DISPATCHES INVESTIGATES ALLEGATIONS OF WASTE AND LANDFILL MISMANAGEMENT AT MAJOR WELSH WASTE COMPANIES
DISPATCHES INVESTIGATES ALLEGATIONS OF WASTE AND LANDFILL MISMANAGEMENT AT MAJOR WELSH WASTE COMPANIES
In Rubbish Tip Britain (TX: Friday 21 June, 8pm, Channel 4) Dispatches investigates:
Allegations that a major Welsh waste company was dumping recycling at a Pembrokeshire landfill, unsorted Levels of Hydrogen Sulphide in area surrounding Pembrokeshire landfill which have broached safe levels stipulated by World Health Organisation An Environment Agency report revealing potential miscategorisation of waste to evade tax at landfills across England and Wales
Waste being dumped in landfills is creating health hazards and unpleasant stench for local residents
Council recycling was taken to a landfill in Pembrokeshire instead of being sorted says whistleblower. A former driver, who worked for Atlantic Waste Recycling in Cardiff, told Dispatches he was required to collect recycling from Port Talbot and Neath Council, but instead of taking it to the Atlantic Waste Recycling centre to be sorted out, often it wasn’t even unloaded.
He said: “Some should have gone to a local incinerator or at least be taken to a different yard. It would all just end up in landfill.”
“I don't think the public would be very happy if they knew that they're going through all the process of separating and sorting their own recycling and their own waste, and then they find out that it's just been dumped in the ground.”
The driver Dispatches spoke to says waste being taken to landfill included materials known to generate hydrogen sulphide: “There would be plasterboard, at least three or four loads a week that would have plasterboard inside it.”
Dauson Environmental, which owns Atlantic Recycling, denies inappropriate waste has been taken to Withyhedge.
The Withyhedge site run since 2022 by Dauson Environmental, part of the same group as Atlantic Waste Recycling, has been plaguing local residents with foul odours since last July. “It was really quiet and a nice village to live in. Until last year. About July I first smelt something. It does make you kind of gag sometimes. Your eyes can hurt as well from it” says Colin Barnett, resident of Spittal, founder Stop the Stink campaign.
“An eggy, chemically, sulphurous smell. Makes you retch. It will come into the car. It will come into your home. I've lost count of the number of times we've reported it to the regulator. We all feel annoyed. Let down and frustrated that that kind of crime isn't easier to report and get some kind of resolution.” Says resident of Spittal, Sue Lewis, founder Stop the Stink campaign.
A potential reason for the recent odour issues is the leachate - the polluted liquid that drains or leaches from a landfill. It can be toxic and dealing with it is expensive. It’s supposed to be stored in tanks on site and then taken to a special treatment plant. Dispatches heard from another former worker, who was employed at Withyhedge when it was taken over by the Dauson Group, that Withyhedge is struggling to keep on top of the leachate.
“The tanks couldn't keep up and basically, they’d make me tip it straight back on top of the cell, or they dig a massive hole, around 40 to 60 foot deep, and then have me fill it full of leachate and just, try and keep the leachate, from filling up the tanks.” Says another former worker.
Respraying leachate can increase the production of hydrogen sulphide. If leachate escapes, it can contaminate groundwater, rivers, and soil with toxic pollutants.
Dispatches includes drone footage of a leak, captured by campaigner Colin Barnett, from the site which Professor Phil Longhurst reviews: “Whether it's a day of leak or a fortnight or a year, ultimately they're failing to comply with their permit. Uncontrolled release of leachate. Depending on the on the nature of the leachate. can have direct impact on rivers. It can harm animals, fish, biota, and also it can harm humans. If we're using that river as a tributary for drinking water, for surface water, or if it feeds into anywhere where there's. Where there's drinking water treatment. That that's a potential risk. This is an urgent priority to deal with.
Public Health Wales published a report this week which revealed results from hydrogen sulphide testing. exceeded the World Health Organisation odourannoyance guidelines
Dauson Environmental has apologised to local residents regarding the odours and said it has spent several million pounds to resolve the issues at Withyhedge. In May Mr Neal announced the site would be shut to new waste for six weeks.
Dauson Environmental says the problems with leachate were caused by very bad weather and additional pumps were installed to resolve the issues.
