FAT from cattle slaughtered at the height of the BSE crisis is being burnt at a power station in the region.
The Environment Agency gave SembCorp Utilities UK Limited, near Redcar, east Cleveland, a permit to carry out a 45-day trial to burn the fat at its Wilton Power Station, from this month.
Twelve lorries a day, each carrying about 28 tonnes of fat, began arriving at the plant two weeks ago. About 10,000 tonnes will be burnt during the five-week trial, ending on April 7.
If the trial is successful, the company will burn a further 100,000 tonnes.
During the BSE crisis, cattle showing signs of the disease were incinerated - and all beasts older than 30 months were banned from the food chain and their fat stored.
Britain has 170,000 tonnes of tallow to dispose of, which has been stored on Merseyside and near London since 1996.
David Tartelin, of the Environment Agency, said: "The agency is visiting the plant every week to check that Sembcorp has been following the procedures and practices.
"The early indications are that the emissions look to be in the areas where the company's predicted environmental risk assessments were put."
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