How do we respond to odour reports from landfill sites
- 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 like 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.”
- 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/cell. Landfill gas is mostly methane and carbon dioxide, which are odourless and colourless. However, landfill gas also contains trace components such as hydrogen sulphide. Hydrogen Sulphide is a trace gas that can cause the 'rotten eggs' smell, it can be smelt at much lower concentrations than the levels that can cause harm. Any gases will have undergone significant dilution by the time they are smelt within the local proximity, and it is very unlikely to impact human health. 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.
- Close windows if there is an outdoor odour and open them when the outdoor odour has reduced. You could consider closing windows at night and opening them in the morning in the absence of odour.
- Ventilate the property when there is no odour indoors.
How does the Environment Agency regulate landfill sites?
We regulate a number of sites with activities including landfilling, materials recycling, composting, and waste transfer, under environmental permits held by the operators. The permit conditions aim to minimise the impact on the local environment, including odour.
Where we identify that an operator is not complying with their permit, we u
se our regulatory powers to bring the site back into compliance.
We are aware of reports of strong odours and transient health effects, such as eye and respiratory irritation among residents. 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.
The Environment Agency is taking firm action to ensure operators stop unacceptable odours from landfill sites and ensure operators bring sites back into compliance with their permits as quickly as possible.
What can I smell?
Landfill operations will always have periodic odours, but this should not be a sustained event.
When waste is disposed of at a site it is done in phases (known as cells). Once a cell is full of waste it is capped off (sealed) with an impermeable covering. This prevents rainwater getting into the cell and aids the collection of the landfill gas which is produced when the waste starts to break down.
Landfill gas odours can be the result of several factors: some of these may be a result of management failures, others are the result of planned and necessary works such as the installation of new gas extraction infrastructure.
Odour pollution from landfill sites falls into two broad categories:
Odours are the result of complex interactions within the site. Whether they can be smelt off-site, and where they will be smelt, is often a result of local weather conditions. If you notice the smell one day but not the next this could be because of a change in temperature, wind speed or direction or a change in atmospheric pressure.
For example, gasses will always move toward an area of lower pressure, as a result we are more likely to experience odours when the atmospheric pressure is low or falling. Similarly, on colder or still days the odours are not dispersed as quickly which means we are more likely to experience odours.
Why are odours sometimes more prevalent at night?
Landfill odours can sometimes be more apparent overnight due to changing atmospheric conditions, often linked to temperature inversions. During an inversion, a layer of colder air near the ground trap odorous gases. Preventing them from dispersing as effectively as they might during the day. Our officers conduct odour checks to ensure a true picture of the situation is being captured.
How does the Environment Agency decide if a site is impacting the environment?
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 and the operators own monitoring. 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.
What is the role of the UK Health Security Agency?
We consult with and follow advice and information provided by health professionals such as UK Health and Safety Agency (UKHSA) when making decisions on the risks from landfills we regulate. You can read more about the impact on health from landfill site emissions in "Impact on Health of Emissions from Landfill Sites", which you can view here:
Exposure to odours can adversely affect people’s perception of their health and sense of wellbeing. Several studies have demonstrated that odorous chemicals, present at levels not considered toxic or irritant, can lead to symptoms such as headache, nausea, shortness of breath or sore throats.
Whenever people are concerned about their personal health, they should visit their General Practitioner (GP) or contact NHS Direct on 111 or https://www.nhs.uk/(External link)
To limit the effects of odour as much as possible, we advise residents:
Contact NHS 111 or your GP if you have concerns about your individual circumstances and require health advice.
Report Odour
Please use our 24hr incident hotline 0800 80 70 60 to report odour you believe to be from activities we regulate. Although we are unable to provide feedback for individual reports, the information you provide will be used to inform our investigation and understand the scale of the impact.
Alternatively, reports can now be made online here: Report a smell from a waste facility, industrial site or farm in England - GOV.UK