Natural Resources Wales has told Dispatches that it is gathering information to determine if further enforcement action needs to be taken. And that they have taken action to drive improvements needed, including odour testing in the community. It added that it has a long history of bringing poorly performing sites back into compliance and pursuing successful prosecutions.
The Withyhedge Landfill is now run by a company within the Dauson Environmental conglomerate, controlled by David Neal. Mr Neal controversially recently donated £200k to Welsh first minister Vaughan Gething’s leadership campaign.
Local journalist Martin Shipton told Dispatches: ‘One wonders why it was considered by Mr. Neil as more important to donate £200,000 to a politician who had been acting on his behalf than to actually spend the money on remediating the damage that he has caused and continues to cause to the environment.’
Mr Neal told Dispatches this suggestion is entirely baseless and that Dauson Environmental has spent several million pounds to resolve the issues at Withyhedge.
National Resources Wales - has carried out some testing along the Cleddau. It’s revealed to us it believes the landfill is a potential contributor to pollution in the river.
Vaughan Gething has defended the donations and denied lobbying. He says that he followed all the rules. He recently lost a vote of no confidence in the Welsh Assembly as a result of the controversy. Vaughan Gething has said: I have never, ever made a decision in more than a decade as a minister for personal or financial gain. Never. Mr Gething remains Wales’ first minister. A post not affected by the general election.
Organised crime: Companies miscategorising waste in order to pay lower tax rate
Companies pay tax on anything that goes to landfill, at one of two rates. The lower band is £3 a tonne, for inert waste, like soil. The higher band, for everything else, is over £100.
Separately to the investigation above, Dispatches uncovers an internal Environment Agency report which reveals a national investigation into landfill management. It found companies across the country could be misclassifying waste as non-hazardous, to pay a lower rate of tax.
Professor Longhurst told Dispatches “If a site is miscategorising waste as inert rather than standard waste category, they are saving £100 a tonne on everything that comes into the site. A typical Arctic lorry will carry between 30 and 40 tonnes. This is thousands of pounds per day that a site can avoid paying So in a year that means millions.”
Dauson Environmental says it denies that inappropriate waste has been taken to Withyhedge or that lorry loads have been systemically, fraudulently altered.
Rubbish Tip: Dispatches is a Quicksilver Media production for Channel 4. The Executive Producer is Eamonn Matthews, the Producer and Director is Emily Keen and the Producer is Celia Watson. Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor for News & Current Affairs is Joanna Potts.
DISPATCHES INVESTIGATES ALLEGATIONS OF WASTE AND LANDFILL MISMANAGEMENT AT MAJOR WELSH WASTE COMPANIES
DISPATCHES INVESTIGATES ALLEGATIONS OF WASTE AND LANDFILL MISMANAGEMENT AT MAJOR WELSH WASTE COMPANIES
In Rubbish Tip Britain (TX: Friday 21 June, 8pm, Channel 4) Dispatches investigates:
Allegations that a major Welsh waste company was dumping recycling at a Pembrokeshire landfill, unsorted
Levels of Hydrogen Sulphide in area surrounding Pembrokeshire landfill which have broached safe levels stipulated by World Health Organisation
An Environment Agency report revealing potential miscategorisation of waste to evade tax at landfills across England and Wales
Waste being dumped in landfills is creating health hazards and unpleasant stench for local residents
Council recycling was taken to a landfill in Pembrokeshire instead of being sorted says whistleblower. A former driver, who worked for Atlantic Waste Recycling in Cardiff, told Dispatches he was required to collect recycling from Port Talbot and Neath Council, but instead of taking it to the Atlantic Waste Recycling centre to be sorted out, often it wasn’t even unloaded.
He said: “Some should have gone to a local incinerator or at least be taken to a different yard. It would all just end up in landfill.”
“I don't think the public would be very happy if they knew that they're going through all the process of separating and sorting their own recycling and their own waste, and then they find out that it's just been dumped in the ground.”
The driver Dispatches spoke to says waste being taken to landfill included materials known to generate hydrogen sulphide: “There would be plasterboard, at least three or four loads a week that would have plasterboard inside it.”
Dauson Environmental, which owns Atlantic Recycling, denies inappropriate waste has been taken to Withyhedge.
The Withyhedge site run since 2022 by Dauson Environmental, part of the same group as Atlantic Waste Recycling, has been plaguing local residents with foul odours since last July. “It was really quiet and a nice village to live in. Until last year. About July I first smelt something. It does make you kind of gag sometimes. Your eyes can hurt as well from it” says Colin Barnett, resident of Spittal, founder Stop the Stink campaign.
