Residents of a city dubbed “the UK’s smelliest” say foul odors are ruining their health and reducing their quality of life. Local residents who live near Walley’s Quarry, which is on the edge of Newcastle-under-Lyme, say fumes from the waste site are leaving a foul “bad egg” smell.
The smell was recently so bad that waste deliveries were suspended in April. Despite stopping waste coming into the site, more than 1,000 complaints are made every month about the smell wafting into people’s homes.
Frustrated locals are now calling for the Environment Agency to investigate the odors caused by the release of hydrogen sulphide.
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Mum-of-two Audrey Young, 48, who lives a kilometer from the site, said: “When you look at the bigger picture, there are almost complaints about the average household. It’s like being gassed in your own home.” It has many health implications.”
“We have the highest rate of breathing problems in the country. We have the highest rates of COPD and lung cancer. I lost my mom to COPD and it’s not that common. It’s like you know everyone you know has it.” Many counties have it, and we are the worst.”
“The waste comes from as far away as Scotland. It goes through 51 landfills to get here. Some companies send at least 10 loads a day. There’s medical waste and animal waste from slaughterhouses.”
Audrey continued: “During Covid I was working in care and all we could do was smell the dump. My daughter has a nosebleed. We have a lot of younger children with bleeds.”
“We’ve had to get air purifiers, which are expensive. We have to have plugs in the sink and the toilet seat downstairs. We can’t go into the garden in the summer. We can’t invite people into our homes either. It’s humiliating. There are two investigations going on, but still we await the result.”
A protest group called Stop the Stink has been launched to pressure the authorities to take action, but has so far been unsuccessful. Simmo Burgess, 45, who lives in nearby Knutton, joined the campaign group in 2019. The father-of-three said: “We’ve been fighting for clean air for five years now.”
“Gases from the landfill have been shown to consistently exceed WHO guidelines. We have met with many government ministers to no avail. The entire community is breathing toxic fumes almost daily.”
“They have always reported, mainly to the Environment Agency and also our local council, but reporting has dropped due to reporting fatigue. No one listens to complaints. All promises and no action.”
“The gases seep into our homes when the windows and doors are closed. It smells like eggs, sulfur, rotting flesh. It burns your eyes.” It causes nausea and headaches. The young, the old and the vulnerable are inhaling the gas, which worsens existing conditions.”
Simmo added: “Just driving and walking around the area, you can hit a ‘pocket’ of gas that can knock your breath out and make your eyes water. If you don’t leave the area, there’s no escape.”
“This waste is being transported from hundreds of miles away, why? We have evidence that they have buried hazardous waste for disposal in Europe to save on export costs.”
“The site should be managed by a legitimate company that will manage the gases properly. The owners should be prosecuted for their actions, not for the first time, and laws should be made to ensure this never happens again anywhere.”
“The full extent of this ecological disaster will be revealed in the coming years.”
People say the smell from the Silverdale site is creating gas pockets and burning their eyes. The Environment Agency suspended deliveries to the site in March after odor complaints reached 4,210 in February.
Newcastle Under Lyme Borough Council has asked the Government for permission to take legal action against the site. Councilor Andy Fear said the process would now be delayed until next month’s general election.
Council leader Simon Tagg said the quarry was not being run “in a good way to prevent odors from escaping, and that’s how it’s always been”.
A spokesman for Walleys Quarry said the site was “strictly regulated by the Environment Agency to ensure that activities at the site do not harm human health or the environment.”
They added that the site “constantly reviewed waste deliveries and activities at the landfill to ensure that odor risks are managed, minimized and eliminated.”