Plans to turn a Warabrook industrial building into a pet crematorium have attracted more than 130 submissions from concerned residents.
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A Queensland company, Pet Angel Funerals, wants to convert a solar energy supplies workshop into three pet cremators burning at up to 1000 degrees.
If approved, the business would cremate about 30 to 40 cats and dogs every weekday from 7am to 5pm. It would store animals in a cool room for up to 48 hours before they were cremated.
Nearby resident Leanne Lowe is coordinating community opposition to the project, which is across the road from houses on the edge of an industrial estate.
"A lot of people are wanting it gone," Ms Lowe said.
"The big issues are the fallout of emissions that are going to come from a smoking stack of that nature.
"There's quite a few chemicals that are quite a bit of concern, something we don't want to be breathing in. It's just not something you want to be stuck right on top of."
A consultant's air-quality analysis prepared for the proponent listed 19 pollutants associated with the crematorium but assessed that emissions would fall within EPA-approved guidelines.
Ms Lowe will address a public voice session about the proposal at Tuesday night's council meeting.
She questioned whether the crematorium was needed and feared pet owners would dump animals at the business if they could not afford to pay for cremation.
"The facility will be distressing for those who live near as well as those who travel past it on a daily basis, especially seeing that stack giving off those emissions," she said.
Pet Angel planning documents lodged with Newcastle council say the cremator comprises three chambers which can operate simultaneously.
"The primary cremation chamber burns at approximately 1000 [degrees], incinerating all biological matter, including virus and bacterial microbes preventing the spread of animal disease," the development application says. "The high cremation temperature effectively controls visible smoke and odour emissions.
"The remains of the animal are removed once all tissue matter is incinerated and placed into an urn; no biological waste is left at the site."
A council staff report on the proposal says the estimated 156 tonnes of animals to be cremated each year falls below the 200-tonne threshold requiring an Environment Protection Authority licence.
"There are no specific industry guidelines or standards relating to a pet crematorium operating at below licensing limits in NSW," the report says.