Helmdon Blackpits Recycling Centre Monitoring Group

The Free Compost Day Was A "One-Off" - posted 15 April 2013

We hear from Material Change Ltd that many people took the opportunity to collect compost last Saturday; please note that this opportunity was a “one-off” and the site will not be open for compost collection on other Saturdays this month. If you wish to purchase compost from Material Change Ltd it costs £15 per cubic metre and arrangements for collection must be made in advance. Tel: 01327 706231

A Drop Of The Black Stuff - posted 10 April 2013

Blackpits Update - posted 21 January 2013

Current Operation:

Green waste inputs to the site were affected by last year’s poor weather patterns, but overall activity was very much as expected. There were few odour complaints from Helmdon residents, but I am aware that in Falcutt there were a number of complaints from time to time.

Material Change have added a small extension to the composting concrete pad, so they can produce more, higher quality, fine grade compost of the type made available to Helmdon residents.

Future Developments:

Material Change, who manages the Blackpits site, has planning approval to provide an Anaerobic Digestion Plant. This allows the processing of maize crops through the plant, together with other grown crops. The facility will also be suitable to process food waste when SNDC commences collections later this year. The plant will generate energy by taking the methane produced in the process, and using it to power a gas turbine, to generate electricity. The plant will generate between 1.0 – 1.4 Megawatts, which will flow into the National Grid, and be enough to power between 2-3000 houses. Noise generated by the turbine would be contained in a heavily insulated container.

South Northamptonshire District Council (SNDC) has recently issued a tender for the processing of food waste, and they are looking to implement the scheme in 2013.

Material Change would like to develop the Anaerobic Digestion plant in accordance with the planning consent approved, and have been raising funds, which has been slow in the current economic climate. They would like to build the plant this year, with operation and commissioning starting approximately 9 months after start of construction.

Material Change also has a very similar Anaerobic Digestion plant in Suffolk, which has been working very well over the past year, feeding significant quantities of electricity into the National Grid, and supplying local businesses.

Contacts:

Please remember that if you have any complaints, in the first instance you should raise them directly with the site manager, and in the event you do not receive a satisfactory response, then please contact me direct.

Site Manager: Kevin Thompson (joining soon) 07824691445

Operations Manager: Paul Goddard 07879461715

Managing Director: Ed Bastow 07825382638

Office Number: 01933408190

Email for any comments: localliaison@material-change.com

David Powell: Chairman Blackpits Monitoring and Liaison Group

Contact Details, Tel: 01295760295, email: davidrpowell1@yahoo.co.uk

Blackpits Update - posted 23 May 2012

Minor amendments have been made to the original approved anaerobic digestion technology: the basic change was to introduce maize from farms as a feedstock for the digestion process, which will lead to the production of electricity from the plant.  Material Change is confirming the feedstock contracts with waste producers and growers before commencing construction.  There are still a number of further stages to go through and Material Change need to coincide the construction with agricultural growing seasons.  Construction is therefore not imminent but Material Change hopes to proceed shortly.

From Helmdon Voice Spring 2012

Helmdon Blackpits Recycle Centre; Monitoring & Liaison Groups - posted 19 May 2011

Introduction:

Helmdon Monitoring Group was formed nearly 5 years ago, and has ten members from the Helmdon and Falcutt areas. Three members from the Monitoring Group form the Blackpits Liaison Group, which works with South Northants District Council, Environment Agency, Northants County Council and Material Change Limited (the site operators), to do what they can to ensure the Blackpits Recycle Centre operates as efficiently as possible, with the minimum impact on the environment in Helmdon

Current Operations:

There have been few complaints, including odour since the last Talkabout article last August.

However any complaints including odour, should be brought to the attention of Material Change on any of the following contact numbers:

Office Number: 01933 411550

Paul Goddard (Operations Manager Material Change Ltd) Tel: 07979 461715

Mike Newton (Site Manager Blackpits) Tel: 07791 110597

Complaints can also be sent to an office based email which is manned during normal office hours, and any complaint received will be logged and investigated.

localliaison@material-change.com

Blackpits New Development

Material Change have indicated that the Dry Recyclables Building (this is the one with the prominent white roof) is now active and being used. This activity is not managed by Material Change but remains with Chris Humphrey (Mervyn’ Humphrey’s son).

The current approved Planning Application already includes permission for the provision of an Anaerobic Digestion Plant, which was meant to be used to process household food waste from the Northamptonshire area. South Northamptonshire District Council (SNDC) has decided that at the present time they will not be making a separate waste food collection. However SNDC could be very heavily penalised by the Government in 2013/14 for putting food waste to landfill, and so SNDC are expected to collect food waste in due course.

