Permission sought for soil blending and timber recycling facility
A composting, soil blending and timber recycling facility proposing to accept up to 95,000 tonnes of waste materials per annum is seeking planning permission in the Watergrasshill area.
Enrich Environmental Ltd, the applicant, recently submitted the planning application for the site at Ardnageehy West, Watergrasshill, to Cork County Council for pre-validation.
According to the application, the facility is to consist of a composting building, incorporating a reception area, tipping ramp, 12 in-vessel composting tunnels, a storage and blending area, two bio-filters, two humidifiers, along with plant and control rooms.
A compost shed, an office and welfare building along with an associated wastewater plant and a maintenance building also form part of the application.
Outdoors, a concrete pad for composting and timber recycling forms part of the proposed development, along with fire water and process water tanks, a weighbridge, an ESB substation, solar panels at roof level, car parking and provision of new vehicular access and internal access roads.
Enrich Environmental Ltd, a Meathbased company is an award-winning compost manufacturer and is the largest producer of peat-free products in Ireland.
According to the company, it has worked to build knowledge and know-how on the design and management of compost plants and in the use of compost in building sustainable soils.
“From the outset, Enrich has concentrated on developing new products to meet the varied needs of customers and all with minimal environmental footprint. It forms the basis of our thinking. The full benefits of recycling can only be attained when the resulting products are used to replace finite natural resources. This concept of closed-loop recycling is central to Enrich’s product development,” the company state.
The proposed development also includes the realignment of an existing land drain, all ancillary site development, attenuation landscaping and boundary treatment works above and below ground.