The boss of an animal by-products refinery today pledged that a new £1 million machine would help combat the problem of nasty smells in Bradford city centre.

Waddington Waste Management Solutions has invested heavily in the thermal oxidiser to control smells extracted from its refinery in Buck Street, Bradford.

Today managing director Mark Waddington said people living and working in the city would soon notice an improvement.

The machine works by heating the waste to massive temperatures and recovering energy in the form of steam, which is used elsewhere in the site. The treated air is released into the atmosphere through a tall chimney.

But Mr Waddington admitted it was not working to perfection yet - and that hot weather was making the problem harder to control. "Because it has just been installed, we are still getting it to the point where we are happy with it," he said.

The refinery, built in 1998, processes food waste and animal by-products collected from slaughterhouses, butchers and supermarkets.

The firm, based in Bradford for more than 100 years, is enjoying a busy period partly as a consequence of new regulations which mean some by-products which formerly went straight to landfill must now be sent to the refinery.

Mr Waddington said there had been complaints made to Bradford Council about the smells generated by the plant, but he insisted many of them were actually not connected with the firm. And he said the plant, which works 24-hours-a-day, was already gearing up to ensure it was in line with new Government regulations which come into force next year.

A Bradford Council Environ-mental Protection spokesman said: "P Waddingtons and Co Ltd is looking at how it can modify some of its processes to improve the efficiency of the odour abatement plant. Environmental Protection Officers will continue to monitor the situation and work with the company on these issues.