It is because of this that Material Change is proposing to change the Technology supplier for the Anaerobic Digestion Plant. This would allow the processing of Maize crops through the plant, as well as other alternative grown crops. The process would also be suitable to process food waste when SNDC commence collections, and at that time less grown crops would be used. The process supplied by “The Agraferm Group”, would generate more Energy by taking the Methane produced in the process, and using this to power a gas turbine, that would then generate electricity. The process would generate between 1.0 – 1.4 Megawatts, which would then flow into the National Grid and would be enough to power between 2-3000 houses. Any noise generated by the turbine would be contained in a heavily insulated container, and exhaust gases would be processed to remove any of the harmful elements in the gases.

The original planning permission which was granted in 2007 already allows for the buildings, anaerobic digestion process, and electricity generation; the major change which Material Change is seeking to make is to amend the layout of the plant and feed the process with locally grown crops and imported waste streams, rather than only imported waste streams.

The Visual impact of the New Technology plant would be less than already approved for the existing anaerobic digestion plant. As part of the original planning permission, Material Change has already purchased two new buildings, like the current white roof building. One of these would be used in the new technology plant, and concern has been expressed by the Monitoring Group that as the building would have a white roof like the existing one, it would increase the visual impact. Material Change was asked to see what could be done to mitigate the impact.

Monitoring Group – Areas of Concern

The following areas of concern have been identified:

1) New and existing buildings with white roof – Material Change will look at what can be done to mitigate the visual impact.

2) Traffic management will be a major concern – Material Change will ensure that a plan is part of the planning application

3) Storage of the Maize crop will be essential to keep the process functioning on a continuous basis- This will be part of the Overall plan for the site.

4) Low heat generation will be part of the process and Material Change need a credible plan on HOW this will be handled and utilised.

On a positive note however it was stated that the Quality of the current composting plant is meeting a higher standard, and is now meeting industrial standards.

It is also worth noting that the proposed plant will generate around 1.4 Megawatts of electricity on a continuous basis, which is nearly 50% of the capacity of the proposed Broadview Windfarm.

The Managing Director of Material Change Ed Bastow has indicated that he is prepared to make a presentation to the Parish Council, and to the residents of Helmdon & Falcutt, to fully explain the details to them.

David Powell CEng, FIChemE

Chairman Helmdon Blackpits Recycle Centre

Monitoring & Liaison Groups

Email:davidrpowell1@yahoo.co.uk

     Tel: 01295 760295

Liaison Committee: David Brookhouse, Tel: 01295 760315

                                   Paul Sandilands,      Tel: 01280 850204

Helmdon Blackpits Recycle Centre; Monitoring & Liaison Groups - posted 24 October 2010

Introduction:

Helmdon Monitoring Group was formed 4 years ago, and has ten members from the Helmdon and Falcutt areas. Three members from the Monitoring Group form the Blackpits Liaison Group, which works with South Northants District Council, Environment Agency, Northants County Council and Material Change Limited (the site operators), to do what they can to ensure the Blackpits Recycle Centre operates as efficiently as possible, with the minimum impact on the environment in Helmdon.

Previous Operations

Material Change has been operating the site for a couple of years and having amended the operation on site and been certified for PAS100 (compost quality standard) are pleased with the progress on site. In April a new 15 year contract was won, which delivers waste from Northamptonshire County Council Households Waste Recycling Sites. The lorries arrive in the purple liveried colours of Northamptonshire County Council bringing green waste from nearby sites, the remainder goes to another Material Change Site near Corby. The contract gives the site a consistent, high quality feedstock for composting.

The site has held a number of open evenings, giving local residents the opportunity to see what happens on site and for Material Change to hear any particular concerns directly. During Compost Awareness week, several loads of 10mm compost were made available without charge to Helmdon residents, and there will be further similar offers in future periods.

Any complaints including odour, should be brought to the attention of Material Change on any of the following contact numbers:

Office Number: 01933 411550

Paul Goddard (Operations Manager Material Change Ltd) Tel: 07979 461715

Mike Newton (Site Manager Blackpits) Tel: 07791 110597

Complaints can also be sent to an office based email which is manned during normal office hours, and any complaint received will be logged and investigated.

localliaison@material-change.com

Blackpits New Development

Phase 1.

The dry recycling operation has now moved into the new building, which has increased the recycling opportunities for materials brought in by Dial A Bin. Material Change is looking to use the old buildings to allow some recycling of packaged waste before composting the contents – currently waste such as flowers in cellophane are sent to landfill, but Material Change has invested in a machine to remove the packaging from the organic contents, but only limited quantities can be processed at present.

