Hundreds sign petitions over foul-smelling tips in Cannock and Walsall
Hundreds of people have signed petitions ordering action to be taken to "stop the stench" coming from two separate tips in Walsall and Cannock.
More than 1,800 people have signed a petition in just three days ordering action to be taken to stop the "constant odour" from Highfields waste disposal site in Walsall Wood.
Meanwhile nearly 1,000 people have signed a petition, started just before Christmas, to put an end to the "unbearable stench" coming from the Poplars landfill site in Cannock.
Frustrated residents are calling on the Environment Agency – as well as their local councils – to step in and help stop their "suffering".
Natalie Gallagher, who started the Walsall Wood petition, said the smell was so bad that sometimes she woke up feeling physically sick.
"I live approximately half a mile from the site and the smell is so bad particularly through the night, it comes into my home even when the doors and windows are shut affecting sleep quality and some mornings we wake up feeling physically sick," she said. "We have to run steamers through the night with essential oils to disguise the smell and during the day burn candles.
"When you wake up you feel trapped because your home smells of a noxious, gassy, eggy stench but you can’t even open your windows because the smell outside is even stronger.
"On some days I’ve had to leave my home to get a break from the odour because it’s made me feel ill constantly smelling it. You can drive all the way through Brownhills some days before you are free of the smell."
The Environment Agency said it was investigating the issue, and encouraged residents to report any odour issues.
And Kerrie Morris, who launched the petition for Cannock residents, said the smell from the Poplar tip, owned by Biffa, was "getting worse".
She said: "The stench in the air is unbearable. Over the past few months the odour from Cannock Tip is progressively getting worse. The smell is stronger, the distance its reaching is further afield.
"The health impacts are unclear and unknown. We as local residents deserve for these matters to be resolved and quickly."
A spokesman for Biffa said a landfill gas action plan was in place which had been issued to the Environmental Agency.
Residents are being invited to have their say on Cannock’s tip at a meeting next week.
Hednesford Town Council have set aside some time at their meeting on Tuesday to discuss the issues with Poplars Landfill Site.
View the Highfields site petition here.
