Disgusted locals living nightmare as 'blood red' gunge rains down from giant incinerator used to cremate zoo animals and beached whales

Daily Mail​

20-07-2025

Campaigners are demanding a factory causing a 'gut-wrenching stench' in a city centre by burning diseased and dead animals be closed down.
The refinery plant, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, turns livestock, zoo animals and even beached whales, into biofuels.
But by-products billowing from the factory chimneys create a rancid cloud over the area, coating cars with a thick greasy residue, making people physically sick, and even killing off vegetation.
Food businesses claim the fetid reek is driving away customers and a petition has been launched calling on Bradford Council to immediately suspend operations at the P. Waddington Animal By-Product Processing Plant.
One trader took samples of the detritus raining down from the white vapour belching from the Waddington stacks for lab analysis - it contained bone, hair and fat.
Residents claim breathing in the vile particles of animal waste is making them ill.
Motor trader Sadeeq Sharif, 53, has a business directly next to the plant, and is constantly having to clean his cars from the falling tiny globules.
'The stuff falls white at first, but over the days and when it gets water on it, it turns a rusty, blood-red colour,' said Mr Sharif, who has run his business Sultania Motors beside the factory for more than 15 years.
Mechanic Thomas Wizla believes he has been suffering with stomach issues and unexplained weight loss due to the debris being pumped into the air through by the refinery plant
'I have a convertible car and I'm scared to park it outdoors, because of the fabric roof, and if that gets destroyed it'll cost me six grand.
'The problem has got worse in recent years. Sometimes you can't bear the smell, and you have to go inside.
'Customers have been known to dump their cars and just run, they don't want to be here one second longer than they have to.
'The grime just builds up on the car bodyworks and windows, it is a constant battle to clean it off.
'The smell from the refinery gets that bad some days that we can hardly work and stand here. When some trucks come you cannot be here, it is that nasty, it's a gut-wrenching stench.'
The Waddington plant has been in operation since 1947, and before that was an abattoir, but locals say the problem has gotten worse in recent years.
Animal carcasses from across Britain are brought by lorry to the site, including roadkill, zoo animals, diseased farm animals, the waste from the livestock food industry and whales washed up on the nation's seashores.
Skin and hide is also treated at the premises.
Offal are also trucked to the factory and there have been a number of spills when rancid animal guts have ended up on the road.
On one occasion a spill of fat caused a car to skid and crash, according to locals.
'A lot of the trucks aren't from here, they are foreigners. The trucks have foreign number plates on, and the drivers don't know the language and they are trying to look for the place,' said Mr Sharif.
'Waddington's spilt so much one day that they had to close the road and bring in industrial cleaners.
'This should not be taking place in the city centre. The whole place is manky.
'It is going 24 hours a day, it never shuts down.'
Thomas Wizla, 47, runs TW Autos, a few doors down from Mr Sharif.
'The smell gets really bad, especially over the last two-and-a-half years,' said Mr Wizla, pointing to the mucky residue on his cars.
'I have had a problem with my stomach for the last years. I have lost 10kg and been to the doctor a number of times. I'm sure it is linked to that plant.
'I am normally a fit, healthy person, but its just here making me sick.
'I have been to Waddington's to complain, but they say it is "nothing to do with us".
'I have taken the stuff that is falling down from the chimneys, which is white at first and then turns rusty-coloured. I have sent those samples to an independent laboratory and he sends me a report.
'What does it say? - hair, bone, and antibiotics.'
The report cost Mr Wizla £500 for the lab report, six months ago.
'Last week we had two ladies leaving their car, and straight away one of them dashed to the toilet to throw up because of the smell,' he said.
'The other lady went to be sick after that.'
Mr Wizla also pointed out the trees, brambles, grasses and flowers on an embankment directly downwind from the chimneys - everything was brown and shrivelled, whereas normal summer greenery was either side.
Viktor Kotenko, 60, also works nearby.
'The smell is very, very bad, it is just horrible,' said Mr Kotenko.
'Sometimes it comes down like rain and you can taste it on your tongue and on your lips - it is a sweet taste.
'And when you wash your face it you can feel it.'
Geoff Bonham, 68, has been in the area for more than 30 year and he says the problem has got worse over the last few years.
'Waddington's say that it is not them causing the smell or being responsible for the bits falling from the sky, but it obviously is,' said Mr Bonham.
'They used to say the smell was from a nearby chicken factory, but that's not the case.
'The stuff is so thick and greasy that if you put your windscreen wipers on you can't see.
'I've been complaining to environmental health for ages, but they say its not detrimental to health.
'But I've been away in hospital for three months on an unrelated matter, but when I have come back my sinuses are going and I have a sore throat already.
'The emissions from the plant can be the only reason for my sinus problem and sore throat.'
Mr Bonham said the company, which still goes by the name Waddington but was taken over a few years ago by JG Pears, spills offal on the road.
Mr Bonham said the company, which was very busy at the time of the foot and mouth outbreak, has daily lorry loads of animal carcasses, and recently took delivery of a whale that had washed up in Whitby.
A petition set up on Change.org has more than 1,600 signatures, with people saying they are always having to keep their windows shut to ward off the stench. Locals are so enraged by the issue a community meeting was held last week.
