Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has taken action against the operator of a mid Wales landfill site due to the risk of pollution it poses.
Officers from NRW suspended the permit of the operators of Bryn Posteg landfill near Llanidloes, Powys, on Friday (19 January) after evidence showed that the site now holds substantially more waste than is legally allowed.
NRW estimates that the landfill site is also significantly higher in places than permitted. Both of these are a breach of the operator’s environmental permit.
As a result the operators, Potters Waste Management, one of Wales’ largest waste operators, are not allowed to tip any more waste in the landfill.
Every landfill site needs an environmental permit from NRW to operate. This details how the operator will manage the site to minimise the impact on air, land and water in the area.
NRW has now instructed the company to examine the potential risk that this waste poses.
“We now have evidence that Bryn Posteg Landfill site contains significantly more waste than it is permitted to do so.”
Last year NRW applied other legal measures, such as serving legal notices on the operator, in an attempt to make the site compliant with its permit conditions.
David Powell, Operations Manager for Natural Resources Wales, said: “We try to work with operators of landfill sites wherever we can to make sure they protect the environment by complying with the conditions in their permit.
“We now have evidence that Bryn Posteg Landfill site contains significantly more waste than it is permitted to do so.
“The decision to stop waste being disposed of in the landfill is a last resort, but there is a risk to the surrounding environment as a result of over-tipping.
“Waste sites have a permit setting out rules which they have to follow so they don’t pose a risk to the environment and local people.
“We have given the company every opportunity to comply with the conditions in their permit but they have not done this.”
Under the terms of their environmental permit Potters Waste Management can tip up to 75,000 tonnes of waste at Bryn Posteg every year and this must be treated in a very specific way within an engineered area.
NRW’s investigations are continuing.