Future plans

The site has permission for an Anaerobic Digestion plant which would take food waste from businesses and from Northants County Council and generate electricity and a manure fertilizer. Due to the scale of the investment the plant would currently need a long term contract from Northants County Council, however they have no immediate plans to commence food waste collections, although it is expected that they will be required in due course to do so. There are therefore no immediate plans to develop the food waste based Anaerobic Digestion plant at present.

Material Change has been investigating the potential for constructing a plant which uses alternative feed stocks including locally grown maize in order to generate renewable electricity. The company is in discussion with the local Planning Authority about amending the current planning permission, but progress has been slow due to changes in Government funding for such schemes and uncertainty on whether the various incentives paid to producers of renewable electricity need to be offset against each other or paid in combination with grants.

Material Change will keep the liaison committee informed of progress as Government Policy becomes established.

David Powell CEng, FIChemE

Chairman Helmdon Blackpits Recycle Centre

Monitoring & Liaison Groups

Email     Tel: 01295 760295

Liaison Committee: David Brookhouse, Tel: 01295 760315

                                   Paul Sandilands,      Tel: 01280 850204

Blackpits Recycle Centre Report - posted 18 November 2009

Introduction:

Helmdon Monitoring Group was formed 3 years ago, and has ten members from the Helmdon and Falcutt areas. Three members from the Monitoring Group form the Blackpits Liaison Group, which works with South Northants District Council, Environment Agency, Northants County Council and Material Change Limited (the site operators), to do what they can to ensure the Blackpits Recycle Centre operates as efficiently as possible, with the minimum impact on the environment in Helmdon.

Previous Development Issues

In November 2008 Boxon Composting Company, owned by Douglas and Mervyn Humphrey, was bought by Material Change Ltd. Material Change run several other composting sites in Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire and have undertaken all of the shredding at Blackpits since it first opened. Material Change has taken over responsibility for all composting operations at the Blackpits site, and so Douglas and Mervyn Humphrey are no longer be involved with day to day operations. They do however still own the Dry Recyclables Operation that collects and processes paper, plastic bottles, glass and tin cans, and they still own the site, and are shareholders in Material Change Limited.

Mike Newton is the Material Change Site Manager, Paul Goddard is the Operations Manager, and Ed Bastow is Managing Director.

Material Change has amended some of the processes and operations and is running the site in accordance with PAS100 which is a quality assurance standard. The changes include additional measures to remove plastic from the compost which is still a problem when mixed with the incoming waste. There have been fewer odour complaints received at the site and if odour complaints are received Material Change investigates if there is a particular source of the odour and if action can be taken to eliminate the problem.

Any complaints including odour, should be brought to the attention of Material Change on any of the following contact numbers:

Office Number: 0845 6027626

Paul Goddard (Operations Manager Material Change Ltd) Tel: 07979 461715

Mike Newton (Site Manager Blackpits) Tel: 07791 110597

Complaints can also be sent to an office based email which is manned during normal office hours, and any complaint received will be logged and investigated.

localliaison@material-change.com

Blackpits New Development

Phase 1.

Planning permission was granted for the development of in vessel composting and anaerobic digestion at the site which would process waste materials into a fertiliser for spreading on the land, and collect gases created by the process in order to generate electricity. The first phase was completed earlier this year, and involved the construction of the new dry recyclables transfer station (the green building with a white top to it), the intention is to move the current dry recyclables operation into the new building. This has not yet happened, and to activate full use of the building the weighbridge has to be moved and hard standing provided outside the building. There are no immediate plans for this work to be carried out, and until it does then Phase 2 (In-Vessel Composting and anaerobic digestion) cannot start.

Phase 2

Northants County Council had sought tenders for the treatment of food waste, and Material Change Ltd had been short listed using the Blackpits site. The County Council then cancelled the bidding process, due to financial constraints and the current economic climate, and so for the time being will not be considering the separate treatment of food waste. This means that at the present time Material Change Ltd will not go ahead with the In-Vessel Composting Plant, and will consider the possibility for developing the anaerobic digestion side of the plant using suitable feedstock’s. They remain keen to develop the site when economics show that it is a viable proposition. Increasing landfill tax charges and the need to divert biodegradable waste from landfill in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions means that the County Council will almost certainly have to start a food waste collection scheme within the next few years. For the time being Material Change Ltd will only be responsible for the green waste composting and wood waste processing at Blackpits.

Future Plans

Material Change Ltd held an open evening in April 2009 at the Blackpits site which was well attended and included a tour of the site and free compost, they intend to hold another open day next year for the same and to answer any questions you may have about their operations and plans for the future.

