Jameson Road Landfill Site - Fleetwood

The Jameson Road site is an established landfill that has been in operation for many years. Historically, the site was partly owned by SUEZ, who had reduced activity in recent years. In late 2023, the site was taken over by Transwaste Recycling & Aggregates Limited, who hold the environmental permit for non-hazardous waste disposal. When a landfill site is inactive for a long period and then re-opened, the disturbance of older, previously covered waste can lead to the generation and release of landfill gas, which contains odorous compounds like hydrogen sulphide (often described as a "rotten egg" smell). The site also manages leachate (contaminated liquid) and has systems for collecting landfill gas, which in many cases is used to produce electricity.

Significant odour complaints from local residents, including those in Fleetwood and surrounding areas, escalated particularly from early 2024.

In response, the Environment Agency, as the primary regulator, has undertaken extensive actions:

• Increased Regulatory Scrutiny: The EA have conducted frequent site visits and regular, sometimes daily, odour assessments in the community, and deployed drones for monitoring.

• Enforcement Actions:

  • An Enforcement Notice was issued to stop the use of a "tipping bay" that was a source of off-site odour, requiring the operator to tip directly into the landfill cell at a reduced rate.

  • A Suspension Notice was issued on March 27, 2025, which halted Transwaste from accepting new landfill waste until work to control odours was completed.

  • This suspension was lifted on April 9, 2025, after Transwaste completed necessary works, including installing new landfill gas infrastructure to increase gas extraction capacity and reduce emissions.

• Improved Odour Management: Transwaste was required to work with a smaller tipping face and apply more "cover material" to manage odours. They have also been required to submit updated Odour Management and Landfill Gas Management Plans.

• Monitoring and Health Advice: A mobile monitoring facility (MMF) has been deployed in the community to monitor substances like methane, hydrogen sulphide, and particulates. The Environment Agency works closely with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) which provides health advice based on monitoring data, indicating that air quality results for key pollutants do not generally exceed health-based limits, though strong odours can still cause discomfort.

• Partnership Working: The Environment Agency collaborates with Wyre Borough Council (who have statutory nuisance powers and collect odour diary sheets) and Lancashire County Council (planning and public health).

The Environment Agency strictly regulates Jameson Road Landfill (Transwaste Recycling & Aggregates Limited) via its Environmental Permit (EPR/BL9518IE). This permit outlines mandatory conditions for all operations, including waste acceptance, landfill gas management, leachate treatment, and pollution control (especially odour, dust, and litter), alongside requirements for infrastructure and regular environmental monitoring.

Specifically, the permit allows and regulates activities such as:

• Acceptance and Disposal of Non-Hazardous Waste: This is the primary activity, covering the process of receiving, tipping, and managing specified types and quantities of non-hazardous waste.

• Landfill Gas Management: The permit includes conditions for the collection, control, and management of landfill gas generated by the decomposing waste. This is crucial for preventing odours and, in many cases, for generating energy.

• Leachate Management: The permit covers the collection, treatment, and management of leachate (the liquid that drains through the waste) to prevent groundwater and surface water pollution.

• Pollution Control Measures: It mandates the implementation of measures to minimise and control potential pollution, including odours, dust, and litter. This often involves requirements for daily cover of waste and specific operational techniques.

• Site Infrastructure Management: Conditions relate to the construction and maintenance of site infrastructure, such as liners, capping, and gas collection systems, to ensure environmental protection.

• Monitoring and Reporting: The operator is required to conduct regular monitoring of environmental parameters (e.g., air quality, gas levels, leachate levels) and submit reports to the Environment Agency to demonstrate compliance.

The permit dictates how the landfill must be operated to ensure environmental protection, covering everything from the incoming waste to the management of gases, liquids, and overall site integrity, all with the aim of minimising impact on the surrounding community.

Update 5 December 2025

Key updates for this week

Reporting

We recognise the very real effect that odours have on people and how it impacts their enjoyment of their local community. We have made it very clear to the operator, Transwaste, that uncontrolled emissions and odour, at any time, but particularly over the festive period, are unacceptable.

We received 264 reports to our freephone incident hotline (0800 807060) over November.  Many of these reports referred to a waste type odour e.g. bin smell, food waste.  There were also references to 'rotten egg', though these were reduced from previous months.  

Landfill Gas and Odour Control

As a regulator, we realise that there will be odour from landfill operations from time to time. However, we are working hard to ensure the operator is taking all appropriate measures as required by their environmental permit to minimise any impact to the local community.

Our most recent compliance visits showed that the most recent cell (area of the landfill) where waste has been tipped is approaching final levels - this is the area of the landfill closest to the River Wyre.  We now want Transwaste to provide key detail on the full covering and capping of that area.  That will provide greater assurance for control of any emissions from that area.

