'Smelled like rotten vegetables!' Concerns over proposed Longford anaerobic plant
Cllr Mark Casey said the proposed plant is located too close to residents and tourism hot spot Center Parcs
A county councillor who recently visited an anaerobic digestion plant in the UK following proposals for a similar facility in Ballymahon has raised concerns over the potential impact on residents’ quality of life and the local tourism sector, particularly due to the proposed site’s close proximity to the hugely popular Center Parcs.
An anaerobic digestion plant is a facility that uses bacteria to break down waste such as food scraps, slurry and animal manure in sealed tanks, producing gas for electricity and heat, while the leftover material can be used as fertiliser.
Councillor Mark Casey said that while he is generally in favour of anaerobic digestion as a sustainable waste management solution, such a facility “must be located in rural areas” away from communities and urban areas.
Speaking to the Longford Leader, Cllr Casey said, “It was a very disappointing visit. We were told these digesters didn’t smell, but the sewerage from the waste smelled like rotten vegetables. In another area, the smell was like ammonia. They’re saying the plant in Ballymahon will be different but I’m going by what I saw and I was disappointed.”
He added “I expected clean efficient operations and instead what I saw were lorries and tractors constantly coming and going so much so that the roads into the facility had been destroyed by them. They were worse than any road I’ve seen in Ireland and that’s saying something.”
“The loading of the four different digesters was constant. They also use chemicals in this process which we didn’t think was something they did. It’d be good in the middle of Bord na Móna land where it’s not annoying anyone but not in an urban area. The facility I visited had very few neighbours but the manager of the plant did say that they were having trouble with neighbours over the traffic and various different outputs - the smell, light pollution and so on.”
Writing on social media, Cllr Casey said locating an anaerobic digester in or near a town would be “highly inappropriate”, stating that the processing of large volumes of organic material such as food waste, slurry and silage “generates a strong and persistent odour” which, he said, would have a negative impact on the quality of life of nearby residents.
He said, “In the case of Ballymahon, the concern is even greater. The proposed location is not only too close to the town itself but also in close proximity to Center Parcs Longford, one of Ireland’s major tourist attractions. This raises serious concerns about the potential impact on tourism, local business, and the overall reputation of the area.”
Cllr Casey stated that anaerobic digestion plants should be situated in rural settings where both traffic associated with the facility and odour impacts could be minimised.
He explained, “Locating such a development near residential areas or key tourism sites risks causing unnecessary disruption and long term negative consequences for the community.”