SOME time ago there was a great outcry at proposed landfill sites throughout the Vale Royal area. After a great deal of publicity, these proposals were modified much to the delight of those protesting.

A great victory for the local environment which people obviously care about judging by the strength of the initial reaction, you may think.

Everything is as before. The threat to our beautiful land has gone. The topic is no longer newsworthy and is troubling very few minds at this moment in time I'm sure.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but of course this problem has not gone away.

It may have landed in someone else's back yard but it has definitely not gone away.

In fact, the problem is getting worse by the day. I am sure these proposals or something like them will arise again in the future to meet the needs of the local populace.

How refreshing therefore to see that the local council is taking positive stops to remedy the situation.

On opening the Vale Royal Reporter, Vale Royal Bourough Council's own publication, there before me is an offer to purchase a compost bin at a very generously subsidised price.

As upto a third of domestic waste is of organic nature and compostable, the potential reduction in waste going to land fill is enormous.

All kitchen and garden waste can be composted to produce a pleasant, brown, crumbling compost. Spread around the garden there is a great improvement in soil quality and the plants growing in it thrive. Compost can also be used as a mulch to suppress weeds.

Of course the council benefits again with reduced costs in waste disposal and so here we have a win-win situation.

I urge all the people of the area with any garden at all to take up this offer, especially those who produced vehement arguments against the initial landfill proposals several months ago.

Having a compost bin may not seem a big deal, but it is an opportunity to do something positive about a situation that it appears a lot of people care about.

J Lownds

Dene Drive

Winsford

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.