LondonWaste appeals composting plant&#39s enforcement notice

The plant received the enforcement notice in August after complaints were made about odour problems from the in-vessel facility during the summer (see letsrecycle.com story).

” In my view, their intent to appeal this enforcement notice shows complete disregard for the local community. “
– Cllr Terry Neville, LB Enfield
But LondonWaste's decision to appeal the enforcement notice has angered the local authority, the London borough of Enfield.

The waste firm told letsrecycle.com yesterday the basis of its appeal was that it was not LondonWaste that should bear the responsibility for the Edmonton plant, since the facility was being run by contractors Agrivert Ltd.

“Baffling”
However, Enfield's councillor responsible for environment, Cllr Terry Neville, described LondonWaste's decision to appeal the notice as “baffling”.

Cllr Neville said: “LondonWaste are the authority responsible for the compost site and as such they should ensure its operation does not adversely affect the environment and cause a problem for the residents.

“In my view, their intent to appeal this enforcement notice shows complete disregard for the local community,” Cllr Neville added.

” We are not washing our hands of anything. We have carried out a full review of the process. “
– LondonWaste Ltd
The composting centre at the centre of the row is part of LondonWaste's Edmonton EcoPark, processing about 30,000 tonnes of organic waste each year in an operation run by Oxfordshire-based composting firm Agrivert.

Appeal
Although the problems that resulted in the enforcement notice have now been dealt with according to LondonWaste, the company is appealing the enforcement notice because it says it should be Agrivert's responsibility to ensure the plant does not cause a nuisance to the local community.

A spokeswoman for LondonWaste told letsrecycle.com: “We are not washing our hands of anything. We have carried out a full review of the process, bringing in the German manufacturers of the equipment and introducing the enhancements suggested.”

She added that all phone calls and complaints from local residents had been followed up and dealt with.

But, commenting on the need to appeal the enforcement notice after the company had said the issues involved had been solved, she explained: “We feel that it should be directed at Agrivert – they have been contracted by us to compost the waste without causing a nuisance to neighbours. They have caused a nuisance to neighbours, so it should be them being monitored.”

In a statement on the issue, Agrivert said: “Agrivert is fully aware of the basis of the appeal and have been in full consultation with London Waste throughout the process.”