Residents of the small community of St. George, south of Cambridge, are concerned about plans for a rendering plant that would produce edible oil products.

The building has been purchased and construction inside is already going ahead.

But odour, noise, traffic water pollution and waste disposal are among the concerns being voiced by residents, though all being disputed by the company.

John Bisaillon is a concerned resident. He says "It's going to interfere with our comfort of life, and our enjoyment of our property."

Tammy Heath is also worried, "Our concern is, is it going to devalue our home? Are we going to be able to sit outside?"

But TimCo Food Ltd. says the plant will only produce edible oil products, such as tallow and lard, which come from beef or pork fatty tissue respectively. That would come from local butchers and always be maintained in a refrigerated environment.

They claim that the process differs from the production of inedible oil products, which converts bone, hide, offal, feather and blood into animal feed and other inedible items.

The scents in edible oil plants are confined to the building, unlike locations that produce inedible products, which have been associated with bad smells.

Pratheep Rajan of TimCo Food Ltd. says "With edible rendering, you don't have that. It's negligible, so they will not have any odour coming out of a plant like TimCo."

The TimCo plant has not yet applied to be licenced by the Ministry of the Environment, though it must be approved before it begins production, but the company says they are confident.

And the Ministry says the application must include sewage treatment and odour control plans.

Rajan adds, "We have a highly reputable environmental engineering consulting firm to look into our business process, our operating process."

Meanwhile some residents are saying that TimCo's willing to speak is helping to clear the air.

Paul Long says "I'm already feeling more comfortable. The information that has been coming out, and TimCo has been been inviting people out to see their facility."

The company hopes to be in production by March. They plan to hire 22 employees and say despite the opposition they've already received more than 65 resumes from people in the community.