Odour monitoring in Calne

We have been continuing to monitor at different times of the day, from as early as 5am and as late as 10.30pm following high levels of odour reports at certain times of the day.

We do this because we know that odour levels can change at different times of the day, and it’s important that we are monitoring when odour levels are present and at their highest.

Being out in the community has also allowed us to respond very quickly to your concerns and reports of odour, often arriving at the reported odour site within 5 minutes.

Weather conditions play a key part in how odour is experienced in the community. With a return to prevailing winds this week we are noticing a drop in odour complaints, and we anticipate odour levels in Calne to reduce over the coming days. However, should odour levels change, we will increase our monitoring to ensure we are responding to the communities concerns.

Monitoring data

You have been asking us 'What are we doing with the monitoring data?' so I will answer this below:

We use our officers' observations as evidence of the impact on the community. This informs our compliance work on site, and our assessment of the actions Hills are taking to reduce odour.

We hope to be able to share more data on this page soon.

Capping

Hills Waste Solutions have now started work on the permanent capping of the current operational area.

Today officers have been on site inspecting the preparatory works, where the current temporary gas collection wellheads are being raised to accommodate the cap and maintain extraction until the permanent wells are installed. Contractors will then place 1 metre of clay in 250mm layers to form the main seal or cap, which is tied into the clay sidewalls of the landfill cell. Once the capping has been placed, the permanent vertical gas wells will be installed. When complete, this work should help to reduce levels of odour. We will continue to visit the site to ensure works are progressing as planned.

We will update this page on a weekly basis, or when there is further information to share. Please do continue to report odour as it helps us to target our monitoring response.

Image: Contractors extending temporary gas extraction lines to allow for permanent capping