Latest news with #GaryHough
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Could we recycle more rubbish in North West of England?
It is a warm afternoon and the sky above the Whinney Hill landfill site near Accrington is full of seagulls. Hundreds of them fly across the site, some landing to forage amongst the bags of rubbish. The air smells rancid. The site has been operating since the 1970s and takes household waste from across East Lancashire, but it has grown and it is now expanding towards residential areas."It's best described as being horrific," says local resident Gary Hough when I ask him what it is like to live near the site. "The mess that the gulls drop on your vehicles, on your home, onto your driveway, your garden furniture, your washing. "Depending on the wind direction, the smell can vary from mild to absolutely disgusting."Whinney Hill landfill site is run by Suez. It said the firm was regulated by the Environment Agency and also explained that Lancashire has one of the largest seagull colonies in Europe. After the coronavirus pandemic, the gulls came inland to find food. "As the birds are a protected species, we are able to take non-lethal preventative measures to ensure the seagulls do not feed from the site, such as the use of gas canons, blank firing pistols, pyrotechnics, lasers and birds of prey," a spokesman says. Suez also says it regularly meets the local community to discuss concerns and it manages the smell by covering the waste and has landfill gas controls. However, Mr Hough says residents want it closing down. "Why should we suffer in a residential community from 15 boroughs worth of household waste?"Dr Edward Randviir, senior lecturer in chemistry at Manchester Metropolitan University says: "There is a lot of environmental impacts of landfills."It creates biomethane which gets emitted to the atmosphere. "Sometimes this is captured by the companies. Some waste gets out and gets blown around. "Even though they are encased within these cells, you do get some pollution which leaches out, even though there are mechanisms to try and stop that from happening." Landfill is seen as the worst option for our black bin waste. We have been burying our rubbish for decades and despite attempts to reduce it, about 8% still goes to landfill. In the North West of England, we send 290 tonnes of household waste to landfill every year. There are 50 landfill sites in the region and 21 are already at capacity. In a bid to reduce how much we send to landfill, councils have been hit with higher charges. The main alternative is to burn it. We send about 43% of our region's waste to incinerators like the EFW Facility in Runcorn, which is run by Virador. It burns 3.5 million tonnes of rubbish every year, rubbish which can't be process creates electricity, but here too some residents are unhappy. The incinerator blocks Ralph Owen's view of the Mersey Estuary."The noise from the plant is incessant," he says."It's a dull, droning noise. I don't open my bedroom windows at night. "The noise is too disturbing…to have actually moved what is a dirty industry so close, beggars belief." He is also worried about the local air quality. Operators have an obligation to capture any toxic gases. Virador says its operation is preventing millions of tonnes of waste going to landfill and it takes its environmental responsibility seriously. It says it has "state-of-the-art processing and filtration systems that ensure emissions comply with environmental permits and wider regulation".The site here is set to expand to build a carbon capture plant. Mr Owen says that means more industry on his what about levels of recycling? And why aren't they more impressive?We recycle just 45% of household waste in the region. In Greater Manchester about a million tonnes of cans and plastic bottles a year end up at the combined authority's recycling centre in Sharston. Levels of recycling in the region are above the national average example, Stockport recycles about 60% of its household levels of recycling are stagnating. Alison Fare, from Recycling Greater Manchester, says: "I think we've hit a point nationally where most places are recycling as much as they can." She says once they have a new materials recovery facility, they will be able to recycle plastic bags, films and wrappings. But the levels are also affected by contaminated loads. 'Collective responsibility' Daniel Carolan, from Suez, which runs the centre, says: "It's a real shame if the teams have been out for two or three hours and the bin wagon is full. "They might have collected 400 or 500 bins that day, but if 10 of them have the wrong things inside, it affects the whole load."While he thinks people could recycle more he believes the answer is a much bigger issues."We can't recycle ourselves out of trouble," he says. "We need to re- educate ourselves, and ask does this need to be thrown away, or could it be reused or repaired?"And that solution is echoed by many. Dr Randviir says: "We have to have a collective responsibility for waste. "Not least because it is a wicked problem. "It is not just the collectors who have a responsibility, it is us as consumers, it is us as disposers of waste. "We all have a collective responsibility in my view." Read more stories from Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Landfill site seagulls a 'menace' to nearby homes
