Operations and Maintenance Manager Mike Bourke says that there is still some residual odour from the digester breakdown, but that is lessening. “The recovery period is taking longer than we had hoped. The digesters are not yet handling the full load as well as they should. We are working our way through the problem, and have brought in the help of an outside specialist in the field of digester operations.”

Meanwhile fine weather has helped with the drying of No 1 pond which has been emptied as part of the next stage of the plant upgrade. “Unfortunately there may be some odour as the base of the pond is excavated and dried,” said Mike Bourke. “And high winds may at times cause some of the sand at the bottom to be blown away.”