It is a classic tale of housing encroaching on what was once an industrial area. For several generations a factory in Rouse Hill in north-western Sydney has been turning meat waste into pet food. Now the owners say they have been forced out after complaints by the residents in newly built homes nearby.
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00:00For nearly 70 years, this family-owned business has been collecting and processing offcuts
00:08from local butchers.
00:09Out of that we recover proteins, fats and oils, which go back into the pet food industry.
00:18It's the only facility of its kind in Sydney.
00:22Probably up until recently we were servicing around about a thousand different collections
00:26a week.
00:27When it was built, this part of Rouse Hill was farmland, well away from residential areas.
00:32But as housing in the area increased, so did complaints about the smell.
00:37The company introduced measures to reduce odours, but they came at a cost.
00:43Basically from there we were losing up to a hundred grand a week.
00:47Eventually a decision was made to close the business, leaving 50 staff potentially out
00:52of work.
00:53The local council says up to three tonnes of meat waste is generated in this area every
00:59week.
01:00With no cost-effective service, the concern is that that could end up in landfill sites
01:05like this one.
01:07The council has had to reassure residents that won't happen.
01:10We don't accept protein waste into the facility, so what's that going to do?
01:17There's a lot of confusion.
01:20The meat industry says the loss of the free collection service will leave a gap.
01:25We don't have another business like that, so it's a little bit more disjointed, and
01:29then therefore means that it comes at a cost.
01:35Butcher Chris Boyd-Skinner estimates his store in Blackheath generates 60 kilos of offcuts
01:41a week.
01:42Now, he'll have to pay to have it taken away.
01:46We might have to put prices up depending on how much waste and how much it's going
01:51to affect us really, because it's now another cost on top of bills.
01:55The meat processor hasn't ruled out relocating to another site, but with a push to build
02:00more housing in the Sydney area, finding somewhere suitable will be a challenge.