Walleys quarry has long been viewed with distain among residence and students in and around the Newcastle-under-Lyme for being the source of a seemingly never-ending torrent of foul odour due to excessive hydrogen sulphide emissions.
On the 28th of November of 2024 the Environment agency issued the quarry a notice to stop receiving new landfill waste, citing that
“management of Walleys Quarry is poor and that further operation of the site may result in significant long-term pollution.”
The site was bleeding hydrogen sulphide, a toxic gas that causes respiratory issues to those that inhale it and has a distinctive eggy smell. The closure notice has (obviously) been appealed by Walleys quarry, with the appeal submitted on the 6th of December 2024. They have publicly disputed the claim made of poor management of the site in their immediate response to the closure notice being issued.
In 2016 hydrogen sulphide monitoring equipment was installed on the site by the Environment agency however the monitors were under-reporting the concentration of hydrogen sulphide until a random audit on the 21st of August 2023 (Fantastic work spotting the issue in a timely manner…) where it was found that
“the issue arose from a misunderstanding about the calibration procedures when we purchased the new analysers in 2016.”
according to the environment agency. While Walleys quarry has been making progress to solve these problems, not enough has been done as seen in the compliance clarification scheme in which in 2023 they scored 251.1, a whole 101.1 points higher than the minimum to be placed into the worst bracket for compliance. (For context the highest single score you can receive for
“a non-compliance associated with a major impact on human health, quality of life or the environment.”
is 60 points.) Since the notice of closure was issued to Walleys quarry work has proceeded on the site to cap off areas of the site that had any exposed landfill and gas collection infrastructure has been installed, as mandated by the closure notice, which is being done. This work has also led to further hydrogen sulphide emissions as explained in a (very passive aggressive) press release on 11th of December 2024:
“Walleys Quarry is not able to import wastes including waste soil to form these benches [Platforms for gas collection infrastructure to rest upon] or use waste soil that is already stockpiled on site to form them the Agency has compelled us to take the unusual step of cutting into already emplaced waste to create them.”
The cutting into pre-existing landfill disturbs any resting waste and can liberate any previously trapped hydrogen sulphide gas.
It is not known at the time of writing when works will be completed due to adverse weather conditions in the form of snow which will have delayed works in the Newcastle-Under-Lyme capping of landfill so there may well be quite a while of the stink lingering despite the closure notice.
