Residents near the Houghton Quarry landfill in Sunderland will be pleased to hear that action has finally been taken against the waste disposal company responsible for the persistent odours emitting from the landfill.
One of the country's largest waste disposal companies, Biffa Waste Services Ltd, was fined £27,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,250 when it was prosecuted at Sunderland Magistrates Court for failing to comply with its environmental permit.
Paul Harley, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, told the court how on 28 February 2008, the company was sent a warning letter because bad odours were evident beyond the site boundary.
Biffa Waste Services Ltd is permitted by the the Environment Agency to operate Houghton Quarry as a non-hazardous waste landfill site, provided that emissions from the landfill do not cause odour problems at a level that could cause a nuisance locally.
In February and March of 2010, the Environment Agency was called out to the landfill site following complaints from local residents of 'pungent' smells. The Environment Agency officer found that odours were coming from excavation works on site.
Mr Harley told the court that Biffa had failed on both occasions to use appropriate measures to avoid the escape of odours from the site. The wastes should, and could, have been covered with either a temporary membrane or a layer of soil to suppress the odour.
In a statement, Biffa said: "Biffa is committed to operating all waste facilities to high standards in order to ensure the continued protection of the environment and therefore apologises for the situation which led to this prosecution."
Joyce Dixon, 86, sat through the hearing and said afterwards: "We have suffered throughout the years and it has been hell. We are happy that they have been brought to court."
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