There is a large volume of waste currently sat at the top of the landfill that is visible to local residents.  That area has been inspected by our regulatory officers, who have reported that it contains inert waste – soils and clays that will be used in capping and cover.  It will not remain permanently on top of the site.  Having large volumes of this material on any landfill is actually a positive development, as it can be used quickly to reduce emissions.

Please note that Transwaste are carrying out actions on some of the landfill infrastructure e.g. the gas and leachate wells, and as a result, there may be short lived odour from this work.

Over the coming weeks, our teams will be out in the community checking for odour.  We will continue to prioritise our work at this site, through our inspections and monitoring.  Our focus is in minimising the impacts from the landfill on the community and we will use our regulatory enforcement powers, where necessary, to ensure compliance with the permit.

Update 25 November 2025

Key updates for this week

Reporting

We continue to receive reports of odour in the Fleetwood area but at a reduced level from the summer period.

1. October                                          124
2. November (up to 23rd)                   202

We continued to receive spikes in the number of reports on some days. These are being investigated by Transwaste and have sometimes been associated with minor issues with the gas extraction system. We are discussing with Transwaste as to how these instances can be avoided in the future.

Landfill Gas and Odour Control

We have responded to spikes in reports of odour in the community. We have carried out odour surveys to understand the impacts. Our officers have again noted landfill gas odours off site (faint / moderate – persistent) as well as waste odours. This is separate to the surveys carried out by a company on behalf of Transwaste. Our officers have also been on site investigating source of gas emission.

Transwaste are intending to install further gas wells and we are in discussions with them about capping the current operational area. Capping takes place when operational areas (cells) are complete and can be capped with liners to contain the waste and reduce environmental impacts, such as odours.

Update 6 October 2025

Key updates for this week

Reporting

We have received far fewer reports of odours associated with the landfill over the last three months

1. July                      1063
2. August                   597
3. September             287

However, we are aware that there was a spike in the number of reports that we received over the last few days of September. Transwaste informed us that there was a failure on the gas extraction system last week, which has now been repaired.

Landfill Gas and Odour Control

We have carried out odour surveys recently to understand the impacts in the community. Our officers have noted landfill gas odours off site (faint / moderate – persistent). This is separate to the surveys carried out by a company on behalf of Transwaste.

6 new gas wells are going in from this week in the current operational area. This will improve gas collection and odour control.

Enforcement Notice

We issued an Enforcement Notice in August 2025 which required an update to the Gas Management Plan and to the Odour Management Plan at the site. We have received the update and will now review it. This will remain a ‘live’ document to measure progress at the landfill.

Waste Inputs

We have carried out waste acceptance checks of material taken to the landfill.

We have sampled a liquid discharge at the Southern edge of the site. Further investigation is needed to understand its source.

Air quality monitoring unit remains in place. We commissioned an update which has now been finalised and is ready to share with the public. You can read it here.

 This report is to assist us in our regulation of the site, and we also share it with our partners.

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Update 16 September 2025

Key updates for this week.

Reporting

We have received fewer reports of odours associated with the landfill in the last week. Clearly, a change in the weather is a factor in this.

Landfill Gas and Odour Control

Our officers continue with frequent visits to the site to advise on landfill gas and odour control. On 26 August 2025 we issued a regulatory notice requiring an updated landfill gas management plan and odour management plan by 5 September. We received these on 3 September and we are assessing these plans to see if further measures can be included.

Waste Inputs

This week we have also carried out waste sampling of material taken to the landfill.

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Update 3 September 2025

There have been less odour reports to the Environment Agency in August when compared to some of the previous months, however, our officers have been in the community and still noted landfill gas odours in recent weeks. Our odour surveys have included weekends and early mornings when people have reported that odours are present. The community should not have to tolerate odours that affect their environment.

We have had several questions over recent weeks about the accuracy of the information provided by the Transwaste in their odour updates to the community.   We want to be clear that any response or observations that are made by Environment Agency officers are independent to Transwaste.  We will continue to make our own visits in the area and update you.

Landfill Gas Control

Transwaste are now able to place waste across the base of the new landfill area. This has allowed them to begin to close a pathway for landfill gas emissions and install more landfill gas wells to bring the gas into the collection system. Our landfill gas experts have been on site assessing this work and have been advising on where further actions are required.

Regulation

Last week we issued the company with a regulatory notice. This requires them to provide an updated gas management plan and an updated odour management plan by 5 September. Transwaste have advised us that they are working to this deadline. These plans are required to be updated to provide confidence that Transwaste can bring gas emissions and odours under control ASAP.

