RESIDENTS in a Gwent village have raised concerns that ‘blue smoke’ coming from a nearby recycling centre could be polluting the area.

Those living in Cwmcarn, in Caerphilly County Borough, claim they regularly spot 'blue smoke' coming from GLJ Recycling – a waste management company which is located in the Chapel Farm industrial estate.

Some have noticed that the smoke tends to linger above the village in the Ebbw Valley, and that there is a smell of oil in the air.

There have also been reports that houses near to the recycling centre shake when some of its machinery is in operation.

However, representatives of GLJ Recycling have denied these claims and insist the smoke is in fact steam from its shredding equipment.

As for the reports of homes shaking, the company says its machinery was designed by a structural engineer in order to ensure "absolute maximum dampening of any movement".

This comes as Cwmcarn Residents Association met last week to discuss plans for a possible expansion of the recycling site – most of which it objected to.

A consultation letter sent to residents, seen by the Argus, says the site is proposing a “new heavy fraction processing plant together with a new site enclosure (boundary fence)” and that the scheme “constitutes a major development”.

GLJ Recycling has maintained that the site is not expanding, and that planning permission has been in place for these projects for more than two years.

South Wales Argus: GLJ has said the smoke is in-fact steam from its shredder and says it is not harmful to residents. (Picture: Cwmcarn Residents Association)GLJ has said the smoke is in-fact steam from its shredder and says it is not harmful to residents. (Picture: Cwmcarn Residents Association)

One resident complained about the issue of smoke from the recycling centre to Natural Resources Wales in 2020, but said little investigation work has been done.

“I first noticed smoke when they installed the new shredder in 2020,” they said.

“I’ve been raising this with Natural Resources Wales ever since, but they seem to be largely ignoring it.

“I’m concerned about my health – I don’t want to live in Cwmcarn if it’s going to continue to be like this.

“It stinks of oil when I’m out walking and the smoke coming out of the site is disgusting.

“What I care about is the pollution, the noise and the explosions that regularly come from the place – they also leave bright lights on throughout the night.”

South Wales Argus: The site is located on the Chapel Farm industrial estate in Cwmcarn. (Google Maps)The site is located on the Chapel Farm industrial estate in Cwmcarn. (Google Maps)

It’s understood that concerns have been raised to Islwyn MP Chris Evans and a closed meeting between Cwmcarn Residents Association and a local councillor took place on Thursday.

GLJ Recycling site managing director Gareth Jones said: “In the past two years GLJ has invested in a state of the art £4 million metal recycling shredder, which is the first in Wales. This is more energy efficient, quieter and much cleaner than previous methods of processing scrap metal at the site.

"Full planning permission for this process was provided in 2019. The site is continually monitored by the environmental regulator which continues to approve all operations.

“Any objections appear to be based on these current operations, but as full planning permission has already been granted then these particular objections are irrelevant to the current proposal and will not be considered.

South Wales Argus: What some residents say is 'smoke' from a recycling plant seen from after in Cwmcarn. (Picture: Cwmcarn Residents Association)What some residents say is 'smoke' from a recycling plant seen from after in Cwmcarn. (Picture: Cwmcarn Residents Association)

“The new proposal is to erect a building to install high-tech sorting equipment which will create an additional five jobs and decrease the carbon footprint of GLJ. Less residual material will be sent to landfill as it will be processed and recycled rather than remain a waste product.

"This process will be fully housed in a purpose-built building to minimize any impact on residents. The future of all recycling must be to invest heavily in ensuring more products are recycled and remove the need to for waste going to landfill.

“GLJ wish to embrace the views and work with the residents of Cwmcarn which was demonstrated by a member of GLJ management attending the planning meeting to explain the truth and dispel the myths that have been circulated to local residents.”

Jon Goldsworthy, South East operations manager for Natural Resources Wales said: “Our officers have been responding to several incident reports, regarding visible emissions from GLJ Recycling plant in Cwmcarn, Caerphilly.

“The plant operator holds an environmental permit for the storage and treatment of waste at the site, which  places strict conditions on waste treatment activities, infrastructure, and emissions in order to minimise  the risk of pollution to the local environment.  

“We will continue to monitor and regulate the operations in line with the permit conditions during our routine inspections. If we find evidence of pollution, we will take the appropriate regulatory action."