Group objects to factory burning meat, bonemeal

Residents in Kinnegad, Co Westmeath, are protesting at a local cement factory in an attempt to stop it burning meat and bonemeal.

Lagan Cement has applied to Westmeath County Council for planning permission for the incineration facility, which it says will generate a more environmentally-friendly fuel source.

However, residents of the surrounding area say the factory is not an appropriate facility for treating animal byproducts and an incinerator could cause future environmental and health disasters. "Meat and bonemeal has never been burned in Ireland before. Lagan say they will be burning at 1,400 degrees and that is possibly high enough to do no harm, but why should we wait 15 years to see if that is actually the case?" Brian Coffey, spokesman for the Ballinabrackey and District Environmental Action Group, said.

The residents have lodged more than 340 objections with the council, Mr Coffey said, and the group is calling on the Department of the Environment not to allow the facility to go ahead.

"If the Government wants to burn meat and bonemeal, they should go and build a proper incinerator and not have it in a cement factory that is self-monitoring."

A spokesman for Lagan Cement said the company intends to use the meat and bonemeal incineration to comply with Kyoto protocols on reducing emissions. The company had conducted an environmental impact statement that found there would be no impact on air quality, animal or human health, he said.