Villagers campaign against giant waste dump
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18 February 2004 - The villagers of Greengairs renewed their calls for the First Minsiter, Jack McConnell to meet with them to discuss plans for a giant new waste dump near their village. The call comes exactly two years to the day that Jack McConnell visited the North Lanarkshire village to launch a series of high profile environment policies during which he pledged to take action to protect the village from more dumping and opencast coal mining. (1)
Two weeks ago the villagers of Greengairs wrote to Jack McConnell calling for an urgent meeting following a decision to approve an 8-hectare (800,000 cubic metre) rubbish dump. (2) The letter called on the First Minister to meet with representatives of the village to explain why the area has been again chosen as the site of another landfill. The community is still waiting to receive a reply. Maria Donavan, chair of Greengairs Community Council said: Jack McConnell is in France right now telling the rest of the world how great Scotland is. However, here in Greengairs life certainly isnt that great. On his return to Scotland we hope Jack McConnell will drop in and explain to us why weve been dumped on again. It is now exactly two years since the First Minister visited our village. We thought that his visit would signal the beginning of the end for the suffering our community has had to endure as a result of dumping and open-casting. But two years have passed and the misery still continues. Local roads are frequently clogged with heavy lorries and in summer our homes can fill with flies and the stench of rotting waste. This new dump will only add to these problems. Having used the village as the launch pad for his big environment speech we believe that Jack McConnell has a duty to explain to this community why the system is still failing to protect people like us. If the system is wrong then Jack McConnell must change the system. By meeting with us we can explain first hand what we believe needs to change. Please dont turn your back on us Jack. Notes 1. On 18 February 2002 Jack McConnell visited Greengairs to give a high profile environment speech. During his visit the First Minister spoke with villagers, expressed his support for their concerns and pledged to do whatever it would take to make sure it would not happen again in the future. Read the BBC report here 2. On Friday 7 February 2004 Scottish Ministers announced that they were minded to approve plans for an 8-hectare (Volume: 800,000 cubic metres) landfill by Eden Waste near the former Dalmacoulter landfill to the south of the village. The landfill was opposed by the village and others including local Labour MSP, Karen Whitefield. The villages of Greengairs and Wattston are already home to Europes biggest landfill and Scotlands biggest opencast coalmine. The villages are almost completely surrounded. The latest dump plan would bring the number of landfills and opencast mines in the area to NINE. Amongst others these include: Drumshangie opencast (GM Mining) - Scotlands largest operating opencast mine. There is also a plan to increase the size of this opencast. Shanks Waste Solutions Greengairs landfill Europes largest landfill (site is a former opencast coal site). Former Caird landfill recently closed and restored (site was a former opencast coal mine). Boglea and Cameron opencast (GM Mining) - yet to be fully restored. Dalmacoulter landfill (N.L. Council) - recently closed and restored. Pinwhinnie coal recovery site. For more information contact: Maria Donavan 01236 830649 Ann Coleman 01236 830700 Greengairs Environmental Forum |
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