David Powell CEng, FIChemE

Chairman Helmdon Blackpits Recycle Centre

Monitoring & Liaison Groups

Email:davidrpowell1@yahoo.co.uk

     Tel: 01295 760295

Liaison Committee: David Brookhouse, Tel: 01295 760315

                                   Paul Sandilands,      Tel: 01280 850204

Blackpits Recycle Centre Report - posted 9 March 2009 

Introduction  

Helmdon Monitoring Group was formed just over two years ago, and has ten members from the Helmdon and Falcutt areas.

Three members from the Monitoring Group form the Blackpits Liaison Group, which works with South Northants District Council, Environment Agency, Northants County Council and the Owners, to do what they can to ensure the Blackpits Recycle Centre operates as efficiently as possible, with the minimum impact on the environment in Helmdon.

Existing Development Issues

In November 2008 the Boxon Composting Company owned by Douglas and Mervyn Humphrey was merged with Material Change Ltd, and the merged company has taken over the management of composting operations at the Blackpits site.

Douglas and Mervyn Humphrey are no longer be involved with day to day operation of the Blackpits Composting site. They do however still own the Dry Recyclables Operation that collects and processes paper, plastic bottles, glass and tin cans, and they still own the site, and are significant shareholders in the merged company.

A site manager, Mike Newton has been confirmed as manager to run the Blackpits Composting Operation.  

There have been three odour complaints in September and three in October, with none since that time. The odour complaints were dealt with at the time, and operations were modified and odour suppression techniques applied. Plastic continues to be a problem and hand picking is used to remove the major plastic contaminants. There have been no rejected composted loads by the Environment Agency.

Any complaints, including odour, should be brought to the attention of the following who will investigate and take appropriate action:

Contacts and details

Paul Goddard(Operations Manager) (07979) 461715  paul@material-change.com

Mike Newton (Site Manager) (07791) 110597

Ed Bastow (Managing Director) (07825) 382638 ed@material-change.com

Hannah Miles (office) (08456) 027626 localliaison@material-change.com

The best e-mail address is the one specifically set up to take any complaints or comments from the Helmdon Community, which is:

localliaison@material-change.com

Blackpits New Development

Phase 1

The new development is the green building with a white top to it, and the intention was to move the dry recyclables operation into this building.  This has not yet happened, and to activate the building the weighbridge has to be moved and hard standing  provided outside the building. There are no immediate plans for this work to be carried out, and until it does then Phase 2 (In-Vessel Composting) cannot start.

Phase 2

Northants County Council has sought tenders for the treatment of food waste and Material Change Ltd had been short listed.  The County Council then cancelled the bidding process, due to financial constraints and the current economic climate, and so for the time being will not be considering the treatment of food waste until 2011-12.

This means that at the present time Material Change Ltd will not go ahead with the In-Vessel Composting Plant.  They will keep the situation under review and will develop the site when economics show that it is a viable proposition.

For the time being Material Change Ltd will only be responsible for the green waste composing and wood waste recycling at Blackpits.

Future Plans

Material Change Ltd are planning to have an open evening on Wednesday 8th April 2009 at the Blackpits site from 6:00PM, when they will be prepared to take you on a tour of the site and answer any questions you may have about their operations and plans for the future.

They will have available during the visit free bags of compost from the site for all attendees

David Powell CEng,FIChemE

Chairman Helmdon Blackpits Recycle Centre Monitoring & Liaison Groups

Email: davidrpowell1@yahoo.co.uk

Tel: 01295 760295

Liaison Committee: David Brookhouse     Tel: 01295 760315

                             Paul Sandilands     Tel: 01280 850204

Talkabout Report on Blackpits Recycle Centre; Monitoring & Liaison Groups - 21st November 2008

Introduction:

Helmdon Monitoring Group was formed just over a year ago, and has ten members from the Helmdon and Falcutt areas, and in addition the two Owners are invited to attend meetings of the group. To date we have held three very positive meetings.

The purpose is to look at issues raised by members and residents, and to look for positive solutions with the Owners to minimise the impact of the recycle centre on the environment and residents. The main issues to date are odour, plastic contamination, and additional slow moving traffic on the Welsh Lane.

Three members from the Monitoring Group were selected to form part of the Blackpits Liaison Group, to work with South Northants Council, Environmental Agency, Northants County Council and the Owners, to do what we can to ensure the Blackpits Recycle Centre operates as efficiently as possible, with the minimum impact on the environment.

Existing Development Issues

Odour complaints last year were a major concern, but the Owners have introduced odour suppression techniques and changes to composting operations, and since November last year the site has a minimal number of odour complaints. Simon Bateman of the Environment Agency stated that we have to go through a full year’s cycle before we can say the problem is resolved. Any complaints should be brought to the attention of firstly the Blackpits Liaison Committee and then the Owner.

