Avara’s vow on pollution (Hereford Times, February 9) to cease contributing excess phosphates into the Wye by 2025 appears to be based on an untested technical process.

A much more satisfactory vow would be to commit to exporting every bit of poultry manure from the county, whether raw or from AD digestate, within the next three months. All other producers of the manure should be required to do the same.

Since 2013 when Cargill increased its production capacity in Hereford the County has seen a big escalation in poultry numbers and a coterminous continually rising increase in pollution levels in the watercourses of the Wye catchment.

ALSO READ:

Avara, a subsidiary of Cargill and Facienda, has known since the 1980s that they were guilty of their destructive behaviour as demonstrated in Oklahoma State Court (2003).

In terrain similar to Herefordshire, they have polluted the beautiful Illinois River within its entire watershed.

Now under the Orders of the Court they are forbidden to spread any more manure on the land and to clean up the legacy phosphates that will otherwise continue to be washed into the rivers.

Cargill is a family firm with 14 billionaires and ranked 8th among the world’s wealthiest.

If Avara won’t take similar action here, when will legal prosecution begin and brought by who?

Ros Bradbury

Kington

What are your thoughts?

You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here.

Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence.