Composters accuse media of "scare-mongering"
29 June 2009
The organics recycling sector has raised concerns over national media articles which claimed over the weekend that open-air composting facilities could pose health risks to residents.
Currently in excess of four million tonnes annually are successfully composted in the UK with the vast majority of compost sites operating without concern to neighbours
Jeremy Jacobs, AFOR
Yesterday, (June 28) in the Sunday Telegraph and today (June 29), in the Daily Mail, journalists claimed that the release of bioaerosols from composting facilities - including bacteria, spores and fungi - could lead to lung and skin conditions for site workers and residents living nearby.
The articles cited work carried out by the Environment Agency and Cranfield University, entitled 'Evaluating the quality of bioaerosol risk assessments for composting facilities in England and Wales' and published in April 2009, which found that out of 44 composting sites surveyed, only eight had adequate risk assessments in place to prevent bioaerosols posing a risk to the surrounding area.
However, Jeremy Jacobs, managing director for the Association for Organics Recycling, has now written a letter to the Sunday Telegraph pointing out that four million tonnes of organic material is successfully composted each year in the UK and claiming that the study was not put in context.
In particular, Mr Jacobs said the article failed to take into account the amount of naturally occurring bioaerosols when discussing the amount on organics and composting sites, and said that the Environment Agency would only issue permits if planned sites posed no risks to the surrounding area.
He said: "To put fungal spores into context, and specifically Aspergillus Fumigatus, anyone who walks through a wood especially in the autumn will be exposed to higher levels of these spores than living near a compost site.
"With respect to regulatory constraints placed on operators, the sector is very heavily regulated by both the Environment Agency and Animal Health (a division of Defra). Applicants for new biowaste facilities whose boundary is closer than 250 metres from a dwelling place or workplace have an obligation to carry out a site specific risk assessment.
"The Environment Agency will not issue them with a permit unless the risk assessment shows that people will not be put at undue risk from the proposed new facility. Applicants may also be required to carry out both a pre-build background level assessment of bioaerosols and thereafter regular monitoring of bioaerosols whilst the site is operational - this is likely to become a mandatory requirement within the permit," he added.
Mr Jacobs also said trends and changes in the composting sector meant that the majority of sites were moving to fully enclosed facilities, while site operatives tend to work in a tractor, turner or loading shovel which has inbuilt filtration systems to eliminate any risks posed.
"Scare-mongering"
Others in the composting sector also criticised the articles. Mick Fishwick, chief executive at TEG Environmental, which uses in-vessel rather open-windrow composting to treat organic waste, claimed that there was currently no conclusive evidence that open windrow composting practice posed a health risk.
He said: "We carry out risk assessments on all our facilities and we have just done work with the Health and Safety Executive quite openly on one of our facilities and I think that that report is nothing more than scare-mongering. There is no evidence to say that there is a risk to human health from composting."
"From my point-of-view I think it is scare-mongering that type of reporting. I am not aware of any comprehensive links of bioaerosols from compost plants and risk to people off-site," he added.
New Earth
However, Peter Mills, managing director of Dorset-based New Earth Solutions, claimed that the potential for problems in odour and bioaerosols caused by open windrow composting had led to his company following a fully enclosed route when starting out in 2002.
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He said: "We always saw emissions around composting plants being a significant challenge and we decided right at the start to shape our business plan around fully enclosed."
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