A Bolton recycling firm collapse caused the local with a £2 million clean-up bill after it was revealed that the S.C Chadwick and Sons Ltd site in Oakenbottom Road was left with huge stockpiles of waste on it — including quantities of asbestos!

It has also been confirmed that the Environment Agency’s decision to issue a suspension notice on the firm back in February was because the site was ‘taking on too much waste’ and had ‘insufficient safety measures in place.’

An Environment Agency spokesperson was quote by the Lancashire Telegraph as saying:

“The Environment Agency took regulatory action against SC Chadwick and Sons Ltd’s two sites due to non-compliance with their environmental permits and the risk of pollution.

Throughout this time the Environment Agency has worked in partnership with other agencies, including local authorities and the fire and rescue service, to monitor and assesses both S C Chadwick and Sons Ltd’s waste management sites.
This includes prearranged and unannounced site inspections and off-site monitoring in the local areas.

Unfortunately we have now been informed S C Chadwick and Sons Ltd has gone into liquidation and has stopped trading.

Currently the Environment Agency is considering the implications of the company going into liquidation.”

A report issued by the council’s environmental services department, states the site was closed with ‘seven stockpiles of waste’ remaining on the site, which were all at ‘various stages of the waste disposal process.’

More worringly, the report also states:

“There were also stock piles of tires, two 18 yard skips containing asbestos and sundry machinery.”

The report explains that as the rotting waste carried risks of ‘fire, odour nuisance, and pollution and personal safety’ and as no other party were able to resolve those issues, it was vested to the council on June 10.
Work began shortly after, with the authority’s contractor Viridor currently removing an estimated 20,000 tonnes of rotting waste from the land.

The clean-up task is expected to take up until October to complete and nearby residents have been told to expect an ‘extremely bad smell’ to emerge in the local area as the huge amounts of rotting waste are turned over and removed.

Source: Bolton News / Lancashire Telegraph