Some business owners in Fabriek Street, Gants Plaza, are up in arms as they allege a neighbouring crematorium is the cause of pollution and a foul smell in the area.
However, these claims have been countered by the crematorium owner, who said he is doing everything in his power to comply with the law.
The owner of Flaura Pets, an animal crematorium decided to stop operation of its incinerator in April, after the business failed to meet the prescribed emissions limits as set by the City of Cape Town.
The halt in operations followed several complaints to the City, which led to an independent stack emissions monitoring specialist investigating the matter and compiling a report.
Upon enquiry, the City’s Air Quality Management Unit confirmed it received the independent report on 26 July 2023. “[The report] confirmed the facility failed to meet the prescribed emission limits for Listed Activity 8, Sub-Category 8.2 Crematoria and Veterinary Waste Incineration (only Veterinary Waste incineration in this instance),” council said.
In a letter of complaint to the independent monitoring specialist, several business owners stated that when Flaura Pets was operational before the shutdown, smoke billowing from the facility’s chimney caused their employees to suffer from burning eyes. They also said the smoke blew into some adjacent businesses.
One such business is Scooter World in Tradelink Park, which is owned by Keith Botha. “My employees go home as the smoke causes their chests to close and their eyes to burn,” he said.
In another to the independent specialist, another neighbouring business owner said they are disappointed Flaura Pets re-applied for a crematorium licence “after so many of the neighbours [had] complained about the pollution, some of them experiencing loss of income due to staff absenteeism caused by it. Numerous complaints of black smoke billowing into the surrounding properties show how it would continue to do so for hours on end”.
But Neil Ferguson, director of Flaura Pets, refuted the claim, stating the incinerator burnt for a total of nine hours, with smoke apparently only visible for 30 minutes per burn.
He reiterated he took the “responsible decision” to stop use of the incinerator in April. “I am that responsible person,” Ferguson said. “I am sensitive to the issues.”
The City explained that when a decision is made to grant an application for an Atmospheric Emission Licence (AEL), the facility is first issued with a Provisional AEL (PAEL), valid for a year from the date of commissioning.
“In this period the facility must fully commission the listed activity and demonstrate full compliance with the PAEL,” the City said.
“This compliance must be demonstrated for six months. Where the facility cannot achieve full compliance the Air Quality Act enables them to apply for a renewal of the PAEL, which can be renewed only once. If compliance is still not achieved the facility would be compelled to close its doors.”
The City added that Flaura Pets had not been able to demonstrate full compliance for its six-month period, as it did not meet the prescribed emission rates.
“Flaura Pets have appointed a specialist to help them resolve the issue,” the City added. “In the interim, the owners have applied for a renewal of the PAEL with the knowledge that they would not be able to achieve compliance for a full six months.”
Ferguson, in turn, confirmed the process entails an application to the City and consultation with neighbours.
“We delivered these consultation letters to our neighbours within a 150 m range,” he said. “We knocked and if there was no response we left the notice at the businesses. Although we can’t currently use the incinerator, [if the application is approved], we will be permitted to cremate animals. We installed the incinerator in October last year and it is part of my responsibility to report complaints, of which we had very few. We are aware of one individual who is making untrue allegations against us and we are in talks with our attorneys as these allegations are being done maliciously.”
Ferguson further said he has an open-door policy, as he was trying to put food on the table and run a responsible business.
The City confirmed it received Flaura Pets’ application and the comments submitted during the public participation process, which closed on Monday 31 July.
The municipality confirmed Flaura Pets was issued a pre-compliance notice with the intention of directing the facility to cease operating the incinerator until it can meet the prescribed minimum emission standards.
The City mentioned Flaura Pets also needed to provide a rectification plan to address the non-compliances with the prescribed minimum emission standards.
“The facility has voluntarily ceased operating the cremator,” it said. “The owner, however, is currently undertaking testing of the burners without loading any carcasses for incineration. A request to test the incinerator with carcasses loaded will be considered on receipt of the requested rehabilitation plan.”
Ferguson, who incurred large expenses address the problems, explained that when smoke billows from the chimney, it cannot be stopped. “You have to alter the burners,” he elaborated.
He further said he covered the costs of a specialist from the British company that built the incinerator to address the problems.
“The specialist tried to identify the problem, but could not. I have also engaged with a chemical engineer,” Ferguson said.
“We have had an hour-long conference call with the manufacturer and the company who did the air emissions test. I engaged with both chemical engineer and specialist to look for remedies. I engaged with another company to work with me and look for a way forward. I have submitted my rectification plan and it is a case of tweaking the incinerator, which I made the responsible decision to stop operating.”
The City said the current PAEL is still in effect, but it “will assess the feasibility of the plan and make a determination”.