The main problem with the composting operation is plastic contamination as once the plastic gets into the composting process then it is impossible to remove it all during the process. During a four week period the Owners rated the individual loads from each village with a score of 1 to 5, with 1 being severe contamination, and 5 being no contamination. The object of this scoring system is to identify the repeat offenders who have large amounts of contamination, so that they can be then targeted with information leaflets from the SNC.

At the present time SNC are developing the leaflet that can be used to target areas where high contamination is being experienced. SNC will be willing to visit the offending areas, and give presentations to the residents, on what they could do to improve the situation.

The Environment Agency indicated that the only way to minimise the level of plastic contamination in the waste was to hand pick the plastic from the waste being delivered, before it entered the composting process. Evidence to date indicates that this is a very extensive and time consuming exercise.

I attended the Blackpits Site in mid May and worked with the Owners to classify the level of plastic contamination in green waste from many areas in the South Northants area. I was there on a Tuesday morning so was able to see the green waste from Helmdon. The photograph here was from the Helmdon and Falcutt area, and disappointingly this was one of the worst loads that I saw during my  four hour visit, and would have scored only a 2 out of 5 and should have been rejected. There was still further plastic contamination in the waste, even after the hand picking exercise.

If loads are rejected then the SNC will have to pay for the waste to be picked up and then sent to land fill, and the cost of this operation will have to be reflected in an increase in our rates.

It is worth noting that the Environment Agency has by law to approve all spreading of composted product on the land, and they indicated that the quality had improved markedly over the last year. No loads were being rejected for plastic contamination, and the loads met their specific requirements.

Blackpits New Development

At the beginning of September the Boxon Composting Company owned by Douglas and Mervyn Humphrey will be merged with Material Change Ltd, and the merged company will take over the management of all operations at the Blackpits site. Douglas and Mervyn Humphrey will no longer be involved with day to day operation of the Blackpits site, but they will still own the site and are significant shareholders in the merged company. A site manager, Mike Newton has been appointed to manage and run the Blackpits operation from September. After the merger Material Change Ltd will define their detailed plans, and then present them to Helmdon residents in a formal presentation, probably in the Reading rooms.

The visual impact of the new development is greater than expected, and there is a white top to the building. The Owners indicated that this design provides natural light and therefore saves on electricity; the white top will over time age and not be as bright.  The Owners have also planted extensive screening trees to hide the buildings from the Radstone road, and will be planting fast growing poplars (eight feet a year) in the autumn to help provide a quick solution.

The current plans indicate that the new buildings for the In-Vessel Composting should be completed in the 1st quarter of 2009, and at the end of the 2nd quarter 2009 the plant should be ready for Validation. The Validation is carried out by the State Veterinary Service, in conjunction with the Environment Agency, over a period of some 6 weeks. After approval the facility will be ready for full scale operation.

SNC Plans for the future

South Northants District Council are at present considering what to do with kitchen waste, and looking at various options together with Northants County Council, but at present all kitchen Waste goes into the Black Bins and then into landfill.

SNC have recently issued Tenders for the processing of kitchen waste, to the Blackpits operation.

Traffic flow and Speed on B4525 - Welsh Lane

The Blackpits Monitoring Group has been successful with the NCC, in getting signage that indicates Slow Moving Traffic turning into the Blackpits Site.

The Liaison Group asked for support from the

David Powell CEng, FIChemE

Chairman Helmdon Blackpits Recycle Centre

Monitoring & Liaison Groups

e-mail       Tel: 01295 760295

Liaison Committee: David Brookhouse,  Tel: 01295 760315

                            Paul Sandilands, Tel:01280 850204 

SNC in seeking a speed reduction in the vicinity of the Blackpits Site and Radstone crossroads from the current 60mph to 50mph. This would be a low cost option that will help prevent a collision between the slow moving SNC refuse trucks, and the fast moving traffic along the Welsh Lane.

SNC will write to Northants County Council supporting our request, and also will contact Andrew Grant, our County Councillor with the same request.                                                                                                                                                   

Contact e-mail change - 2nd November 2008

The following e-mail address has been set up to receive any comments or complaints regarding the Composting Site Operation at Helmdon.  The e-mail connects to an office based e-mail which is manned during normal office hours. Any complaints received will be logged and investigated.

                                              e-mail

Helmdon Blackpits Up-date - 7th September 2007

Public concern has focused on the following main issues:

• Odorous pollution from unpleasant smells;
• Environmental pollution from wind blown litter;
• Environmental pollution from non-biodegradable materials and toxic substances;
• Increased traffic flow along the Welsh Lane and ensuing danger at the Radstone Road crossing, and at the turn into the recycling centre;
• Possible problems from heavy traffic flow through the village.

