Composting application concerns
by Brian Byrne
A group from Kilcullen Community Action is to examine a planning application for a composting plant at Silliot Hill which, it is claimed, will bring lorry-loads of 'rotting food' through the town and also cause problems for people living at the Naas end of the town.
The application — by TEG Environmental plc, based near Preston in England — is for the retention of the existing composting buildings (waste reception building, site office, plant building and maturation building) for a period of 10 years, which were previously used for the composting of sewage sludge in 2002 before the completion of the upgrade to the Osberstown sewerage treatment plant.
The system proposed is thermophilic aerobic in-vessel composting.
The operation would employ two people and would operate under the umbrella of the EPA licence of Kildare County Council's Integrated Waste Management facility at Silliot Hill.
The proposed facility would produce compost in commercial quantities from a mixture of chicken litter, food waste from catering companies and the food industry, and the organic component of domestic waste from the county's next landfill operation.
Under the application, which was published on December 20, the operation would involve the input of 10 trucks of material a day, and one truck a day taking material out.
Concerns were expressed at the meeting that the raw materials would be trucked in via the motorway through Kilcullen, creating smells. And it was also pointed out that the similar project three years ago had closed down because of the degree of odour that affected adjacent landowners.
It was also noted that in a similar facility in Britain, the material produced ended up being stored in the open air and turned regularly for several weeks before being ready to be carted away.
JJ Warren said this was a continuation of the dumping process 'that we were guaranteed would stop' with the final closure of the landfill at Silliot Hill.
Niall McDonnell said that residents at the north end of Kilcullen had 'put up with the smell of the dump' for years. "This is using material that will have to come from the new landfill facility. Why have a composting facility separate from the landfill? It's not logical, and we shouldn't have to put up with it."
The meeting heard that the promotors of the project had already had five meetings with officials of Kildare County Council.
No Environmental Impact Study has been lodged with the application, according to the details on Kildare County Council's online file.
Following a busy discussion, JJ Warren, Donal Flanagan and Niall McDonnell agreed to examine the application with a view to making a submission before the February 2 closing date.
The Planning Notice at the site today was all but illegible because of weathering of the ink used.
©2005 Brian Byrne.
