Friday 5 October 2012

Seneca chief apologises for Wembley stink

Part of the Seneca mural on its NeasdenMRF
John Carey Junior apologised at the Wembley Connects event this week for the stench that hung over the Wembley and Neasden area for more than a week over the summer, coinciding with the Olympic Games events at the Stadium and Arena.

Seneca,  which has an MRF (Materials Recycling Facility) in Hannah Close, was contrite. The company  has prided itself on its environmental credentials with parent company Careys part-funding the Welsh Harp Environmental Study Centre.

They admitted to management problems as well as technical ones and admitted that the incident led to 5,000 extra tonnes of waste going to landfill. The smell worsened when the pile of waste was disturbed to be shipped out to landfill by a fleet of lorries.

 They blamed the initial problem on the accumulation of organic waste from black bag collections in municipalities other than Brent, where there were not separate composting collections or where there were no facilities for these in flats. The manager responsible had been 'let go', and organic waste was now being turned around within a 24 hour period, rather than festering on site. Odour repressants had been fitted and the odour extracted from within the building.

In response to questions Seneca confirmed that they were seeking a rail connection to transport waste materials (the site is next to the Chiltern Line) and that plans for a biomass plant were planned to go ahead but had been delayed when Seneca's partner went into liquidation.

The Environment Agency in a  briefing dated October 12th and distributed at the meeting said:
We are currently considering our enforcement options. This is  a live investigation and because of legal sensitivities, we are not able to discuss how the investigation is progressing. We will of course keep in touch with people who contact us and ask to be kept informed when we can say more. 

We have received a number of late reports of odour during recent weeks. We would ask that the local community immediately contact us on our 24 hour incident hotline telephone number 0800 80 70 60, if they smell odour which they believe is coming from Unit 2, Hannah Close.
In my contribution I reminded residents that there are a number of waste plants in the area and that Seneca was just across the railway lines from St Margaret Clitherow Primary School and Chalkhill Primary School. The proposed Wembley Stadium Primary would not be far away in Fulton Road. Brent Council had discussed the issue of the accumulation of such ' dirty neighbour' waste firms in the area in its Wembley Plan consultation. The consultation on the plan's preferred options closes on Monday October 8th. Residents who are concerned should go to Brent Council's consultation portal HERE to submit their views.

The consultation closes at 17.00 on Monday.

1 comment:

Trevor said...

It Really is amazing, Endless amounts of people use the pavements as makeshift ashtrays and dustbins for empty cigarette packets and hardly anyone says a word.
but now wembley is started to smell like a cesspit in some places, all of a sudden there is a big fuss.
I walked along hannah close this morning and I can honestly say that it did not smell @ all in my opinion.
However the drains along that road are blocked solid with dust that obviously comes from the MRF site and nothing is done to clear the drains and they are just left to remain blocked which of course means that eventually it will be impossible to drive or walk along that road and more because the dust from that site will make it impossible just like it has blocked the drains solid.
and yet we pay council tax to the council who are meant to spend some of it to keep our drains and roads clean and clear...but the situation has become a catch 22 situation because even on the rare occasion that a drain along hannah close for example is unblocked, it will inevitably be blocked solid again within a matter of time because of the dust and dirt that comes from the MRF site.
and yet despite the fact that we are the paying the council money for work that is isn't being done and as long as the MRF site remains the drains will continue to be blocked solid and the stink (even though I can't smell anything) will get worse.
but one more reality is this...we cannot and should not expect people that have a long history of doing a bad job ( I am obviously referring to brent council) to deal properly and professionally as well as effectively with what is a growing problem.
for decades they have ignored the fact that brent increasingly resembles a open dustbin and ashtray.
everywhere you go you will find cigarette butts on the pavements and empty cigarettes boxes Too as well as empty fast food bags that people dump everywhere and anywhere.
they are just too lazy to dispose of them properly and because wembley is run by people who don't seem to care that the area is full of self abusers( aka Tobacco addicts) and so just allow shop keepers to continue supplying the addicts with the means of destroying their health and then in the meantime continue using the pavements as ashtrays and dustbins.
and when that is the reality should we be really be surprised that wembley now stinks?
to be the real stench comes from brent town hall.