SEPA Suspends Waste Management Licence
Issued on 12 October 1998 - Ref W981003

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has suspended the Waste Management Licence of Hartlouphill Landfill Site, near Greengairs in North Lanarkshire operated by Caird Environmental Ltd, effective as of 1200 hours on Tuesday 13 October 1998.

There are two suspension notices

• the first precludes any disposal activity under the licence and is based on failure to comply with an earlier notice which told the operator to provide a tip leachate management system to SEPA’s satisfaction. This suspension will only be lifted once SEPA is satisfied that an appropriate leachate management system is in place.

• the second is a partial suspension of the disposal activities under the licence on the grounds of serious pollution, allowing the site to accept only uncontaminated soil, brick and concrete rubble. The serious pollution relates to offensive odours emanating from the site. This suspension will only be lifted once these odours have been controlled to SEPA’s satisfaction.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

• Serious problems, notably smell nuisance, have been experienced at this landfill site for several months. SEPA served a final warning letter on the company at the end of June and since the problems continued, an enforcement notice was served in July requiring the company to take certain steps to prevent pollution. Despite extensive remedial measures being carried out by the operator during the last three months, smell emissions have continued to cause offence to the neighbouring residents. In SEPA’s opinion, the operator has failed to meet the necessary standards required of such sites, resulting in the issuing of these suspension notices.

• SEPA has received numerous justifiable complaints from local residents over the past few months concerning the odour problem at the site.

• The Hartlouphill site has been in operation since 1991 when Monklands District Council granted a Waste Disposal Licence for the deposit of household, industrial and commercial waste. SEPA took over as the waste regulation authority in April 1996.

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© SEPA 1998