We have received several reports of a small liquid discharge at the southern edge of the landfill boundary (near to the River Wyre). We have sampled this discharge and our investigations are ongoing.

Air Quality Monitoring

We are finalising an updated report from the air quality monitoring unit. Once this is available, we will share this report with the community through these webpages.

Responding to you – Letters/Emails

Please note that it is taking longer than we would like to respond to correspondence. Our officers have been focusing our time on regulating this landfill and other high-profile issues in Cumbria and Lancashire. Please accept our apologies for this delay.

Health Concerns

We continue to receive reports of health concerns from the community. Whilst the Environment Agency are not experts in public health, we have regular updates with NHS, UK Health Security Agency, Lancashire County Council, and Wyre Council. We continue to share information about your concerns. Please see further details on health within a specific section on these webpages.

We will continue our efforts to ensure Transwaste meets the requirements of their permit. Our focus remains on waste inputs, gas control measures, and engineered containment. The air quality unit will remain in place.

Update 31 July

In late June and between 10 to 21 July, we saw an increase in the number of odour reports. This number increased significantly during the recent warmer weather.

Our officers have been in the community, particularly during weekends and early mornings (around 3am and 6am), and have confirmed that landfill odour has been present.

Over the past seven days, the number of reports has decreased. Last weekend, our environment officers did not observe any odour. While this is a positive development, we are aware that the recent change in weather and wind direction may be a factor, as the wind has been blowing the odour away from most homes. The community should not have to tolerate odours that affect their environment.

Regulation

We have made it clear to the company what we expect them to do. We continue to visit the site regularly to check the types of waste being brought in, and to inspect their engineering and gas infrastructure.

Gas collection

We are aware that Transwaste have installed new gas collection wells that are intended to provide additional gas collection at the edge of the recently filled landfill area.  Transwaste do not have full engineering validation (agreed permission) to fill the full engineered landfill cell until we are confident that the cell is built appropriately.

We are working through the engineering in a phased way so Transwaste do have permission to use part of the final area.  In simple terms this is to fill an area close to the most recently filled cell (6A) and to place waste along the base of the new cell 6b.  We are still using our drone pilots to provide an overview of site operations that can be more easily scrutinised for compliance purposes.

Our ongoing work

We will continue to invest our time and effort to ensure Transwaste meets the requirements of their permit. Our focus remains on waste inputs, gas control measures, and engineered containment. The air quality monitoring unit is still in place.

Landfill odours can sometimes be more apparent overnight due to changing atmospheric conditions, often linked to temperature inversions. During an inversion, a layer of cooler air near the ground can trap odorous gases, preventing them from dispersing as effectively as they might during the day. Our officers conduct odour checks around the clock in order to ensure a true picture of the situation is being captured.

The increase in odours was linked to issues with landfill gas emissions. The improvements made by Transwaste, as required by the suspension notice, included installing new gas wells and enhancing the covering of waste with clays and inert materials. This provided a more effective seal to facilitate increased gas capture and reduce fugitive gas emissions (uncontrolled leaks).

In response to the odour complaints and incidents at Jameson Road Landfill, the Environment Agency (EA) has taken a range of significant actions:

• Increased Regulatory Scrutiny: The EA has intensified its oversight, conducting frequent site visits (ranging from daily to weekly), performing daily odour assessments in the surrounding community, and utilising drones for site monitoring.

• Enforcement Actions:

  • An Enforcement Notice was issued to stop the use of a "tipping bay" that was identified as a source of off-site odour, requiring the operator to tip directly into the landfill cell at a reduced rate.

  • A Suspension Notice was issued on March 27, 2025, which legally halted Transwaste from accepting new landfill waste until specific works to control odours were completed.

  • This suspension was subsequently lifted on April 9, 2025, after Transwaste completed the required works, including the installation of new landfill gas infrastructure aimed at increasing gas extraction and reducing emissions.

• Improved Odour Management: Transwaste was mandated to work with a smaller tipping face and apply more "cover material" to better manage odours. They have also been required to submit updated Odour Management and Landfill Gas Management Plans.

• Environmental Monitoring and Health Advice: A mobile monitoring facility (MMF) has been deployed in the community for continuous air quality monitoring (e.g., methane, hydrogen sulphide, particulates). The EA collaborates with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) which provides health advice based on this monitoring data.

• Partnership Working: The EA works closely with other local authorities, including Wyre Council (for statutory nuisance investigations and odour diary collection) and Lancashire County Council (for planning control and public health guidance)

In the case of individual sites, the Environment Agency carefully monitors the performance of a landfill site using a wide range of parameters including groundwater, surface water and air monitoring, pollution reports, the operator’s own monitoring and aerial photography. We use all these parameters to determine the compliance of the site and if we have concerns, we require the operator of the site to take steps to resolve them. If the operator of the permitted site does not respond to our concerns, we can carry out our own check monitoring and use a range of enforcement notices to force the operator of the site to take action.

