Whinney Hill Landfill - Accrington, Lancashire

The Whinney Hill site in Accrington is a significant area with different uses, primarily known for its role in waste management and its reclaimed natural spaces. The Environment Agency plays a key role in regulating activities here to protect local communities and the environment.

The Whinney Hill Landfill Site

At the heart of Whinney Hill is a large landfill, operated by SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, which has been handling household waste from across Lancashire since the 1970s. As the Environment Agency, we regulate this site to ensure it operates within strict environmental rules set out in its permit.

Recently, landfilling operations moved to a different part of the site known as Enfield Quarry. We are aware that this shift has, at times, led to concerns from local residents about odours and pests like gulls. The map below shows the location of the new landfilling area marked in red. 

Addressing Community Concerns

We understand that odours and pests can be very unpleasant for local communities. The Environment Agency is actively working with SUEZ, the site operator, to ensure they take all necessary steps to minimise these impacts. This includes increased monitoring visits by our officers to the site and checks within the local community for odours and pests. We expect SUEZ to manage their operations, including waste covering and landfill gas controls, effectively on a daily basis, as required by their environmental permit.

We encourage residents to continue reporting any issues they experience to our 24-hour incident hotline on 0800 807060, or online . This information is vital as it helps us build a full picture of the situation and guide our regulatory actions.

The environmental permit for Whinney Hill Landfill Site, permit number EPR/BL9500IJ/V008 covers a range of activities related to the disposal and management of non-hazardous waste, with strict conditions to minimise environmental impact.

The primary activities authorised and regulated by this permit include:

• Disposal of Non-Hazardous Waste: This is the core function, including the daily acceptance, tipping, and covering of specified types of waste.

• Landfill Gas Management & Energy Generation: Authorising the capture, processing, and use of landfill gas to produce electricity, and flaring for excess gas.

• Leachate Treatment: Managing and treating the contaminated liquid that drains from the waste.

• Pollution Prevention & Control: Mandating a comprehensive management system to control emissions to air, land, and water, prevent accidents, and minimise impacts like odour, noise, and vibration.

• Monitoring & Compliance: Requiring ongoing monitoring of emissions and environmental parameters to ensure all permit conditions are met.

The permit strictly regulates all operations from waste intake to pollution control and energy generation, ensuring the site is managed to protect the environment and local residents.

The Environment Agency is the primary regulator of the waste activities at Whinney Hill Landfill Site, operating under the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations. SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK holds the environmental permit for the site, which contains legally binding conditions designed to minimise impacts on the environment and local community. The Environment Agency employs a rigorous system of permit conditions, regular inspections, data review, and, if necessary, enforcement actions, often in collaboration with other agencies, to ensure the Whinney Hill Landfill Site operates in compliance and minimises its environmental impact.

Here's how the Environment Agency regulates and checks for compliance:

Permit Conditions: The environmental permit sets out specific requirements for how the site must be operated. These conditions cover:

• Waste acceptance: What types and volumes of waste can be accepted.

• Permit Conditions: The environmental permit sets out specific requirements for how the site must be operated. These conditions cover:

• Site infrastructure: How the landfill cells are constructed and designed (e.g., liners, capping).

• Emissions limits: Limits on what can be released into the air, land, and water.

• Environmental monitoring: Where and how often things like air quality, leachate levels, and landfill gas are monitored.

• Odour, pest, and litter control: Measures the operator must take to minimise these impacts.

• Management systems: Requiring the operator to have a written system to identify and minimise pollution risks, ensure competent staff, and manage complaints.

Assessment of Compliance: The Environment Agency assesses compliance in several ways:

• Site Inspections: Officers conduct frequent site visits, which can be both announced and unannounced. During these visits, they observe operations, check records, and ensure that control measures (like waste cover and landfill gas controls) are in place and effective daily. They also review pest management plans and verify actions are being undertaken.

• Off-site Odour Assessments: Environment Agency officers conduct regular odour checks in the surrounding community to verify the impact of the site's operations. These checks often consider factors like wind strength and direction.

• Review of Reports and Monitoring Data: SUEZ is required to submit various reports and monitoring data to the Environment Agency (e.g., on emissions, landfill gas levels, leachate levels). The Environment Agency reviews this data to ensure it aligns with permit conditions and environmental standards.

• Audits: The Environment Agency may conduct audits of the site's operations and management systems.

Enforcement Action: If the Environment Agency identifies any breaches of the permit conditions, they will take appropriate regulatory action. This is guided by their enforcement and sanctions policy and the Government's core guidance on environmental permitting. Actions can range from advice and warnings to enforcement notices (requiring specific actions by a deadline), suspension notices (halting certain activities), or even prosecution in serious cases. The goal is always to bring operations back into compliance and secure a lasting resolution.

Multi-Agency Working: The Environment Agency works collaboratively with other partners, each with different roles:

• Hyndburn Borough Council: Has a duty for monitoring under statutory nuisance legislation (e.g., for persistent odours impacting quality of life).

• Lancashire County Council: Has roles in planning control for the site and providing public health guidance.

• UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA): Provides evidence-based public health advice and assesses potential health impacts by reviewing available monitoring data from the site.

• Natural England: Advises on natural environment matters, including protected species like gulls, and can issue licences for their control.

The table below shows the number of reports we have received to our incident hotline and what the reports related to. 

You can find all our community updates on the below links.

Most Recent: Community Update - 1 August 2025

Previous updates:

Community Update - 19 December 2024

Community Update - 24 September 2024

Community Update - 30 August 2024

Community Update - 8 August 2024

Community Update - 24 July 2024

Yes. Compliance Assessment Reports (CAR) are public register documents.

Please find below the recent site inspection reports. There is a minimum of 28 days from when we issue the reports to the operator to the date that we can publish them. We will add further CAR forms when they become available.

Please note that names of officers have been removed from these documents as disclosure would breach the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).

Yes. You can view a copy of the permit on the link below. 

Whinney Hill Environmental Permit - BL9500IJ

Yes. As and when new questions come in from the community we update the document. You can view it by clicking on the below link.

Whinney Hill Q&A Document - Updated 8 April 2025

Yes. We've produced a document covering the types of information to tell us about when you report an incident to our hotline. You can view it on the link below.

Reporting incidents to the Environment Agency about Whinney Hill LFS