THE Gazette's article on the opening of the new hole at the Hills landfill site was clearly disturbing.

The present rate of disposal of waste into landfill sites is clearly unsustainable.

Residents and businesses in North Wiltshire need to do more to reduce, reuse and recycle waste to ensure that we do not need excessive areas of landfill in the future.

What was missing from the article were the facts that the Hills site is a commercial operation and does not limit the waste it takes to only that from North Wiltshire.

Waste lorries from as far away as Monmouth and Southampton deposit waste into this landfill and typically up to 200 lorries every day use this site.

It is no wonder therefore that this new hole will fill up so quickly when Hills is using Wiltshire to dispose of waste from such a wide area.

It is also disturbing that the figures quoted for lorry movements are far below those observed by local residents.

Clearly Wiltshire councils need to get a better grip on the size of the waste problem and better control the disposal of waste into landfill in the county.

Perhaps the slogan should be "Don't let Wiltshire landfill everybody's waste."

Michael Ransom

on behalf of Friends of Compton and Surrounds