Incinerator consultation comes to end
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CONSULTATION over Viridor’s bid to increase the amount of waste it can import and burn at its massive incinerator in Runcorn ends tomorrow.
Documents filed with the Environment Agency (EA) showed that the company has forecast that it expects to burn 1.1m tonnes of rubbish at the energyfrom-waste (EfW) plant if approval is granted.
A planning application has also been filed with Halton Borough Council to remove the cap on the tonnage of waste that can be delivered by road and to increase the number of lorry deliveries it can make to the facility by 79%.
Previously Viridor has refused to comment on how much rubbish it expects to burn at the plant following requests from the Weekly News.
The EfW plant is the largest of its type in the UK.
Residents have been up in arms over the plans for the incinerator, claiming is to blame for a slew of problems including noise, steam, dust and bad smells.
Viridor has said no enforcement action has been taken against it and that the firm ‘works hard to be a responsible neighbour’.
As part of the permit consultation, the EA has already published several responses from the public, who have reiterated their main complaints about issues relating to issues such as noise, traffic and bad smells.
They have also raised concerns over increases in general pollution from the site including carbon monoxide, ‘ash deposits on cars’, and road safety due to number of lorries on the roads.
On of the responses said that the incinerator has generated dust that settles on their clothes on the washing line.
One of the residents complained that the smell makes them feel ‘sick’ and said they have to ‘put up with untold nuisance on a daily basis’.
View and comment on the application at https://consult.environment-agency. gov.uk, ref no. EPR/RP3638CG/V005.