A PETITION has been launched to shut down a waste treatment facility at Manvers over growing concerns of a fly infestation in the area - and the woman behind it says the situation is unbearable.
The Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham (BDR) Waste Treatment Facility officially opened in 2015 and takes up to 250,000 tonnes of residual waste each year.
The facility takes the non-recyclable household waste from across Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham which is shredded and dried before overlooked recycling is extracted, organic waste separated and the remaining material used to produce a solid recovered fuel.
Residents in and around the facility have long been complaining about a fly infestation - particularly in the summer months - and, after they felt their concerns were ignored, a petition has now been launched to close down the facility for good.
Organiser Samantha McCoy told the Chronicle that on bad days up to 100 flies make their way into her home - and it’s only getting worse.
She said: “I’ve lived in this house for nearly nine years and this issue has been going on for around seven or eight of those.
“It just seems to get worse every year.
“We’re absolutely surrounded by flies.
“It normally starts about May time but this year it was in March.
“It’s not just one or two flies - it’s hundreds.
“When the weather’s warm it gets even worse.”
Samantha says that residents’ complaints have been falling on deaf ears which has subsequently led her to launch the petition on Change.org.
She added: “It really distresses me.
“It makes me ill.
“Nobody seems to want to do anything.
“On Tuesday I cooked a meal and you’ve got to cover everything up the minute it’s done.
“I covered it all in tin foil and there must have been 60 flies around it straight away.
“When the weather’s hot I must kill 100 flies a day - and they’re the ones that aren’t getting caught on the tape.
“It’s not just me what’s suffering. It’s the majority of the village that’s suffering with it.
“It’s awful.”
Danny Tadd, Biffa’s BDR contract director, said: “The Manvers facility processes all non-recyclable waste collected from residents across Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham.
“We operate under an environmental permit regulated by the Environment Agency which includes an approved Fly Management Plan, which sets out a comprehensive programme of monitoring, control and treatment measures to manage fly activity at the site.
“We are aware of the petition and take all concerns raised by the community seriously.
“We will be contacting the petitioner directly to discuss the issue in more detail.
“Warmer weather can lead to an increase in fly and insect activity, which is a seasonal challenge for facilities of this nature.
“However, we remain committed to minimising any impact on our neighbours and continuously review our controls.
“Biffa operates an open visit policy, with monthly opportunities for local stakeholders to visit the facility and see how it operates.
“Anyone wishing to get in touch can do so via the BDR website at www.bdronline.co.uk.”
