Nobber residents and company set to do battle once more over incinerator

A new battle is set to begin between residents of Nobber and College Proteins, which has just lodged a fresh planning application for a meat and bonemeal (MBM) incinerator on the outskirts of the village. The company has lodged the application With with Bord Pleanala for a biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant at its Nobber premises, which would produce eight meagwatts of electricity. However, local group, North-East Against Incineration, has vowed to continue its campaign against the proposed incinerator. Spokesman Christy O"Reilly said they were gearing up to do battle again. 'We hope this will be the last time. Because of an error by College Proteins, we have already spent €140,000 fighting this development already, but we will continue to fight it,' he said. Mr O"Reilly said they would be using the Fair Day in Nobber this Sunday to publicise facts and figures about the proposal. He said that there was no need for a meat and bonemeal incinerator in Nobber as Lagan Cement already has a licence to burn MBM and Irish Cement has also applied to Meath County Council for permission to burn it at its plant at Platin, outside Duleek. 'College Proteins are using BSE (Mad Cow Disease) as an excuse to build an incinerator but the numbers of infected animals has been decreasing steadily since 2002 and food safety experts agree that, in about three years" time, the EU regulation will change and it will no longer need to be incinerated,' he said. Cllr Eugene Cassidy agreed there was absolutely no need for an incinerator at Nobber with two cement kilns in the area that could already burn meat and bonemeal instead. He pointed out that 1.4 tonnes of meat and bonemeal was equivalent to one tonne of coal when it came to the manufacture of cement. 'Why dispose of a valuable fuel in an incinerator when it could be used in the manufacture of cement?' he asked. A spokesperson for College Proteins and that extensive research has shown that the burning of meat and bonemeal in such a plant is a safe practice from an environmental and public and animal health point of view. He said the company currently employs 100 people, and the existing plant is run to the very highest standards and is licensed by both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Agriculture and Food. 'If planning permission is secured for the new operation, an additional 18 permanent jobs will be created, while up to 100 people will be employed during the two-year construction period,' he said. He went on to say that the company"s operations comply with the highest professional standards and the company has engaged a team of the best expert consultants to prepare its current proposal. 'The replacement of expensive imported fossil fuels will generate a renewable energy source and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 38,000 tonnes per annum. At present, 34,500 tonnes of meat and bonemeal are produced annually at the Nobber site which has to be exported to mainland Europe and the UK. 'This is a waste of a vital natural energy resource, and the proposed plant adheres to the proximity principle that, where possible, waste is to be dealt with at source,' he added.