A FIRM has been given until the end of the month to remove tonnes of waste from Goole docks.
Bales of rotting paper were left at Goole docks by Leeds Paper Recycling (LPR) earlier this year.
Now, in a letter to a councillor, the Environment Agency has said it had served an enforcement notice to NW Trading, which manages the land.
NW Trading has confirmed it had received the notice but said it was not guilty of any offence as the waste was owned by LPR.
LPR received a similar order, requiring it to remove the waste by July 11, but 945 bales remain.
Councillor Malcolm Boatman, who has read a copy of the latest order, said he was pleased some action had been taken to resolve the long- running saga.
He said: "We hope it has the desired effect and the bales are finally removed from the town's dock.
"It seems to me the Environment Agency is working up the chain.
"A notice was sent to LPR, but little was done, although they did rewrap the bales, which limited the smell to an extent."
It is understood landowner, Associated British Ports, employs NW Trading to manage the docks.
In the letter, the Environment Agency stated it understood waste had been removed from the front of the docks area.
However, it said several dozen bales were still to be cleared from the docks.
The agency said there was now "a concentrated effort to resolve this situation as quickly as possible".
Mr Boatman, who serves on both Goole and East Riding councils, said: "The situation should have been resolved by now. It has been going on too long.
"We have never been told where the bales are destined for, other than that LPR wanted to ship them abroad to be incinerated."
Neither LPR or NW Trading were available for comment.
