Warrenpoint residents say port's waste smell is affecting lives

Every year in Northern Ireland, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of rubbish are produced.

In the past, much of that was sent to landfill but in recent years more of it is being recycled.

There are also mountains of non-recyclable waste to be disposed of, much of which is dealt with by firms like Re-Gen in Newry, which process thousands of tonnes of local council waste.

But the smell is causing a problem.

"Sometimes when I come out to my lovely garden, I gag and I have to come back in," said Fionnuala McKinley, who lives just yards from Warrenpoint Port where waste material, known as refuse-derived fuel (RDF), is shipped to countries such as Sweden and Norway for processing.

In August many residents in the south Down town reported a foul smell from the port.

Public meetings have been held since in relation to the odour, with residents sharing their experiences and concerns.

Ms McKinley said the problem has had a major effect on people's lives.

"The actual pungent smell is pretty bad - you don't want to open your windows, you don't want to open them because you don't want the flies to come in."

Ms McKinley said this summer had been incredibly difficult as family members paid visits.

"My sister came to visit and I was really embarrassed," she added.

"I was going around cleaning the drains wondering if that could make it better but it couldn't make it better because it's nothing to do with my drains."

According to Joseph Doherty from Re-Gen: "There's about 600,000 tonnes of waste in Northern Ireland from a household source and we are recycling around 50% and we see that improving.

"We try to recycle what we can from the black [non-recycling] bins but whatever we can't recycle we have to send to waste energy plants to be burned.

"We ship bales of non-recyclable waste - that's contaminated material to be burned in waste energy plants."

Mr Doherty explained those plants use high-temperature energy to make electricity, and a lower-temperature energy generated through that process it is piped through towns and cities.

"One thing they can do that we can't is that we don't have district heating systems here so we can't squeeze that last bit of energy," he added.

"So you might say, why do you go to Sweden and Norway?

"The reason we go there is that we can get better value carbon-wise for going to those countries."

Re-Gen ships the RDF material from Warrenpoint but in recent months it is this which has created conflict with the local community.

The ongoing debate over a proposed waste incinerator facility near Mallusk in County Antrim also highlights the level of disagreement over a preferred course of action for Northern Ireland's waste.

Mr Doherty said the smell was caused by the stored non-recyclable waste that is baled.

But Re-Gen are taking a number of steps to prevent any recurrence of the smell.

"We have increased the wrap on the bales - that was to improve the control of it," he said.

"We have also increased the odour treatment which is used across the bales - increased the area to make sure there is nothing escaping. We've also increased the number of ships moving out.

"There is an increase in tonnage in the summer months and people want it in the winter so that is why there has been a build up."

There are plans to have ships moving earlier to prevent future problems, Mr Doherty added.

This week Newry, Mourne and Down District Council passed a motion noting its concern about what was described as "the ongoing foul smell emanating from Warrenpoint Port".

It also noted its effect on residents' quality of life and the potential public health risk it poses.

The council will also write to the port seeking clarity on the matter as well as inviting representatives from the port, Re-Gen and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) to a special meeting.

In response, NIEA said: "We are more than happy to engage with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council on this issue, although to date we haven't received such an invitation or request.

"We have remained in regular contact with the council's environmental health department on the matter."

It also said its officials "continue to monitor and inspect the authorised waste facilities located within the port for compliance", including odour management.