Landfill smell likened to 'stink bomb on steroids'

People living near a landfill site in Pembrokeshire say it smells like a "stink bomb on steroids".

Residents are calling on Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to take tougher action on the "vile and disgusting" odour which they claim is ruining their lives.

Some say the "smell of rotting rubbish" is noticeable in villages as far as five miles away.

They added that the problem has been getting worse since October.

Resources Management UK Ltd (RML), the operators of the Withyhedge Landfill near Haverfordwest, has apologised for the impact on the local community and is trying to "rectify the issue with immediate effect".

But site regulator NRW has admitted that it could take several months for a solution to be found.

Derek Harries, who has the lung condition Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and lives on Fishguard Road in Spittal, said the "rank stench" is "pervading my house five miles away".

Declan Kehoe, who has lived nearby for 30 years, added: "Over the last few months the smell has been vile.

"The only way I can describe it is like the stink bombs we had as kids, but on steroids."

Rebecca Evans from Crundale said it was "especially bad at the weekend".

"My house smelled as though I'd left my bins open and gone away for a month, before walking back in through the front door - it was like rotting rubbish," she added.

Some also said there has been a large increase in trucks visiting the site from other parts of the country, while water quality campaigners are concerned that liquid discharge escaping into a nearby river could have a detrimental environmental impact.

Those affected are calling for tougher action to help "stop the stink".

However, RML said that the odours were a result of a delay in "capping" a current waste containment cell on the site and "not harmful to people or the environment".

It added that it is "deeply apologetic for the impact on the local community" and "processes have been put in place to prevent the situation from occurring in the future".

An investigation into the surface run-off water is also underway.

Sold in 2022 to Cardiff-based Dauson Environmental Group, which owns a number of waste and demolition firms, RML is permitted to deposit 250,000 tonnes of waste annually at Withyhedge.

Campaigners have expressed concern that a director of RML previously pleaded guilty to illegally dumping waste at another location - in particular a a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Gwent Levels in Newport

Company director David John Neal was given a suspended sentence in May 2013 and ordered to pay fines and costs of more than £200,000.

Natural Resources Wales said its officers "continue to received a large number of odour incident reports" and "understand the frustration and anger" in local communities.

The regulator said the RML had complied with an enforcement notice calling on it to cover all exposed waste on the site to reduce odour emissions, but that the order had a "limited impact".

It added that it is "investigating several potential permit non-compliances and, where appropriate, would take further action", while a public meeting on the matter is scheduled for next month.

Pembrokeshire council said: "Whilst NRW is the site regulator, the council has additional powers concerning whether odours constitute a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

"Our monitoring will continue on this basis."