 The Current Position

       The Current Position

• The Environment Agency has requested the operators to remove certain stockpiles of non-biodegradable and contaminated material, which was spread on to farm roads, back to landfill sites, and this has been completed.  (It should be noted that the Environmental Agency has to approve both the quality of compost product for use on farmland, as well as the site that it is to be used on.)
• The new plant that is to be constructed at the site will not add to the wind-blown odours, however the current facility will stay in operation with the potential for odour generation.
• During the extreme weather we have been experiencing odours, and anyone concerned by this is asked to contact Douglas Humphrey in the first instance.  If they are not satisfied with the response they should contact David Powell, David Brookhouse or Paul Sandilands who will take the matter further.
• It is important to be aware that at certain times of the year *normal” farming operations can cause extremely unpleasant odours, in particular when muck spreading is in progress.  This did occur in early August and there was much confusion as to the source of the smell.  The Liaison Committee were at the Blackpits site at the time to check it was not the cause in this instance.
• The Owners have been working with the Liaison Committee to look at methods of suppressing the odours generated, and over the next few weeks when all the equipment is installed, we will see if this is effective.
• The use of barn buildings to hold materials under cover and the erection of high fences should help to eliminate wind-blown litter.  The operators also have a “litter picking” team available when necessary if excessive wind is experienced.

It is worth mentioning that the main culprit of this plastic contamination is the householder, and the Liaison Committee are working with South Northants Council to look at ways we might try to inform householders of their individual responsibility.

• The Planning Permission does not allow Lorries carrying waste to the recycling centre to travel through the village (Other that the waste collected from Helmdon and Falcutt).  The product vehicles do have permission to travel through the villages, and the Owners have agreed that they are always willing to suspend these operations for special events, and contact should be made with Douglas Humphrey.
• Whilst vigilance has to be maintained in respect of all the above, the Monitoring Group is most concerned about the traffic problems along the Welsh Lane.

Status on Traffic Movements on the Welsh Lane  

In mid July the Liaison Committee met at Blackpits Recycle Centre site entrance with Nick Gore from Northants County Council Traffic Division, Andrew Grant our County Councillor together with the Owner Douglas Humphrey.  The purpose of the meeting was to voice our concerns on the following issues:

• The lack of signage indicating that slow vehicles are turning into and out of the site;
• The excessive speed of vehicles along Welsh Lane (60 mph restriction).

Nick Gore was only able to address the question of signage, and it was agreed that this had been omitted from the original Traffic Survey.  It was also decided that he and Douglas Humphrey would agree the exact signage required, Andrew Grant would then look at funding for the production and installation of the signs. The signs have been ordered and will be installed in early September.

Nick Gore stated that to date there have as yet been no accidents at the entrance to the recycling site, so this on its own would not warrant speed reduction.  He stated there have been a number of accidents (none fatal) at the Station Road/ C20/Welsh Lane crossroads.  Analysis shows no pattern to these accidents, e.g. in terms of vehicle types or driver profiles. This issue is being pursued by Greatworth Parish Council, and Helmdon Parish Council (Peter Burns) are joining to approach the Highways Authority (Incident Reduction Unit) on the matter of speed reduction along Welsh Lane.

Contact Details;-

Douglas Humphrey:  01295 768886   helmdonrecycle@btconnect.com

David Powell:      01295 760295   david.powell@mwkl.co.uk

David Brookhouse:  01295 760315    david..brookhouse@virgin.net

Paul Sandilands:    01280 850204    paul@pulse-on-line.com

Helmdon Blackpits Monitoring Group First Meeting - 26th April 2007

Planning Application S/2007/0394/P Blackpits Recycle Centre Helmdon

David Brookhouse as vice chairman of the Parish Council called a meeting on the 26th April at the Reading Room Committee Room, to discuss the recent developments regarding this application. In particular the response received from the Northamptonshire Highways Department was causing concern.

The meeting was attended by David Brookhouse, David Powell, Roger Miles, Cec Harold, John Thorne, Steve Hackett, with apologies from Peter Burns, Danny Moody and Gary Turner. The meeting was also attended by Mervyn and Douglas Humphreys as owners and operators of the Blackpits Centre.

The purpose of the meeting was to look at the formation of a Monitoring Group on the operation of the Blackpits Recycle Centre, and comment on the current application.

The Monitoring Group would be open to all organisations in the village, and it was thought that this would probably be around 10/12 members. From this group a number of members possibly 3/4 would join the Liaison Committee which would include the Owners, and the Environmental Agency.

It was suggested that 2 members of the Monitoring Group should be from the Parish Council, and we should solicit other members of the Group through the Helmdon Website (Danny Moody).

