INITIAL work to relieve the awful stench coming from Redhill's landfill site could be completed within two weeks, the site operators Biffa said today.
But more work will be necessary to solve the stinky problem.
The Environment Agency has received more than 120 complaints about the latest odour outbreak, largely in the last 24 hours. Some residents have told the Mirror the stench has left them feeling physically sick.
Pushed by the Mirror to reveal what work was being done to stop the pong, which was particularly bad early last week, and again oever the last two days, site operator Biffa said today it had agreed "a number of measures" with the Environment Agency, which regulates waste sites.
Biffa had to submit an urgent action plan by last Friday, after an agency investigation found gas emissions were not being collected adequately.
Biffa spokeswoman Julie Fourcade said: "We have agreed a number of measures with the Environment Agency which commenced [last] Wednesday.
"The works have been prioritised so that those we believe to have most impact will be complete in the next couple of weeks. Works will continue past this to continue to improve the situation."
Environment Agency spokeswoman Elisa Orchard has given more detail on the work happening at the site.
She said: "Additional wells are being constructed to capture higher levels of landfill gas - it will take a further ten days before these wells are completed and working.
"We are monitoring the action plan and odour complaints including site/area inspections. The situation should improve over the next ten days as more wells come on-line and gas is captured.
"There will be a full site review in early February to see whether further actions are needed. If the current action plan is not met, further enforcement action may be taken."
To make a complaint about the smell, contact the agency's incident hotline on 0800 807060.
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