Three agri-food businesses have been named among the worst in terms of complaints for “odour and noise nuisance”, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
According to the agency’s list of national priority sites to be targeted for environmental improvement – which features a total of eight sites – Arrow Group in Kildare, Glanbia Foods Ireland Ltd in Laois, Rosderra Irish Meats Group (Edenderry) in Offaly all failed to meet the EPA’s environmental standards.
As a result, all eight businesses now face “further enforcement action from the EPA to secure compliance”.
The three agri-food sites have been sanctioned primarily for complaints over the smell and noise they produce, as well as failing to properly manage their waste-water discharges.
The eight sites are as follows:
- Arrow Group, Kildare;
- C & F Automotive Ltd, Westmeath;
- CG Power Systems Ireland Ltd, Cavan;
- East Cork Landfill Site, Cork;
- Glanbia Foods Ireland Ltd, Laois;
- Rosderra Irish Meats Group (Edenderry), Offaly;
- Saint-Gobain Construction Products (Ireland) Ltd, Monaghan;
- Starrus Eco Holdings Ltd (Munster), Cork.
The EPA highlights that the eight site combined accounted for 41% of complaints and 11% of compliance investigation that are currently open – despite the site representing less than 1% of industrial sites licensed by the EPA.
Agri-food groups have a checkered past in the area of noise and odour complaints.
Rosderra Irish Meats Group (Edenderry) and Arrow Groups have been on the EPA’s watchlist in the past, as well as milk processors Arrabawn, Aurivo and Dairygold.