The operator of Binn Farm has been warned to maintain the ”high standards” it has developed over the last five years.
Councillor Willie Wilson issued the advice on Wednesday after approval was given for a four-year time extension on the existing landfill site at Glenfarg.
The convener of Perth and Kinross Council’s development control committee urged SITA UK not to become complacent over its relatively improved record of complaints.
”The applicants should continue the improvement process and reinforce that,” Mr Wilson said. ”If you take away a message today, it is that we are working on this but only on the understanding that the improvements continue and are reinforced in the future.
”We will be keeping a very close eye on you.”
Members had earlier heard how enforcement action taken by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) was largely responsible for the drop in complaints from the local community over the last year.
Many attributed this work to influencing their decision to back the plans for the landfill site to remain open until June 30 2018.
Councillor Wilma Lumsden said: ”As one of the local members for Abernethy, I have great sympathy for the people living there who have had to put up with the odour from the landfill site for so long.
”I have to agree that it has been better in recent times and much of that has been down to SEPA and their diligence and monitoring of the site in responses to complaints.
”They have imposed improvements on SITA UK when these have been deemed to be necessary and have made a tremendous difference.”
Issues raised by residents were also flagged up during the meeting and SITA UK’s planning manager Annemarie Wilshaw was grilled on the company’s response to odour and litter blowing from the Binn Farm site to the nearby village of Abernethy.
She advised members that there were protocols in place which ensured that any debris was collected immediately and, if there were any issues about odours, staff would try to track down the source as a matter of urgency.
Ms Wilshaw added that the increased level of recycling had led to the need for a time extension and that, if the success rate continues, she may have to return to council.
”The landfill must be completely full before we can cap it,” she said. ”We are not asking for any extension to the size of the site, it is what it is, but we have a current input rate that has halved in five years, so we need more time to fill that hole.
”An end date in 2018 is the best we can give with current input rates, but I cannot guarantee that I won’t be standing here in four years’ time if recycling reaches the ‘Zero Waste’ standards of the Scottish Government.”