LLANELLI: Waste site banned from taking some waste tonight as fly crisis escalates

The Llanelli waste site blamed for the town’s fly infestation has been ordered to stop accepting some types of waste from 6pm tonight.

Natural Resources Wales issued a partial suspension notice on AMG Resources Limited after a further inspection on Thursday, escalating its response to the swarms plaguing the Glanymor area.

The notice bans certain waste types from the site from 6pm on Friday 24 July. NRW has not specified which types.

The operator must also clear and clean areas of the site and complete a list of other actions identified by NRW officers.

The regulator said AMG Resources was cooperating.

AMG Resources has declined to comment on the enforcement action. Earlier in the investigation the company said it was not the source of the flies and that it had pest control measures in place.

It is a significant escalation. Three days ago NRW served an enforcement notice giving the operator 21 days to bring waste management back into line with its permit — the shortest period the law allows.

NRW said it understood “how distressing and frustrating” the increase in fly activity had been for residents and businesses in the Glanymor area.

The statement also pushes back at the criticism that has built around the regulator this week. Two Glanymor councillors called for NRW’s chair to resign, citing what they called a significant reversal in its position.

Cllr Sean Rees and Cllr Louvain Roberts pointed to a BBC Wales report on 7 July, in which NRW said it did not think the AMG plant was “currently contributing to the reported increase in flies”. Its own investigation later identified the site as a source.

NRW now disputes that account. “NRW has not taken part in any interview with the BBC on this issue to date,” the statement says.

It adds that any suggestion it concluded AMG Resources was not a potential source “does not reflect the complexity of the investigation or the approach taken by NRW officers throughout the incident”.

“At no point during our investigation was this operator ruled out as a potential source,” the statement says, adding that NRW had taken regulatory decisions “based on the evidence available at each stage”.

The two accounts are not necessarily at odds. NRW’s denial refers specifically to an interview, while its earlier comment to the BBC was a written statement — and it said the plant was not “currently” contributing to the rise in flies, rather than that it had been ruled out altogether.

Officers had carried out inspections, monitoring and other evidence-gathering from the outset to assess a number of possible sources, it said, working alongside Carmarthenshire Council.

NRW said it would keep monitoring the site closely and assess compliance with both notices, and would consider further regulatory action if needed.

Looking further ahead, NRW said it would continue “enhanced monitoring” of the site, and that the operator would be required to review and improve its current protection measures to minimise the risk of a repeat.

Flies have swarmed homes, pubs and shops across Seaside, Morfa and Tyisha since early July, with shops selling out of spray and more than 800 people joining a Facebook group tracking the infestation.

Residents say the problem is not new. Fly infestations in the area were first reported in 2018, and locals say pest control measures have never stopped the swarms returning in hot weather.

Residents can report fly activity to Carmarthenshire Council on 01267 234567 or publicprotection@carmarthenshire.gov.uk.