Yes. Although improvements have been made, our officers still detect some odours during waste tipping activities and occasional low-level gas odours. Consequently, we have required Transwaste to submit updated Odour Management and Landfill Gas Management Plans detailing how they will address these ongoing issues. We have also met with Transwaste to discuss the site's future operation, focusing on controlling landfill gas emissions, necessary upgrades to gas infrastructure, and improved control over waste types accepted.

On 27 March 2025, the Environment Agency issued a suspension notice to Transwaste, requiring them to stop accepting landfill waste until they completed work to control the cause of odours. The suspension was lifted on 9 April after Transwaste notified us that they had completed the necessary works to install new landfill gas infrastructure. Our assessment confirmed an increase in gas extraction capacity and a reduction in emissions due to new gas wells and enhanced waste covering.

Due to the significant increase in complaints previously and our focus on dealing with the issue the community is facing, there might be a delay in us providing you with a personal response. Please bear with us as our resources are concentrated on direct regulatory action and monitoring. We are committed to being transparent with our communications and all current and up to date information is available on these pages.

We value respectful communication. While we are here to listen and work towards resolutions, we have a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of verbal abuse, harassment, or disrespectful behaviour directed towards our staff. We kindly ask that all interactions are conducted with courtesy and consideration.

Yes, the Environment Agency is reviewing waste inputs as part of wider discussions nationally on whether changes to national landfill practices are needed to help prevent similar situations from occurring.

The UK HSA has reviewed the Air Quality Report and produced a Public Health Risk Assessment document which can be found here 

There is a link to the latest air quality monitoring here: Study of Ambient Air Quality at Fleetwood. 

The odour pollution from landfill sites falls into two broad categories:

1. The first is the waste odour. This is caused by fresh waste rapidly decomposing and tends to come from vehicles travelling to and from the site and whilst it is tipped. This is similar to the odours that are contained within a domestic bin. It poses little risk to human health and can be tackled by depositing the waste quickly and covering it with soils called “daily cover”.
2. The second type of odour is landfill gas. This is gas generated by the breakdown of the waste inside the body of the landfill site. Landfill gas is mostly methane and carbon dioxide, which are odourless and colourless. However, landfill gas also contains trace components such as hydrogen sulphide that, even in very small quantities, has a strong smell of rotten eggs, which the human body is very sensitive to. Although the smell caused by the trace levels of hydrogen sulphide gas can be strong and unpleasant, it does not automatically mean that it is harmful. Our sense of smell is very sensitive and we can smell hydrogen sulphide at very low levels.

We are aware of symptoms reported within the community. These include reports of strong odours and transient health effects, such as eye and respiratory irritation. The human nose is very sensitive. Strong odours are unpleasant and can impact on wellbeing, leading to stress and anxiety. Some people may experience physical symptoms, such as nausea, headaches or dizziness, as a reaction to strong odours, even when the substances that cause those odours are not at concentrations that are directly harmful to health.

Individuals can close doors and windows whilst the smell is present and then open them to vent the smell from the premises when the smell has cleared.

The human nose is very sensitive. Many things have a strong smell at levels at which there are no direct harmful effects to health. However, strong smells are unpleasant and can impact on wellbeing leading to stress and anxiety. Some people may also experience symptoms, such as nausea, headaches or dizziness, as a reaction to strong smells, even when the substances that cause those smells are themselves not harmful to health. Following exposure to any substance, the adverse health effects depend on several factors, including the amount to which you are exposed (dose), the way in which you are exposed, the duration of exposure, the form of the chemical and if you were exposed to any other chemicals. The first noticeable effect of hydrogen sulphide at very low concentrations is its unpleasant odour, which may cause discomfort and some short-term health effects (as described in the paragraph above). At higher concentrations, it may cause eye, nose and throat irritation. It may also disturb sleep if experienced at night at low levels.

Short-term transient health effects may be experienced such as irritation to the eyes, nose and throat. People who have health conditions that affect breathing, such as asthma, may experience increased frequency and/or severity of symptoms. With continuing exposure, these effects may be prolonged but are not anticipated to continue long-term once exposure is reduced.

To limit the effects of the odour as much as possible, we would advise:

• Close windows if there is an outdoor odour and open them once any outdoor odour has reduced.You could consider closing windows at night and opening them in the morning in the absence of odour.
• Ventilate your property when there is no odour outdoors.

Contact NHS 111 or your GP if you have concerns about your individual circumstances and require health advice.