A controversial waste plant has been forced to close due to mechanical failure.
The shutdown means that for at least two weeks, thousands of tonnes of household waste will be transferred across Wiltshire to another site, where it will be buried.
Site operator Hills Waste Solutions says the shutdown is due to the failure of a critical component of one of the two internal cranes at the Mechanical Biological Treatment facility in Westbury.
Normally, the facility at Northacre, Westbury takes Wiltshire’s residual 'black bin' household waste, dries and biologically treats it in a controlled building, recovers metals for recycling and turns most of the remaining material into a solid recovered fuel for use in energy-from-waste plants rather than sending it straight to landfill.
The facility has been linked by Environment Agency to ongoing incidents of air pollution known as the Westbury Whiff.
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The operator says it will take two weeks to fix the problem. In the meantime, waste will be diverted to the Lower Compton landfill site, near Calne where it will be buried.
Lower Compton is also the subject of an ongoing Environment Agency investigation because of odour pollution.
The Environment Agency has confirmed that their officers will continue to monitor odour levels in Westbury throughout the weekend and will respond to reports from residents across the area as they are received.
Wiltshire Council said it "will continue to work closely with Hills and receive updates throughout the repair programme."
It's cabinet member for waste, Cllr Paul Sample, said: "We appreciate that residents, particularly those in Calne and Westbury, may have questions about the temporary shutdown of the MBT facility and the work taking place at Lower Compton.
"This is an unforeseen and really unfortunate equipment failure, even more frustrating given the other ongoing issues. The decision by Hills as the site operator to temporarily close the facility has been taken to allow essential repairs to be completed safely and as quickly as possible.
"Throughout this period, arrangements are in place to ensure Wiltshire's household waste continues to be managed, while additional odour-control measures will be used during the repair works at the MBT.
"We will continue to work closely with Hills and the Environment Agency and will keep residents updated on progress as the repairs are completed and the facility returns to operation. We thank everyone for their understanding as this issue is resolved.”
A spokesperson for Hills said: "In order to make repairs and clean the reception pits, it will at times be necessary for a reception door or the biohall entrance door to be opened.
"When this is required the length of time doors are opened will be kept to the absolute minimum and only partially opened.
"Odour abatement fans will be positioned adjacent to this area and the biofilter extraction system will be functioning as normal.
"As no waste will be processed through the refinement section of the building and no residual landfill residues will be stored, we will also isolate the extraction from refinement to ensure maximum extraction from the biohall."
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A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: "We recognise that this change may increase concerns about odour in both communities, particularly with further periods of hot weather forecast.
"In Westbury, there may be increased odour associated with doors being opened to carry out the necessary repair work.
"We have inspected the transfer station in Compton Bassett, ensuring that Hills are using appropriate measures to minimise odour from the additional waste being delivered.
"We fully appreciate that this situation is far from ideal for residents. We are working closely and urgently with Hills and Wiltshire Council to identify and implement measures that will minimise the impact of the additional waste being processed at Compton Bassett and to reduce odour wherever possible."
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