Residents living near a landfill site say the waste attracts huge numbers of seagulls that are bombarding homes, businesses, cars and people with bird poo and food waste. More than 700 people have signed an online petition asking for the landfill site operators to stop the "menace" of an estimated 5,000 gulls gathering at the Whinney Hill site, Accrington. Petition organiser, resident Gary Hough, said: "When you have around 5,000 above your homes they are going to be dropping mess. Not only that, they drop food waste as well." Suez Recycling and Recovery UK Ltd, which runs the site, says it operates in accordance with regulations and regularly works with the community to address concerns. Mr Hough said residents wanted Lancashire County Council to halt activities at the site. The council has been approached for a comment. He added the numbers of birds had risen from a few hundred in October 2023 to an estimated 5,000 at the turn of the year. "It's a huge problem, not only for our estate but also for the local community," he said. Mr Hough added: "It has probably got worse since the waste on the tip has been moving closer to homes." Mr Hough said he had even resorted to putting a gazebo over his washing while it dried on the washing line. Residents also say foul smells from the landfill are getting into houses, even with doors and windows shut. Richard Phillips, landfill operations manager at Suez Recycling and Recovery UK Ltd, said: "It is simply unfair and untrue to state that the site is creating hazardous conditions. "We are a responsible operator, and we strive to be a good neighbour. "We keep our operations under constant review, and we will continue to take advice from experts, such as Natural England, to minimise any potential impact on our neighbours." The Environment Agency, which has a responsibility to monitor sites, said it was "taking action to ensure the operator, Suez, addresses issues at Whinney Hill landfill site and recognise the distress the odour and gulls are causing to members of the community". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. Bin emptying times changed to deter resort seagulls Are seagulls a natural wonder or just a noisy nuisance? Environment Agency Lancashire County Council
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fayette set to reveal pick from field of 6
By next Tuesday night, the Fayette County Board of Education aims to reveal a replacement for outgoing Superintendent Gary Hough, who will retire from his post on June 30. This Saturday, Feb. 15, the board will stage a special meeting beginning at 9 a.m. at the board central office in Fayetteville for the purpose of interviewing candidates for the superintendent post. Saturday's agenda features an executive session. The motion for the session says the board will conduct 'structured interviews of the six screened applicants for the position of incoming superintendent for a term commencing July 1, 2025.' On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the board will meet in regular session beginning at 6 p.m. The group plans to consider and act upon the new superintendent who will guide the school system after Hough's departure. The board also will ask Jim Brown, executive director of the West Virginia School Board Association, in consultation with board President Pat Gray, to negotiate a contract with the chosen candidate. That discussion will include length, salary, benefits and other matters for a term beginning July 1. The proposed contract will be presented by Brown for board action at a future meeting. In a previous interview, Gray declined to divulge the names of the applicants, but he did say it was a mixture of people from both inside and outside the county. Also at the Feb. 18 meeting, the board will hear presentations from the Fayette County Family Resource Network's Diane Callison on Project Adventure 2025, as well as listen to a review of student achievement results and a scorecard review from Associate Superintendent Anna Kincaid-Cline. The board will act on several policy revisions and a slate of personnel action, in addition to addressing a student discipline issue. In March, the board will conduct several meetings, including four sessions on March 11. That day will include a special meeting for a work session (10 a.m.), a special meeting for the proposed levy order and rate sheet for FY 2025-26 (5:30 p.m.), a special meeting for a public hearing on the proposed school calendar for next year (5:45 p.m.) and a regular meeting (6 p.m.). There will be a regional LSIC meeting for Oak Hill middle and high schools at the high school on March 18 at 6 p.m., possible special meetings for RIF/transfer hearings on March 25 and 26, and a regular meeting set for 6 p.m. on March 25. Email: skeenan@ follow on Facebook
