Efforts being made to reduce bad smells from Roxby and Winterton landfill sites

Landfill site managers in Winterton have said they are working to reduce bad smells coming from the tips.

The town sits close to the Biffa-operated Roxby Landfill Site and the Winterton Landfill Site, run by FCC Environment.

Representatives from both sites attended the latest meeting of Winterton Town Council to address concerns about odours.

The move came after an increase in complaints relating to smells was recorded since the end of August.

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And it was revealed at the meeting that the FCC Environment site is currently running one level away from the worst Environment Agency grading for permit compliance.

Keith Morgan, of the Environment Agency, explained the procedure for dealing with breaches of the permit conditions.

He said: "We assess it under a scoring scheme for the severity of the breach, on a scale of one to four.

"We feed a report back to the operator and that scoring of one to four goes into a system where all scores are totalled throughout the year.

"Each site gets a performance rating from A, which is non-breaching, to F, which is not so good.

"The Roxby site is currently a C and the Winterton one was a D for 2011 and is currently an E for this year."

Aside from smell, other breaches at the FCC site include a leak of leachate – a polluting, liquid-like substance – in September.

Will Gander, regional business manager for FCC Environment, said: "We are currently a Band E and in the light of recent events, it is not acceptable to us or to you as local residents.

"There has been a lot of work done to try to make sure things are tightened up so we don't have these ongoing problems.

Mr Gander said a lack of cover on parts of the site had contributed to smell problems.

He said: "There is a large flank [a piece of the site] and it needed dressing up so over the last three to five weeks, we have had an action plan in place.

"The rest of the site is capped but the existing cell had to be temporarily capped."

Fraser James, manager of the Biffa site in Roxby, said works to reduce odour problems were nearing completion.

He said a new waste-tipping cell was due for completion imminently, which would be more sheltered from prevailing winds.

He added additional capping measures had been taken at the site and the drilling of new deep gas wells was due for completion this week.

Mr James said wet weather had delayed the work.

Francesca Marritt, Winterton's town mayor, said: "We don't see why the people of Winterton should have to put up with these terrible smells.

"Clearly, the Biffa site is making significant moves and we hope both sites will continue to make improvements.