Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

A waste firm has been told by the environmental regulator Natural Resources Wales to clean up land contaminated by plastic.

The Bryn Group, a waste and aggregates firm operating out of Gelliargwellt Farm, near Gelligaer, has apologised for the pollution.

It is the second time in nine months that NRW has sanctioned the firm’s subsidiary Bryn Aggregates Limited.

As part of its business, the company processes garden waste into compost, which it uses on its fields and on a bunding which shields its quarrying operation.

David Griffiths, Industry and Waste Regulation Team Leader for Natural Resources Wales said: “We have issued a Statutory Notice for waste removal at the Bryn Aggregates Limited site near Gelligaer, Caerphilly, following concerns around plastic contamination.

“Our officers will be carrying out site visits over the next few weeks to monitor the situation and ensure the waste is removed.

“Failure to comply with the notice could lead to appropriate enforcement action being considered.”

The company said the plastic came from contaminated compost used to make up a top layer of soil (between 60cm to 100cm in depth) on its bund – and no deeper.

It added that this was in the same area reported by residents last year and another area it identified.

Alun Price, managing director of Bryn Group, said: “Our neighbours are justifiably angry at the contamination found in some consignments of compost used atop the quarry bund, and we have and continue to apologise unreservedly for that.

“We hope they will find assurance from this detailed independent study that found the structure of the bund is not contaminated, as many of them believe, and is in fact properly constructed.

“There was clearly a failure in the physical sifting (“screening”) and quality control systems in place for our compost, but we assure you that it was not deliberate.”

Caerphilly’s Senedd Member Hefin David has been working with nearby residents over the issue.

He said: “The investigation, which was instigated because of observations by residents living nearby, has confirmed their suspicions about contamination of various areas of the bund where compost had been used as a surface layer.

“This raises further questions about why the compost itself was contaminated and whether investigations will be necessary into that. I have requested a further meeting with NRW and residents for some explanation here. We also ask that Caerphilly Council, who provide the garden waste that makes the compost, investigate these concerns. We feel that residents should have been listened to a lot sooner about these matters.”

The source of the contamination may come from the council’s garden waste collections with residents placing plastic with organic material.

A Caerphilly County Borough Council spokesperson said: “We are aware that NRW have served a statutory notice for waste removal however as this is an investigation led by NRW we are unable to comment any further.”