at pace and demonstrate that they are effectively managing landfill gas emissions at Withyhedge landfill.”