WESTBURY MP, Dr Andrew Murrison, has raised concerns that emissions from the proposed incinerator facility by Northacre Renewable Energy Ltd (NREL) will taint the nearby Arla Foods factory product and has warned that a malfunction could have dire consequences for the entire UK dairy industry.
A recent report by the Environment Agency (EA), and commissioned by NREL, undertook an odour and taint assessment to provide details on the likely impact of odour on the Arla factory. The report found levels to be ‘conservative’.
However, in a letter to the EA, Dr Murrison wrote, “I doubt the report will satisfy Arla, a major, quality undertaking in my constituency whose highly sensitive foodstuff – a signature Westbury product – would be at risk from effluent from a waste incinerator on the same site.
“The implications for the only milk processing plant of its type in the UK are dire. Malfunction and outages will not only threaten my constituents directly, but potentially cause the whole UK dairy industry to grind to a halt.”
The proposed incinerator site would sit adjacent to Arla at Stephenson Road on the West Wilts Trading Estate. This facility is the biggest manufacturing site for butter in the UK, employing around 250 people.
In its formal opposition to the proposal, Arla has raised concern about the potential for emissions and odours which it says could force the dairy to shut down its operations, costing £11,000 an hour, to avoid any risk of tainting its products.
It has also said that insufficient attention has been paid to the consequences for the dairy if the energy from waste site experiences plant failure, or unexpected or unplanned shutdowns.
Dr Murrison added, “Given NREL’s track record, most notably its response to the appalling smell from its existing undertaking at Westbury that ruined the summer of many of my constituents, I am not reassured by the report.
“I continue to strongly urge you to oppose NREL’s application. I am writing in similar terms to ministers, again, pressing my opposition to the proposal and requesting in the strongest possible terms that it is ‘called in’.”
Each year Arla produces 60,000 tonnes of butter and spreads for the retail market, 20,000 tonnes of butter used by other food manufacturers and up to 55,000 tonnes of skimmed milk and buttermilk powders. Its intake amounts to around 5% of all the milk produced in the UK.
Arla’s factory operates 24/7 and utilises a process to skim whole milk, leaving cream for butter production and simultaneously to dry the skimmed milk into powder. This means that having constant access to very large volumes of clean air for their dryer is important; if the air quality is compromised in any way by emissions that contain noxious gases, bioaerosols or odours, Arla have previously said they would have to suspend production and be left with an unsaleable product.
