A waste company has applied for permission to build a high-tech composting facility in Sussex woodland.

Onyx, which has a 25-year contract with Brighton and Hove City Council and East Sussex County Council to process waste, wants to build the facility at the Woodland Centre in Whitesmith, between Hailsham and Uckfield.

Onyx said the facility would produce high-quality soil conditioner for use by commercial growers, landscapers and gardeners.

The futuristic-looking centre will be one of only a few in the UK to employ advanced enclosed composting technology aiding the speed of decomposition.

The facility will be able to process annually 46,000 tonnes of garden waste collected from household waste recycling sites.

Once shredded, composted and screened, the waste will be transformed into an organic soil conditioner. Onyx expects that it will achieve organic accreditation from the Soil Association for the product to be used by the public, just as with Onyx Hampshire's Pro-Grow range.

A spokesman for Onyx said: "Producing consistently high-quality compost from this type of material is a significant part of Onyx's work. The company has been composting across the UK for nearly ten years."

Onyx has a number of planning applications registered with Brighton and Hove City Council and East Sussex County Council as part of its long-term waste strategy plan.

Some of the applications have proved controversial including an application to build an incinerator at North Quay, on the edge of Newhaven to burn domestic waste from East Sussex and Brighton and Hove. The company said it was needed as the landfill will be full by 2008.

Another Onyx application which has attracted a groundswell of opposition is its application to Brighton and Hove City Council for a recycling and waste transfer facility in Hollingdean Lane, Brighton.

This is another high-tech covered facility designed by a French architect. However, people living nearby say it is too close to schools and will create pollution and traffic.

The land at Whitesmith on which Onyx wants to build the composter is set back from the A22, behind an existing timber and wood-chipping business.

The Onyx spokesman said: "The development will therefore aid regeneration of this site, as well as forming links with the existing timber operations."

Onyx said the proposed development was a key element of its waste strategy which aims to increase sustainability of the area's household waste by encouraging greater composting, recycling and energy recovery and reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill.

The planning applications can be viewed at the East Sussex County Council offices in Lewes and also at the Wealden District Council offices.

Wealden District Councillor Sylvia Tidy represents the Chiddingly and East Hoathly ward, which includes Whitesmith.

Coun Tidy also stands on East Sussex County Council so is yet to find out if she can make representations about the application.

She said: "I know Chiddingly village itself has some concerns about the size of it."

Coun Tidy said the application had only just been made so would be looking at it in further detail and speaking to people before commenting.

Friday, October 28, 2005