A FIRM has rejected claims that a waste recycling plant is still producing overpowering smells.

In early September people living and working near the controversial Allington incinerator complained about putrid smells.

A design flaw had closed the plant indefinitely and had led to a build up of rotting rubbish.

Kent Enviropower, which runs the plant in Laverstock Road, deodorised some of the 5,000 tonnes of rubbish which was being moved to landfill.

The process is now complete but Tia Gregory, who lives in nearby Clivedon Close, said she was still noticing an overpowering smell of plastic.

She said: “On Monday I went to take my dog out for a walk, and I got to the end of the drive and decided to turn back because of the smell. It catches in the back of your throat.”

Mrs Gregory notified the environmental health department at Maidstone council but says she was told the smell may be from another site.

A spokesman for the department said: “The smell is not always present which makes it difficult to trace. However, we are working hard to identify the source.”

Tom Wadsworth, a spokesman for Kent Enviropower, said there had been no other complaints and it was unlikely the incinerator was the cause as the waste had been moved.

Mrs Gregory said: “If it is not coming from the incinerator I want to know where it is coming from. Surely the council should know what is letting off this putrid smell.

“Until we can go out and breathe in the fresh air that we should be able to, I am going to have something to say about it.”

Green Party activists are calling for the permanent closure of the incinerator, which has been dogged by problems since opening a year ago.

Stuart Jeffrey from Maidstone Green Party said: “It should be closed down.

“The incinerator masks the problem of waste; it is the wrong way to deal with it.

“What we should be doing is cutting down on waste and packaging.”

Last month Kent Messenger reported the plant had closed indefinitely after it was found the insulating lining of the furnaces could not stand the heat of the fires.

Mr Wadsworth said estimates were that sorting of recycling at the plant would be reinstated in the next few weeks and the plant would be able to burn waste by spring. It should be fully functional, generating electricity from the waste, by next summer.