Agenda and minutes

Councillor Prowse was appointed Chair.

Apologies were received from Councillors Choules, Newcombe and John Staddon.

The notes of the meeting held on 22 April 2009 were agreed as a correct record.

The list of improvement works remained active, Terry Green having advised at the previous meeting of the need to be selective and invest in areas where a substantial improvement to odour control can be gained. There had been no significant change to the process plant but progress was continuing with the various improvements works listed below:

§         Installation of an extraction fan connecting the boiler house to drier room was expected to be completed within two weeks.

§         A substantial quote had been received for the replacement of the odour extraction ducting with stainless steel ducting from the Fallen Stock area to JLT tower. Because of financial restraints capital expenditure would not be secured for this at present, however, the ducting had been examined and necessary repairs made. Regular inspections were made to ensure the ducting remains in serviceable condition.

§         A quotation had been obtained for installing a simplified conveyor system from the pressors to the warehouse to further improve plant reliability. A further quote had also been obtained prior to the meeting. Both quotations would be considered in due course.

§         No progress had been made regarding the installation of a tallow drainage system ex drier. This was not a high priority at present in the programme of improvement works.

§         The installation of ducting from the Large Flakt to the press room was on hold pending the outcome of Aerox trials at the Hartshill plant in the Midlands. A preliminary mini Aerox trial had been carried out at Hartsill which had proved unsuccessful. John Leech/Alex Bullied would be advised and invited to attend if further trails were planned.

§         The installation of a tallow recycle tank to improve drier efficiency was no longer necessary as there was sufficient means of diverting tallow to the drier using existing equipment.

§         New warehouse doors had been installed. This was an aesthetic improvement and not odour control related.

§         The replacement of two bays of factory roof to provide longer term security against wind damage was on hold at the moment as previous substantial repairs were considered to be satisfactory to ensure the integrity of the roof.

§         There was no progress on the replacement of the wet cooling tower with an air condenser. 

§         Boiler fuel ring main and controls had been completed.

§         Neutralising agent sprays would be installed to the outside of effluent tanks before Spring 2010.

§         The catalyst agent for the small Flakt tower had been replaced shortly after the previous meeting.

There was an ongoing need to be selective in respect of planned improvement works because of financial restraints due to the current economic climate. Since June, the plant had changed from being open on a 24/7 basis to being open five and a half days per week, 6am on Monday until 6pm on Saturdays. There had been a decline of around 300 tonnes per week of raw tonnage resulting in the plant processing from late pm Monday to early pm Saturday. On  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

Mr Henthorne enlarged on his complaint dated 26 May 2009. He stated that he had first been aware of the smell/stench standing outside his bungalow. He described it as rank/”smell of death” a description which he felt mirrored the comment of another complainant referring to the smell of road kill. He suggested that the use of the word “odour” was inappropriate and that terms such as smell, stench, stink and rank more accurately reflected the true nature of the problem associated with the plant. He believed that, in this instance, the problem related to material being carried by lorries to the plant.

He had decided to visit the plant that evening and arrived at about 6.30pm remaining for about 30-40 minutes. He had been advised (in a not particularly customer friendly manner) by a factory operative that a lorry had recently arrived. However, just before Mr Henthorne had decided to leave the yard, the same lorry had departed which he felt still smelt. Terry Green explained that pressurised hot water was used to clean vehicles inside the factory after tipping and this was very effective. In addition, all vehicles were finally sprayed with scent at the weighbridge before leaving the premises.

Mr Henthorne referred to statements recorded from historical Group meetings made by Mr Dennis, former General Manager of JL Thomas, with regard to the previous practice of using netting to cover articulated trailers. Mr Cockram commented that for many years netting had not been allowed and these had been replaced with tarpaulin sheets. Mr Henthorne enquired who owned the lorries and whether DEFRA were responsible for ensuring that the contents of lorries were properly secured.

Mr Cockram explained that the transport operations operated in compliance with the Animal By-Products Regulations which were enforced by DEFRA vets at abattoirs. Third party hauliers as well as their own vehicles were used for abattoirs collections all of which were supervised by DEFRA vets. He also advised that JL Thomas operated some fully enclosed vehicles which were used for various types of other collections, but these were not suitable for abattoirs.. Mr Henthorne compared the process with collecting dog faeces from dog bins where, although smells were evident from the bins themselves, no smells emanated from the collection vehicles as they were completely enclosed. Mr Green stated that only in recent years had rendering competitors in the north of England opted to replace netting on their lorries with tarpaulin sheets. John Leech referred to the sheeting of lorries during the last outbreak of Foot and Mouth and advised that no vehicle related complaints had been received during the outbreak. He advised that the City Council went through certain procedures when investigating a complaint in respect of the movement of material.

Mr Henthorne referred to the transportation of bones from butchers which were also transported in enclosed vehicles but which smelt when the doors of the vehicles were opened.

He questioned the urgency in treating the material on the 26^th May and suggested  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

Alex Bulleid read out the report of Liz Taberer, JL Thomas’ Group Environmental Manager on the impact of carbon filtration technology at the Crown Pet Food Plant at Castle Carey. This report had been requested as it had been reported that incidents of complaints of smells from the Castle Carey plant had reduced substantially since the works had been undertaken.

The report concluded that the use of similar technology for the JL Thomas Plant was not appropriate and that the measures used in the Exeter plant were equal to, or better than, these techniques. In addition, the Castle Carey plant dealt with pet foods which was therefore different in nature to the material processed at JL Thomas. Mr Green also reported that, on a recent visit to Castle Carey, he had noticed that the plant, which was adjacent to a number of industrial units, was shut down and therefore an assessment of emissions at the time had not been possible.

It was noted that other smells were sometimes reported from the factory area which related to the Hide and Skin plant on Marsh Green Road and also the Council operated Green Waste site adjacent to JL Thomas’ south east boundary. Mr Green advised that he reported any smells from the Green Waste Site to Alex Bulleid in case complaints relating to these smells were attributed to JL Thomas.

• Wednesday 21 April 2010 at 5.30pm
• Wednesday 3 November 2010 at 5.30pm

The dates of future meetings were noted.

21 April 2010 at 5.30pm.

3 November 2010 at 5.30pm.