Landfill Plans Rejected - Campaigners Jubilant.

FifeWest Action Group Press Release 02 September 2002
FifeWest Action Group (FWAG) were rejoicing today after Fife Council threw out controversial plans for a mammoth waste separation plant and landfill site on the derelict former open cast site at Westfield in Fife.

The proposal by Alba Resource Recovery Limited to bring up to 500,000 tonnes of waste into Fife, most of which initially would go to landfill, had been opposed every step of the way by local people, leading to over 2,000 objections being received by Fife Council.

The Council's Environment and Development Committee voted to reject the plans by nine votes to six on environmental grounds, despite recommendations from Council officials to grant full planning permission. Councillors expressed doubts about the enforcement of the ninety (90) planning conditions suggested by Fife Council Planning department.

Speaking afterwards, Lorna Bett, secretary of FWAG's Benarty branch said, "This does not end here. Hopefully we can have something better for the area. The people of this area suffered ill health because of fifty years of environmental abuse. Let's see if we can do something imaginative to restore the site."

The victorious campaigners were also keen to have their say in how Fife will deal with having arguably the worst recycling rates in Scotland, which in turn compares very poorly to other countries in Europe. FWAG have argued since the start of their campaign that kerbside collection using a three bin system is the direction to head. Householders would separate waste into the appropriate bins, and local authorities would arrange for separate collections.

"It's the most effective way forward," said FWAG member Jane Turnbull. "We do not need a state of the art machine separating hundreds of thousands of tonnes of household rubbish. Local people can do that locally, compost locally, and educate themselves on the benefits to everyone of reducing the amount of waste we produce."

The matter is likely to go before the Scottish Executive, as it is believed that the applicant, Alba Resource Recovery -a subsidiary of Scottish Coal - is considering an appeal.

For FWAG, it is about celebrating victory. "I'll be smiling for weeks because of this. Fife Council has a chance to come up with an imaginative plan for the site, and put an end to decades of degradation and suffering," said Lorna Bett.