“An eggy, chemically, sulphurous smell. Makes you retch. It will come into the car. It will come into your home. I've lost count of the number of times we've reported it to the regulator. We all feel annoyed. Let down and frustrated that that kind of crime isn't easier to report and get some kind of resolution.” Says resident of Spittal, Sue Lewis, founder Stop the Stink campaign.
A potential reason for the recent odour issues is the leachate - the polluted liquid that drains or leaches from a landfill. It can be toxic and dealing with it is expensive. It’s supposed to be stored in tanks on site and then taken to a special treatment plant. Dispatches heard from another former worker, who was employed at Withyhedge when it was taken over by the Dauson Group, that Withyhedge is struggling to keep on top of the leachate.
“The tanks couldn't keep up and basically, they’d make me tip it straight back on top of the cell, or they dig a massive hole, around 40 to 60 foot deep, and then have me fill it full of leachate and just, try and keep the leachate, from filling up the tanks.” Says another former worker.
Respraying leachate can increase the production of hydrogen sulphide. If leachate escapes, it can contaminate groundwater, rivers, and soil with toxic pollutants.
Dispatches includes drone footage of a leak, captured by campaigner Colin Barnett, from the site which Professor Phil Longhurst reviews: “Whether it's a day of leak or a fortnight or a year, ultimately they're failing to comply with their permit. Uncontrolled release of leachate. Depending on the on the nature of the leachate. can have direct impact on rivers. It can harm animals, fish, biota, and also it can harm humans. If we're using that river as a tributary for drinking water, for surface water, or if it feeds into anywhere where there's. Where there's drinking water treatment. That that's a potential risk. This is an urgent priority to deal with.
Public Health Wales published a report this week which revealed results from hydrogen sulphide testing. exceeded the World Health Organisation odour annoyance guidelines
Dauson Environmental has apologised to local residents regarding the odours and said it has spent several million pounds to resolve the issues at Withyhedge. In May Mr Neal announced the site would be shut to new waste for six weeks.
Dauson Environmental says the problems with leachate were caused by very bad weather and additional pumps were installed to resolve the issues.
Natural Resources Wales has told Dispatches that it is gathering information to determine if further enforcement action needs to be taken. And that they have taken action to drive improvements needed, including odour testing in the community. It added that it has a long history of bringing poorly performing sites back into compliance and pursuing successful prosecutions.
The Withyhedge Landfill is now run by a company within the Dauson Environmental conglomerate, controlled by David Neal. Mr Neal controversially recently donated £200k to Welsh first minister Vaughan Gething’s leadership campaign.
Local journalist Martin Shipton told Dispatches: ‘One wonders why it was considered by Mr. Neil as more important to donate £200,000 to a politician who had been acting on his behalf than to actually spend the money on remediating the damage that he has caused and continues to cause to the environment.’
Mr Neal told Dispatches this suggestion is entirely baseless and that Dauson Environmental has spent several million pounds to resolve the issues at Withyhedge.
National Resources Wales - has carried out some testing along the Cleddau. It’s revealed to us it believes the landfill is a potential contributor to pollution in the river.
Vaughan Gething has defended the donations and denied lobbying. He says that he followed all the rules. He recently lost a vote of no confidence in the Welsh Assembly as a result of the controversy. Vaughan Gething has said: I have never, ever made a decision in more than a decade as a minister for personal or financial gain. Never. Mr Gething remains Wales’ first minister. A post not affected by the general election.
Organised crime: Companies miscategorising waste in order to pay lower tax rate
Companies pay tax on anything that goes to landfill, at one of two rates. The lower band is £3 a tonne, for inert waste, like soil. The higher band, for everything else, is over £100.
Separately to the investigation above, Dispatches uncovers an internal Environment Agency report which reveals a national investigation into landfill management. It found companies across the country could be misclassifying waste as non-hazardous, to pay a lower rate of tax.
Professor Longhurst told Dispatches “If a site is miscategorising waste as inert rather than standard waste category, they are saving £100 a tonne on everything that comes into the site. A typical Arctic lorry will carry between 30 and 40 tonnes. This is thousands of pounds per day that a site can avoid paying So in a year that means millions.”
