A second proposal for processing chicken waste is set to get up the noses of communities north-west of Geelong.
Lethbridge’s The Good Dirt Company wants approval to process 22,000 tonnes of “broiler litter and chicken manure” a year, almost double allowed under its council existing permit, said Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA).
“The upgraded plant could produce up to 18,700 tonnes of finished compost product every year, which is used as fertiliser by farmers across south west Victoria,” an EPA statement said.
An information session at Lethbridge on 7 August and submission opportunities would allow residents to have their say on the company’s works approval application, the EPA said.
The application is the second in recent months to seek approval for operations dealing with significant quantities of animal waste in the area.
In June the Indy reported another company’s plan to process 50,000 cubic metres of poultry manure and abattoir waste annually nearby, between Bannockburn and Teesdale.
Advanced Composting Technologies of Australasia wants to process the waste into 36,400 cubic metres of pasteurised compost a year.
Dozens of residents lodged objections to the company’s works approval application, citing fears the site would become a “dumping ground” emitting strong odours.
“We do not want the extra trucks destroying our roads, the eyesore, or the smell of a pile of such waste,” said a Teesdale resident’s EPA submission against the proposal.
