Landfill site operator breaks silence amid 'sickening' smell causing MONTHS of misery

The firm behind a landfill site which is creating a 'sickening' stench insists it is stepping up work to resolve the issue. Residents have been reporting a pungent smell from the Pilsworth South landfill site, in Bury, for months - with locals reportedly sealing up their windows and vents.

The issue has been so bad, people in neighbouring areas of Bury, Heywood and Rochdale have claimed to feel 'physically sick' because of the pong. More than 3,600 people have now signed a petition calling for an investigation into the site, while last week, mayor Andy Burnham joined residents and Christian Wakeford MP in demanding action with an emergency meeting taking place next week.

Now, the company responsible for the site has issued a statement, insisting it is working to rectify the issue. Valencia Waste Ltd says an improved gas collection system is being used to reduce odour from the site.

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A 'capping material' is also being used over exposed areas to speed up the work, Valencia says. However, the problem won't be resolved overnight, with the work expected to last for a fortnight.

A spokesperson for Valencia said: “The deployment of the improved gas collection system has been successful in capturing more landfill gas and reducing odour from the site so far, but Valencia is not happy with the speed that the odour is being eliminated. As a result, we have taken the decision to put a temporary capping material over all of the exposed areas of waste on the site.

“This will be in addition to the enhanced gas collection infrastructure. The combination of these engineering solutions will speed up the reduction of any odour emissions from site.

“We have