NRW, which is the Welsh government body that includes ‘Environment Agency’ functions in Wales has said it is asking farmers and land owners to be aware of requests to store baled waste on their land.
In a statement, the organisation said that the need for farmers to be aware “follows recent incidents where farmers across Wales, and at an industrial unit near Wrexham, have accepted waste for temporary storage. This is a growing problem across Wales driven by criminal gangs.”
The bales, said NRW, typically contain mixed partially shredded wastes including plastics and biodegradable materials.
Permit
Landowners are being reminded that they “should be aware that the storage of baled waste is tightly regulated, and they need an environmental permit to do so legally. This is to make sure the material is managed and stored correctly to avoid pollution and fire risk.”
NRW advised that individuals or companies have either offered baled waste to farmers to store supposedly on a temporary basis, or have rented buildings and filled them with waste without informing the owners.
The bales, it warned, are “highly combustible but rapid action by the owner of the building near Wrexham – with advice from NRW experts and North Wales Fire and Rescue Service – prevented a major fire.” Investigations are continuing into the Wrexham incident.
Nick Thomas, North East Wales Operations Manager for Natural Resources Wales said: “Landowners may let industrial units in good faith to tenants but as recent incidents have shown, there are unscrupulous operators looking to dump waste anywhere they can. The land owner is often left with significant quantities of waste, which is potentially damaging to the environment, and a large bill to remove it legally.
“Owners need to be aware of the risk when renting out buildings or allowing waste to be stored on farmland.
“Anyone approached to store baled or any other type of waste on their land should report it to us immediately.”
Contact information
If any landowner is asked to store waste on their land, NRW has asked them to call the organisation on: 03000 65 3000.
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