It was agreed that the name of the group would be "Helmdon Blackpits Recycle Centre Monitoring Group", and it would be limited to Helmdon and Falcutt residences

David Powell was elected as Chairman of the Monitoring group, and the following members agreed to form part of the Group

- David Brookhouse
- Roger Miles - representing Parish Path warden
- John Thorne - representing HAFWEG
- Cec Harold - representing the School
- Steve Hackett - representing Falcutt

It was suggested that a recorder for the meetings would be helpful. The Chairman also agreed to contact Will Adams to see if he might represent the Church in Helmdon, and Danny Moody to publicise the group and its aims.

It was agreed that Mervyn and Doug Humphreys would not be members of the Group, but would be invited to attend the Monitoring groups meetings. It was also agreed that members should serve a limited period on the Committee possibly 12 months, when a review of the attendees on the Monitoring Group would take place.

The discussion then returned to the main object of the meeting, and David Brookhouse indicated that he had received information that the Northamptonshire Highways Department (Nick Gore) had already completed their survey of the roads around the Blacpits site and recommended no changes are required. It was agreed that David Brookhouse and David Powell would get together and prepare a response to the South Northants Planning Authority and the Highways Department and issue as soon as possible.

This issue should be followed up by the new Parish Council as soon as it is elected, on a matter of urgency with the Planning Department.

Roger Miles subsequent to our meeting has had contact with Atkins who put him onto Nick Gore who confirmed that the survey was complete and recommendations made to Planning. When Roger questioned Nick further he did not carry out the survey himself and was not sure if the Highways Department had taken into account all the movements into and out of the Blackpits site, including disposal of the product using tractor trailers. Perhaps Roger might care to elaborate on the discussions he had so we can record the contact details.

It does make action a high priority both by the Monitoring Group and the new Parish Council.

Audit Report Summary - 11th April 2007

By David Powell

I have reviewed the Audit Report carried out on 1st February 2007 at the Blackpits Recycle Plant and I have the following comments and recommendations to make. Most of these recommendations really reinforce those that I made on the Planning Application.

Audit Report

- Objectives

o Assess if site is causing pollution of environment or harm to human health or serious detriment to the amenity

o Secure compliance with permit and relevant legislation

o Drive improvements to meet best practice

o Assess adequacy of the permit

o Provide permit holder with a clear understanding of expectations

- Incident and Complaint Review

o Between March 2004 and January 2007 there were 11 formal complaints raised

§ These complaints in the main express concerns about odor and plastic contamination with a couple of reports that the compost heaps are over the permitted height and width

o From mid August 2006 to the end of January 2007, South Northants logged 48 complaints all of which relate to “unpleasant/pungent “ odours with one at the end of January 2007 being confirmed by an “officer visit”

o It is important to note that the prevailing wind as stated in the report is WSW which is a direct line to Helmdon Village

- Conclusions from the Report

o Technically competent management cover is only currently available 1(one) hour every 2(two) weeks. This degree of attendance falls well below the Environment Agency’s minimum requirement

o The waste management license stipulates that moisture content within the heaps be monitored with a meter. No such moisture probe is available on site, and a far less accurate “squeeze test” is used.

o The oxygen content of the windrows (compost piles) is not currently being monitored as specified. No meter is available for use and operators are currently investigating an appropriate methodology with consultants

o The license requires the provision of a 1.8 metre high chain link fence around the perimeter of the site, unless an alternative has been agreed in writing with the Agency. No alternatives have been agreed with the Agency

o Some contamination with plastic does occur despite the efforts of the operators to remove, but every effort should be made to reduce this contamination to an absolute minimum.

o Although not definitive, analysis of the odour complaints may be linked to the screening/shredding operations on site.

§ The operator is also currently investigating the possible usage of forced aeration to help safeguard against the windrows (compost piles) becoming anaerobic and causing odours.

o In the light of the number of odour complaints received by South Northamptonshire District Council it is recommended that a more robust, formalised procedure for odour monitoring and recording be developed and implemented. Such a procedure should

§ Specify frequency of monitoring

§ Location of monitoring

§ Name of monitoring personnel

§ A description of weather conditions

§ A protocol for classifying the type and strength of the odour

§ A record of any specific site operations underway at the time of the exercise

o All instances of detectable odour from this facility or any other site must be recorded. Swift action in responding to all notified complaints and good communications must be established between the licensee, South Northamptonshire District Council and the Environmental Agency so that a prompt investigation is initiated.

I believe that the reports conclusions serves to strongly reinforce my previous recommendations, and all of the concerns expressed in the Audit report need to be actioned and then proven in operation during the coming summer. The additional facilities proposed should also be investigated during the summer at a current operating site to ensure ourselves that there will be no adverse effect when they are installed at the Blackpits facility.

