Seneca chief apologises for Wembley stink

Part of the Seneca mural on its NeasdenMRF

John Carey Junior apologised at the Wembley Connects event this week for the stench that hung over the Wembley and Neasden area for more than a week over the summer, coinciding with the Olympic Games events at the Stadium and Arena.

Seneca,  which has an MRF (Materials Recycling Facility) in Hannah Close, was contrite. The company  has prided itself on its environmental credentials with parent company Careys part-funding the Welsh Harp Environmental Study Centre.

They admitted to management problems as well as technical ones and admitted that the incident led to 5,000 extra tonnes of waste going to landfill. The smell worsened when the pile of waste was disturbed to be shipped out to landfill by a fleet of lorries.

 They blamed the initial problem on the accumulation of organic waste from black bag collections in municipalities other than Brent, where there were not separate composting collections or where there were no facilities for these in flats. The manager responsible had been 'let go', and organic waste was now being turned around within a 24 hour period, rather than festering on site. Odour repressants had been fitted and the odour extracted from within the building.

In response to questions Seneca confirmed that they were seeking a rail connection to transport waste materials (the site is next to the Chiltern Line) and that plans for a biomass plant were planned to go ahead but had been delayed when Seneca's partner went into liquidation.

The Environment Agency in a  briefing dated October 12th and distributed at the meeting said:

We are currently considering our enforcement options. This is  a live investigation and because of legal sensitivities, we are not able to discuss how the investigation is progressing. We will of course keep in touch with people who contact us and ask to be kept informed when we can say more. 

We have received a number of late reports of odour during recent weeks. We would ask that the local community immediately contact us on our 24 hour incident hotline telephone number 0800 80 70 60, if they smell odour which they believe is coming from Unit 2, Hannah Close.

In my contribution I reminded residents that there are a number of waste plants in the area and that Seneca was just across the railway lines from St Margaret Clitherow Primary School and Chalkhill Primary School. The proposed Wembley Stadium Primary would not be far away in Fulton Road. Brent Council had discussed the issue of the accumulation of such ' dirty neighbour' waste firms in the area in its Wembley Plan consultation. The consultation on the plan's preferred options closes on Monday October 8th. Residents who are concerned should go to Brent Council's consultation portal HERE to submit their views.

The consultation closes at 17.00 on Monday.

Now tube bosses kick up a stink about Wembley stench

The Brent and Kilburn Times reports that Jubilee Line bosses are now calling for action on the Wembley-Neasden Stink from Seneca's MRF , following complaints from passengers.

LINK

Seneca's publicity video below shows how close the Materials Recyclign Facility is to the railway line. Seneca hopes to build a biomass plant there in the future.

 

Stink over Wembley Olympics

We were warned  that clearing the problem at Seneca's Hannah Close Materials Recycling Facility may result in the smell worsening for a short time and that was certainly true this evening.

Olympic passengers on the Jubilee line train I was travelling on sniffed the air as we left Neasden and started giving each other surreptitious  funny looks.  Noses were screwed up, eye brows raised and faces pulled as it dawned on them that perhaps it wasn't a single anti-social individual causing the stink.

Perhaps the driver should have made a public announcement to pre-empt any misunderstandings!

Seneca and parent company were given until tomorrow (Friday) by the Environment Agency to deal with the source of the putrid smell.

Neasden stink source is Seneca

I can reveal that the stink reported over the weekend between Neasden and Wembley Park emanated from the Neasden recycling yard of Seneca. The Environment Agency has given Seneca until Friday to clear it up but there are warnings that the smell could get worse while this happens.

Seneca, a subsidiary of Careys, was given planning permission by Brent Council for a Materials Recycling Facility on the site, despite concerns about the number of waste facilities in the area. Latterly the Wembley Plan consultation mentioned the impact of 'bad neighbour' waste processing and handling firms in the area on potential redevelopment, including the possibility of a new primary school in Fulton Road.

Seneca is named after the Roman philosopher and politicam 5BC-65AD. One of his popular quotations is...

Be not too hasty either with praise or blame; speak always as though you were giving evidence before the judgement-seat of the Gods.

...so I had better be careful. However it is worth pointing out that Seneca's parent company, Careys, was much praised by ex-Brent Council leader Ann John, when they stepped in to help save the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre.



Next year the procurement process will start for a new Brent Waste Contract worth millions of pounds. The contract for waste collection and recycling and street cleaning is presently held by Veolia. The new contract may also include park maintenance.

The Environment Agency can only work if they get information/ complaints from local people . You can speak to them on 0800 807060.