Residents are concerned with the possible odor of a proposed waste-to-energy plant in California, a report by The Orange County Register says.
Anaergia, Burlington, Ontario, proposed to build a $70 million, 3,600-square-foot facility in Anaheim, California, that would process organic waste into electricity and possibly vehicle fuel, the report says. The plant would be the first in Orange County, California.
The proposal for the facility came after a new state law to create organic waste programs for business and residences with the goal to divert 75 percent of waste from landfills by 2020, according to the report. The company wants to show final plants to the Planning Commission early next year.
Residents have responded to the proposal with concerns of odor and a drop in property value. The report says over 50 residents in several surrounding areas, such as Anaheim Hills, Yorba Linda and Placentia, attended the Anaheim City Council meeting referring to the proposal to express their concerns.
“It’s a dump,” Anaheim Hills’ Judy Morton said in the report. “Because it is so close to home, I do not feel comfortable with my health. When you put a place like this near homes your property (value) dumps quickly. They cannot equivocally say this is not going to stink.”
With resident responses in mind, Anaergia officials and the Planning Commission held a meeting to update the public.
The proposal outlines Anaergia’s plan to team up with the city’s waste hauler, Republic Services, Phoenix, and separate the organics from the solid waste at Republic’s Aneheim site. The organic waste would be processed and trucked to the anaerobic digestion facility. The report says there would be 12-24 trucks per day. The material would be converted into energy, the report says, and the pellet-size digestate could be used a fertilizer.
The facility, called the Anaheim Sustainability Center, is planned to process 300 tons of feedstock per day and could generate 4 megawatts of renewable energy annually that Anaheim Public Utilities can purchase.
David Schneider, senior business development manager at Anaergia, said in the report that the processed feedstock wouldn’t be exposed to open air and that odor should not be a concern.