Dauson Environmental says it denies that inappropriate waste has been taken to Withyhedge or that lorry loads have been systemically, fraudulently altered.
Rubbish Tip: Dispatches is a Quicksilver Media production for Channel 4. The Executive Producer is Eamonn Matthews, the Producer and Director is Emily Keen and the Producer is Celia Watson. Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor for News & Current Affairs is Joanna Potts.
A record-breaking number of 1,150 festive bathers have had a splashing time in the Tenby Boxing Day Swim this morning.
A record-breaking number of 1,150 festive bathers have had a splashing time in the Tenby Boxing Day Swim this morning.
£3,800 donated to services across Withybush Hospital
£3,800 donated to services across Withybush Hospital
VC Gallery Secures Planning Permission for Veteran Housing in Pembrokeshire
The VC Gallery is delighted to announce that Pembrokeshire County Council has granted planning permission to build dedicated apartments for ex-forces veterans. This groundbreaking project aims to address homelessness and support the unique needs of veterans, particularly those with mobility challenges.
Pembroke Dock opticians fundraises to support local families
A PEMBROKE DOCK opticians has collected food, toiletries and seasonal supplies to help inpiduals and families in Pembrokeshire experiencing financial hardship.
Clothes Swap Success at the Torch Theatre
Clothes Swap Success at the Torch Theatre
Three daily ferry sailings from Pembroke from 7th January 2025
The Port of Milford Haven has confirmed it will facilitate a third daily ferry sailing from Pembroke Dock Ferry Terminal on a temporary basis from 7th January 2025. Irish Ferries vessel the ‘Isle of Innisfree’ will call at the Port in addition to the twice-daily scheduled call of the ‘James Joyce’.
Temporary hospital visiting precautions in place to protect patients
Visitors to hospitals across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Pembrokeshire are being asked to only attend if they are free of any potential flu-like symptoms, or any sickness or diarrhoea. Additionally, they may be requested to wear face masks before entry to certain wards or departments.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU FROM THE TORCH TO YOU
A SPECIAL THANK YOU FROM THE TORCH TO YOU
A record-breaking number of 1,150 festive bathers have had a splashing time in the Tenby Boxing Day Swim this morning.
A record-breaking number of 1,150 festive bathers have had a splashing time in the Tenby Boxing Day Swim this morning.
£3,800 donated to services across Withybush Hospital
£3,800 donated to services across Withybush Hospital
VC Gallery Secures Planning Permission for Veteran Housing in Pembrokeshire
The VC Gallery is delighted to announce that Pembrokeshire County Council has granted planning permission to build dedicated apartments for ex-forces veterans. This groundbreaking project aims to address homelessness and support the unique needs of veterans, particularly those with mobility challenges.
Pembroke Dock opticians fundraises to support local families
A PEMBROKE DOCK opticians has collected food, toiletries and seasonal supplies to help inpiduals and families in Pembrokeshire experiencing financial hardship.
Clothes Swap Success at the Torch Theatre
Clothes Swap Success at the Torch Theatre
Three daily ferry sailings from Pembroke from 7th January 2025
The Port of Milford Haven has confirmed it will facilitate a third daily ferry sailing from Pembroke Dock Ferry Terminal on a temporary basis from 7th January 2025. Irish Ferries vessel the ‘Isle of Innisfree’ will call at the Port in addition to the twice-daily scheduled call of the ‘James Joyce’.
Temporary hospital visiting precautions in place to protect patients
Visitors to hospitals across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Pembrokeshire are being asked to only attend if they are free of any potential flu-like symptoms, or any sickness or diarrhoea. Additionally, they may be requested to wear face masks before entry to certain wards or departments.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU FROM THE TORCH TO YOU
A SPECIAL THANK YOU FROM THE TORCH TO YOU
A record-breaking number of 1,150 festive bathers have had a splashing time in the Tenby Boxing Day Swim this morning.
A record-breaking number of 1,150 festive bathers have had a splashing time in the Tenby Boxing Day Swim this morning.
£3,800 donated to services across Withybush Hospital
£3,800 donated to services across Withybush Hospital
VC Gallery Secures Planning Permission for Veteran Housing in Pembrokeshire
The VC Gallery is delighted to announce that Pembrokeshire County Council has granted planning permission to build dedicated apartments for ex-forces veterans. This groundbreaking project aims to address homelessness and support the unique needs of veterans, particularly those with mobility challenges.