Campaigners claim new incinerator plan poses greater risk to public, Courier and Advertiser, 24 June 2011

(Return to main Perth-Grundon page)

OPPONENTS of plans for a £100 million incinerator in Perth have said the development poses a greater risk than ever to the town and its residents.

Grundon Waste Management's interest in creating an energy-to-waste facility on Shore Road has been one of the most contentious issues to arise in Perth and Kinross.

There has been widespread hostility to the plan ever since outline planning permission was given by planning officers to the concept of a facility on the site.

Having been defeated last year, planners behind the scheme have submitted revised proposals they hope will allay public fears and meet with approval from Perth and Kinross Council.

However, campaigners believe the opposite is true and that the new scheme poses a far greater risk to public health and safety than the original plan.

Graham Fleming, acting chairman of Bridgend, Gannochy and Kinnoull Community Council, said he was disappointed at Grundon's decision to submit a new application.

"In their new application, Grundon has replaced its waste-burning factory with a new, unproven chemical technology, which they believe will reduce the plant footprint and hence the over-development of the site.

"Moving from waste-burning to a high-level chemical engineering project significantly moves the proposal up the risk
spectrum.

"The risks introduced by Grundon's new proposal are not trivial, and while it is likely that steps will be taken to reduce them, it is never possible to eliminate them."

The revised facility will have a capacity of up to 90,000 tonnes of residual solid waste and commercial and industrial waste each year.

It would be operated using "advanced plasma power" gasification technology from six buildings on the site, with stacks of 34 and 30 metres—significantly smaller than those envisaged in the original proposals.

However, Mr Fleming questioned whether Shore Road is a suitable location for such a development, and said there
was potential for significant problems with noise and smell as well as concerns about the contents of the stack gases and where they might settle.

He added, "The risks associated with syngas production are neither highlighted nor quantified in Grundon's documentation.

"The centre of Perth should not be used as a testing ground for this technology.

"We will be objecting to this application and encourage everyone in Perth to do the same."