Company donates £50,000 to river trust after pollution incidents on the River Taff

Nation.Cymru staff

A company has donated £50,000 to a local rivers’ charity after equipment and containment failures led to pollution incidents in the River Taff.

PB Gelatins UK has also paid £14,775 towards Natural Resources Wales’ (NRW) investigation and legal costs as part of an Enforcement Undertaking.

The case relates to two pollution incidents in April and August 2024 at PB Gelatins UK’s site on the Treforest Industrial Estate, where process effluent – liquid waste produced during industrial processes – entered the River Taff.

NRW’s investigation found the pollution was as a result of failures in containment systems and associated management controls.

In April 2024, a section of pipework failed during commissioning, allowing hot process effluent to escape into a surface water drain which flowed into the river, resulting in the deaths of fish.

A further incident in August 2024 involved failures in the site’s pumping system, leading to effluent escaping into the surface water network.

PB Gelatins UK has since ceased operations at the Treforest site, removing the risk of further pollution from this source.

The donation to the South East Wales Rivers Trust will help deliver river restoration and environmental improvement projects, including work in the River Taff catchment.

Michelle Griffiths, Operations Manager for NRW, said: “Pollution incidents like these can have serious impacts on our rivers, wildlife and local environment.

“It is essential that operators have robust systems in place to prevent harm and respond quickly when things go wrong.

“Enforcement Undertakings help ensure companies take responsibility for environmental harm by making amends and supporting local environmental projects.

“We expect all operators to take their responsibility to protect Wales’ natural environment seriously, and we won’t hesitate to act when our investigations find breaches of environmental rules.”

An Enforcement Undertaking is a civil sanction available to NRW under the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008. It allows companies to make amends for environmental harm by contributing to projects that directly benefit the environment.

NRW confirms that all actions set out in the undertaking have been completed in full, with a Completion Certificate issued on 26 May 2026. It was negotiated and finalised by Katherine Lingley and Jane Chapman, Legal Services Team for NRW, in conjunction with Martha Smith-Higgins of Apex Chambers.

Suspected pollution incident should be reported to NRW quickly online at www.naturalresources.wales/reportit or by calling its 24-hour incident line on 03000 65 3000.