Compost firm says you won’t smell a thing

THE company proposing a recycling facility in Waterford say the system they will use is tried and trusted worldwide.

They insist there’s absolutely no threat of odours or environmental impacts from the site or activities there.

The county council has received, and a protest was held at the site in Portlaw.

Although the facility will be at the old Michelle Ireland plant, the proposed composting process and technologies are light-years away from the previous tannery activities, developers Advanced Environmental Solutions (AES) Ireland say.

Environmental Director of AES, Dr John MacNamara, said any comparison between the two regarding odours and environmental impacts is not tenable.

“Odour emissions will be controlled by the use of negative air pressure in the plant itself, i.e. no air or odour will be able to escape into the environment, all material being delivered to the facility will be inside sealed containers which will not be unloaded until they are inside.

“The negative air system is further augmented by biofilters which will ‘scrub’ and deodorise the air being recycled from the building.”

He said the facility will be designed to eliminate noise pollution, liquid run-offs and other environmental impacts.

The system proposed at the site mirrors nature’s own composting process, differing only by the fact it is carried out in a manner controlling odour and other emissions.

“In essence the Bedminster system simply accelerates a natural process and, by employing state of the art technology, achieves in three days what occurs naturally in a number of months. Compostable waste is processed in sealed, rotating chambers.”

The compost is cured inside the building for 21 days before being taken away.

Waterford County Council will decide on the project by September 26. AES see work beginning immediately after granting of full planning permission. The plant would directly employ 12 to 25 people.