Tasmania Against Roaster

[Fresh_Coffee]

Re: Tasmania Against Roaster

Good people of the CoffeeSnobs Forum....

Anyone living or working or even lingering close by to a commercial roaster not fitted with anti pollution gear will usually complain about the smell and the smoke...and as a commercial specialty roaster with many years experience, I can understand their point of view.

You have to understand we are not talking a small amount inconvenience, and this has nothing to do with "being serious about coffee". The smoke is black and voluminous, and the smell is acrid, sweet and in some circumstances quite overpowering. Both are concentrated, and if there happens to be an inversion layer in the area, the smoke and smell do not get blown away but are actually kind of "held down" to linger.....

Office workers are particularly vulnerable. Consider the smoke and smell that is taken in by the air conditioning system of nearby office buildings and gets pumped around...this is unpleasant in the extreme.

And the concentrated smell is not burned away unless the afterburner is run at a much higher temperature than will get rid of the smoke. So just because you cant see smoke, doesnt mean there isnt a really unpleasant smell lingering....

And from my own point of view, there is the other side of the coin. Why should I be a good corporate citizen and comply with regulations and not upset nearby people or pollute the air around my business, at considerable cost (the afterburner costs twice as much to run than the roaster does) to the actual roasting mix cost, while johhnycomelately competitors come and go without (antipollution gear) , to their considerable business advantage (the cost of building and fitting an afterburner could easily match the initial investment in a small commercial roaster).

All coffee/snobbery aside fellas, this is a legitimate problem and must /should be addressed  by all those who wish to take up commercial coffee roasting. If they dont know about afterburners, then they havent done enough homework in their business plan. Frankly, anyone that doesnt comply with anti pollution considerations / regulations whether they be draft laws or real ones, should be shut down by the authorities.

Regardz,
FC.

[Has_Bean_Steve]

Re: Tasmania Against Roaster

there are wood fires and the thing that made me laugh was not 200 meters away is a rubbish dump that smelt to high heaven in the summer.

But I gave a few people something to complain about for a while

steve

[nunu]

Re: Tasmania Against Roaster

I had a simlar thing (Im based in the UK) it resulted in us having to move roastry to a place out in the countryside to avoid complaints and be ok for polution targets, no fun at all

Hey Steve, do people use wood fires in that area? If so, seems a bit hypocritical to me.

[nunu]

Re: Tasmania Against Roaster

Looks like a typical case of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard).

Ill use an analogy. In a more well to do suburb of Sydney, there was plans to build a KFC along the main road. The community banded together to completely block the development application. Main reason given was the smell. In the same lot of shops where the KFC was going to go were a car dealership, and several small takeaway shops (pizza, thai, etc.). Across the road is a large pub with outdoor bbq facilities (grill your own). I guess the smell of pizza/thai/bbq meat is better than deep-fried chicken. Nothing is said about the car exhaust coming off of the high traffic road. Seems it is very selective what is good or bad.

It also seems people are quite repulsed by the idea of an exhaust stack from a tunnel near where they live. The people in question live in close proximity to one of the main arterial roads in Sydney. Its ok to have a large area-source of pollution next to your house (the road), but not a small point-source of pollution that is raised above the ground, above the level of houses. Mind you, the road is encompassed by a hill on one side with multi-storey units, and multi-storey units on the other (think canyon of pollution and you get the idea). Such narrow-mindedness seems to be rife today.

[Has_Bean_Steve]

Re: Tasmania Against Roaster

I had a simlar thing (Im based in the UK) it resulted in us having to move roastry to a place out in the countryside to avoid complaints and be ok for polution targets, no fun at all

[Andy]

Re: Tasmania Against Roaster

I chuckled at the line...

CARLOS KINDRED: Oh yeah. If they want to lock horns, Im in

Gotta love the coffee passion!

[Javaphile]

Re: Tasmania Against Roaster

Its getting to be like that in more and more places. Two small local roasters here were forced to install afterburners because of neighbors complaints and even that didnt stop the complaints. One of these was just a couple of blocks from a lake where in the summer the smell permiates for blocks around. I suppose next theyll be calling to get rid of the lake because of the smell.

From what I hear in many major cities now in the US its not uncommon for them to require an afterburner on any roaster capable of doing 5 pounds or more.

Java "Taking pride in stinking up the neighborhood" phile

[TEPIN]

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2006/s1560213.htm