Wednesday 19 November 2014

Latest on Westerleigh smell

Last month I passed on some reports of smell incidents to the Environment Agency to investigate. The agency believe the most likely cause is related to the handling and storage of Animal by-product (ABP) waste. The waste is collected in a road trailer within a building. The doors of the building are closed and air inside is extracted through a carbon filter, but when the trailer is full, it has to be changed. This occurs once or twice a day and involves opening the doors to the building, removing the full trailer and replacing it with an empty one. This takes 30-45 minutes and could potentially produce an odour detectable away from the site.
To tackle this, an action plan has been agreed with Tulip:
  • Tulip have installed a new cleaning station and have implemented regular housekeeping of the ABP waste area.
  • Tulip, along with the ABP waste contractor, have agreed to cover the full trailer before removing it from the ABP storage building.
  • Tulip are instigating a procedure to regularly check that the carbon filter is operating effectively.
The Environment Agency will continue to work with Tulip to improve all areas of odour control. However, if you are disturbed by odours which you believe to be from the abattoir, they ask you to:
  • Contact Dominic Sugrue of Tulip in the first instance (0117 957 6056, Dominic.Sugrue@tulipltd.co.uk) . Tulip are obliged to investigate, they must also record details of the complaint and their response. This information can be audited by the Environment Agency.
  • If the odour persists and the response is unsatisfactory, please also report the odour to the Agency’s hotline (0800 80 70 60).

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