One local who signed the petition said: 'On a daily basis I watch my elderly mother who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis struggling to close the windows because of the daily toxic assault by P Waddington.
'Enough is enough it's time this soul-destroying site is closed.'
Another signatory, who volunteers at the nearby mosque wrote: 'It felt like being poisoned!
'I volunteer at the mosque opposite the factory, and yesterday the stench was so overwhelmingly terrible and offensive, I ran inside for the first time in my life to close the windows, dropped my plans to water the plants from the children's vegetable garden and literally ran to the car holding my breath.
'I have never smelled anything that terrible in my life, and I am not exaggerating.'
Councillor Ismail Uddin, who represents Bowling and Barkerend Ward where the rendering plant is located, is backing the petition.
'There are many food outlets on Leeds Road, just beside Waddington's, and many owners say customers think the bad smell is coming from them,' said Cllr Uddin.
'Bradford Council has launched a "Live Leeds Road" campaign, but the awful smell is not helping.
'On some days the stench can be smelt at the new Bradford Interchange bringing tourists and visitors to our city.
'The first impression they get is that the place stinks.'
Members of the Leeds Road Hindu temple have submitted a letter to Bradford Council highlighting the 'intolerable' situation and 'foul smell' which they said visiting dignitaries had commented on.
Tariq Mahmood, who runs the Mahmood's burger shop near the factory, said: 'Our business attracts people from outside and we are investing a lot of money into the area.
'It reflects really negatively on us as a city.'
The petition, entitled 'Stop the Noxious Fumes from this Animal Carcass Burning Plant in Bradford!' reads: 'We petition Bradford Council for the immediate suspension of operations at the P. Waddington Animal By-Product Processing Plant, located at 54 Buck Street, BD3 9LP.
'This suspension should remain in effect until a comprehensive and independent investigation into the plant's adherence to environmental guidelines and its impact on public health is conducted.'
It outlines the below concerns and demands.
1. Potential Health Risks: Persistent community reports and preliminary research indicate that emissions from the plant could pose various health risks, including respiratory and gastrointestinal problems, as well as mental health issues.
2. Environmental Impact: There is concern about the potential for emissions from the plant to exceed the guidelines set by the Environmental Agency. Recent assessments suggest that they may be up to 5000% in excess of the 1.5 OU/m3 limitation (Odour Units), raising serious concerns about the plant's impact on local air quality and the broader environment.
3. Lack of Transparency and Oversight: Questions have been raised about the accuracy and impartiality of the self reporting of the plant's emissions, particularly considering the potential for underreporting of volatile organic compounds. This underscores the need for enhanced regulatory oversight and independent verification.
Demands:
1. Immediate suspension of operations at the Waddington Plant pending an independent investigation into its adherence to environmental guidelines and its overall health and environmental impacts.
2. A thorough review of the plant's compliance with environmental regulations and guidelines.
3. Inclusion of community stakeholders in future decisions regarding the plant's operations, ensuring transparency and accountability.
'We urge the Bradford Council to take swift and decisive action in response to these concerns, prioritizing the health and safety of our community,' the petition reads.
A spokesperson for Bradford Council said: 'An investigation is currently ongoing into Waddingtons which has not concluded, therefore we are unable to comment at this time.'
PJ Pears, the factory's parent company, said: 'We understand the concerns of some of the residents near the P Waddington installation. We make great efforts to minimise odours beyond the site boundary and operate within the strict requirements of our environmental permit and odour management plan.
'As we have said previously, we are open to meeting with community representatives to discuss this matter further. But up till now, no one has contacted us about this.
'Regarding the petition, some of the information given on the petition webpage is not correct. It is important that discussions about our installation are grounded in the facts.
'Most significantly, it says that 'Recent assessments suggest that they may be up to 5000% in excess of the 1.5 OU/m3 limitation (Odour Units).' This is based on modelling assuming there is zero abatement of odour and emissions in operation. This has been assessed to give an absolute worst-case scenario to measure our abatement systems against. It would not be possible to operate the plant under this scenario and this would be a breach of our permit.
'Under the Environmental Permitting Regulations, facilities must use the Best Available Techniques (BAT) to prevent or minimise emissions and environmental impact. Our permit was granted because the installation uses modern technology and operating procedures to minimise odour in line with current BAT standards.
'The petition also expressed concerns about a 'Lack of Transparency and Oversight.' Environmental health officers from Bradford Metropolitan District Council regularly inspect and audit the installation to ensure compliant operations. All of this carried out to UK regulatory standards.
'Finally, we would like to clarify that it is not an 'animal carcass burning plant'. It is an animal by-product rendering plant. It carefully uses heat to convert animal material not suitable for human consumption into safe, reusable resources, such as biofuels. Facilities like ours play a vital role in making livestock production sustainable and in preventing animal disease outbreaks.'