Archived press release

Sewage tomatoes: the fruits of human waste and Water Service failure

30 October 2003

Friends of the Earth today pointed to tomatoes growing wild on the Larne shoreline as evidence of Water Service failure as another deadline for construction of the new sewage plant slipped by without work commencing.

The tomatoes have germinated from seeds which, having passed through the human body, were discharged with raw sewage into Larne Lough and grow in the sand near the outfall at Chaine Memorial Road.

Commenting, Sharon Morrow of Larne Friends of the Earth said she was angry and disappointed that another Water Service promise had been broken:

'Water Service promised us that work on a new sewage treatment plant for Larne would begin in September 2003. But the only plant we have seen is a tomato plant growing on the beach, the fruits of human sewage and government ineptitude.'

In January, Larne Friends of the Earth presented Water Service with a birthday cake in the shape of a toilet to commemorate the tenth anniversary of their promise to build a sewage works for the town:

"On that day Trevor Haslett, the Water Service official in charge of the project, gave us his word that work would begin in September. But today we learn that work won't begin until next year. Meanwhile raw sewage from 30,000 homes is pumped into Larne Lough every day, threatening public health, tourism and the shellfish industry."

Mrs Morrow continued:

"At Easter we published the results of a survey of Larne residents which showed that more than 90% of respondents were disgusted to learn that raw sewage was going into the lough. But this isn't just disgusting, it's also illegal."

Mrs Morrow warned that Friends of the Earth has complained to the European Commission about this and other breaches of European sewage pollution law that could see Northern Ireland face daily fines of more than £100,000:

"The European Commission has confirmed it is acting on the complaint we sent them in the spring. In a letter from a senior commission official we were informed that our complaint about Larne's breach of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive is officially under investigation. The fines formula suggests that penalties in excess of £100,000 a day will be imposed if this and other sewage works are not built quickly."

She concluded by insisting that no more sewage-borne tomato seeds should germinate on the shores of Larne Lough:

"Mr Haslett 'has-lett' us down. He and his Water Service colleagues need to 'ketch-up' on their work schedule - or they will really be in the soup."

Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland
7 Donegall Street Place
BELFAST
BT1 2FN
Tel: 028 9023 3488
Fax: 028 9024 7556
Email: foe-ni@foe.co.uk.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust