We fully recognise the significant concerns within the local community about Hafod Landfill. We do not underestimate the impact that ongoing reports of odours from the site are having on residents, and we are taking this issue very seriously.

Over the past year, a significant amount of resources have been utilised to regulate the landfill and reduce any offsite impacts.

We will continue to keep the community informed as our regulatory activities progress. 

What we are doing to improve the situation

Our officers have confirmed the presence of these odours, and we are dedicating significant resources to ensure the site operator, Enovert, follows the requirements of their Environmental Permit. Since the Wrexham County Borough Council (WCBC) Homes and Environment Scrutiny meeting in October 2024, we have continued to carry out regular site inspections, respond to incidents and completed a detailed landfill gas emissions audit with our Landfill Emissions Reduction Project (LERP) team. Following the LERP audit, several recommendations were made to improve landfill gas collection and reduce fugitive emissions from the site. These have been shared with Enovert and are considered to reduce the potential for offsite odours. A copy of the LERP landfill gas audit report and the Compliance Assessment Report (CAR) will be available on the Public Register in due course.

Action plan

The Operator has provided us with an Action Plan that states how they will address each recommendation in the LERP audit report with deadlines for completion. Some of these actions have already been completed. This includes drilling and installation of seven new deep vertical gas wells. Other works are weather dependant and will be completed as soon as reasonably practicable. This will include the installation of additional temporary capping that is due to be completed by the end of February 2025. We are working closely with Enovert to ensure these actions are carried out effectively and within the shortest possible timescales.

Odour monitoring

Our current odour monitoring programme is designed to check compliance with the Environmental Permit conditions. Following the scrutiny committee meeting, we met with partners and the Site Operators to discuss options for air quality monitoring.  A suitable monitoring option has been agreed and the procurement process has begun.  Your reports are essential in helping us track and respond to odour problems effectively.

The future of the site

Hafod Landfill operates under an Environmental Permit, which sets out the types and amounts of waste that can be accepted at the site. The permitting regulations do not allow us to include restrictions on where waste comes from.

We only revoke permits if we believe the operation poses a serious risk to the environment or human health, and if all other measures to reduce the odour have been exhausted. At present, the operators are still working through a number of actions to address the issues, and we are regulating them closely.

Closing the site would not immediately get rid of the odours, as leachate and landfill gas would still need to be managed to reduce the potential for offsite odours.

Our regulatory actions are guided by our published regulatory principles, ensuring a balanced and proactive approach.

How to report incidents

We encourage residents to report any odours they believe are coming from the landfill by contacting us on 0300 065 3000 or using the 'Report It' form on our website. These reports are essential in helping us monitor and deal with concerns effectively.

Due to high volume of incident reports it is currently not possible to phone each reporter to provide verbal feedback.

Keep up to date

We recently launched a dedicated webpage on how we are regulating Hafod Landfill, Wrexham. This will be updated as and when we have updates to provide the public on how we’re regulating Hafod landfill.