27 January 2012
The Arpley landfill site in Great Sankey is due to close, but the operators have applied for an extension, to the dismay of the local inhabitants, who continue to protest against it (see here).
The protest against the Waste Recycling Group's application for extension of the landfill is understandable, considering the nuisance it causes for the residents of the area.
But the problem is much bigger than this. We produce so much waste that landfill sites all over the country are almost full, and space to create new ones is running out fast. The only solution is to reduce, reuse and recycle, to minimise the waste we produce. In 2010 Warrington recycled 40% of waste, which means that 60% still goes to landfill. Also, blue-bin recycling (everything together in one bin) is the least efficient way of recycling, often resulting in the contents ending up in landfill anyway because of contamination.
There are ways of reducing waste: Producers can reduce packaging of food and other stuffs, and we can bring your own bags when going to the supermarket. The council can introduce more efficient recycling, but that often means more separation, and therefore more bins. A large proportion of what is now sent to landfill is food waste, which rots and produces methane, an aggressive greenhouse gas. Food waste can be collected, and used to make compost or to produce renewable energy through anaerobic digestion.
Until we seriously reduce the amount of waste we produce, we will have increasing need of landfill sites. It is in our own hands.
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