Just as a point of clarification the Bio Group is a very recent merger of three companies, CRS, Material Change, and Global Renewables

- CRS have designed and built in vessel composting plants – this is for the current application

- Material Change provide under contract large shredders, screeners, men and handling equipment for green waste composting operations, (inc Helmdon)

- Global Renewables sell both new and second hand equipment suitable for organic waste treatment

Site Visit - 8th April 2007

By David Powell

I recently visited the Blackpits Recycle Centre on Tuesday 3rd April to look at the existing facility and form an opinion on the expansion.

I have also reviewed the planning Application and have the following comments and recommendations to make, for the Parish Council's consideration.

1) The planning Application is in the name of Swift Renewable Energy Ltd , dated 5th March 2007 for the Application. I do not believe this is the current Owner who I think is Bio Group (CRS is a part of the Bio Group that is responsible for the actual implementation of projects around the country). The application is for:

- An Anaerobic Digestion Plant, 15,000 t/a of wet food waste
- In Vessel Composting Plant, 15,000 t/a of dry food waste
- Total increase 30,000 t/a

2) Current Planning permission is to handle 55,000 t/a

- 25,000 t/a inert waste and timber; May 2005
- 25,000 t/a green waste March 2004
- 5,000 kitchen waste September 2004.

3) Report does not consider Helmdon Village as a "Sensitive Receptor", but it does state that "Odours and Noise" will be strictly controlled.

4) In the Anaerobic Digestion Plant electricity will be generated using a generator to deliver 300kw

- The main potential risk is "noise", and it is stated that the level should be 68dBa at a distance of 10m. It is also stated that this could be reduced as an option, and we should push for increased noise attenuation to the lowest level achievable
- Meeting this level should be a condition of operation and the plant which should be checked regularly, and if not meeting the specification the generating plant should be shut down.

5) The report has dealt with a number of specific "Sensitive Receptors" but does not in any way address the issues of the impact on Helmdon Village

- On air Quality (Odours), they talk about the fact that they will take "mitigating measures will therefore be used to reduce the risk"
- It does look like the proposals stated should lead to minimising odours in that:
- Waste will be delivered into enclosed buildings
- Equipment will be located in enclosed buildings
- There will be strict control of incoming waste
- Static compost pile to be aerated to maintain the right balance
- In enclosed buildings aeration fans and odour control systems are proposed

6) Noise

Equipment provided on the site should have maximum noise attenuation applied(i.e. Generator)
- An overall site assessment should be made, combining all potential noise sources into a noise map
- This should be monitored by the Authorities on a regular basis to ensure compliance.

Summary

- Additional facilities will add
- 14,000 t/a wet food waste
- 16,000 t/a household & green waste
- Existing 55,000 t/a already agreed
- Facility will have
- Anaerobic Digestion - New (wet food waste)
- In vessel composting - New (Household & green waste)
- Green waste composting- Existing
- From the description of the various processes and facilities, if they are operated correctly and consistently, then they should not cause the problems that have been experienced to date.

Recommendations

- Prior to allowing the expansion of the facilities CRS should demonstrate during the coming summer, that the current plant does not cause the problems that have been experienced to date (i.e. poor odour control and lack of plastic waste removal)
- Since CRS are introducing two new processes, they should demonstrate to the villagers the successful operation elsewhere - a site visit would be advisable
- Once we are satisfied with the operation of the existing facilities, and evidence on the two new processes is acceptable, then we should agree to the propose new development.
- If CRS are as good as they claim in there literature, they should have no problems in demonstrating acceptable operations. If they are not able to, then we have every cause to take strong exception to the facility.

- An issue that has not been addressed at all in the report, which I think is every bit as important, is the disposal of the product.
- The facility will be generating 85,000t/a of composted product.
- In 3 years this will amount to 1/4 MILLION tons, and in 10 years nearly 1 (one) MILLION of compost
- Where is it going to go, and what are the plans to dispose of the product.
- We need to ensure that it is not stock piled in great mounds all round the village, which will indeed impact on the environment.
- There need to be height restrictions imposed on any mounds, and we need to ensure they do not spring up everywhere.
- CRS should produce a plan that shows how the product will be disposed of now and in the log term. This should also be part of the planning application and we should be able to examine and agree the plans before agreeing to the expansion.
- It is not a sufficient answer to say that the compost will be spread over the fields, - 1 MILLION tonnes over 10 years, I doubt very strongly.
- It is all very well bringing in and processing the waste, but if you cannot get rid of the product, then the plants output should be limited until it can be moved.

David Powell
Chartered Engineer
Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers