Making best of waste lands

When the rubbish arrives it gets compacted and ploughed into this massive hole in the ground.

This is Chapel Farm, a waste disposal site just outside the town, off the A419. The domestic waste landfill lies on 163 acres of land off the busy dual carriageway.

The tip sees more than 100 lorries visiting a day in a bid to get rid of the town's black bag rubbish, ranging from Swindon Contractors to skip lorries.

Every day up to 750 tonnes of waste gets buried here, the equivalent of four blue whales, the world's largest recorded mammals.

Chapel Farm is run by Hills Waste, which has the contract to run the tip on behalf of the council. Martyn Parfitt, the landfill manager, said: "We have approximately 13 years left here at Chapel Farm at a rate of about 120,000 tonnes a year.

"One of the things we do is make sure that everything is environmentally secure. We are checked by the Environment Agency two or three times a month and we are carrying out constant tests to make sure that no contaminants ever get off site.

"There is even an on-site falconer used to keep the seagulls away from the rubbish."

In the middle of January a new methane energy plant will be up and running. The plant will burn off the excess methane created by the tip and produce about a megawatt of electricity, which is enough to power some 5,000 houses a year. This electricity will connect directly to the national grid.

Mike Webster, Hills Waste divisional director, said: "I would say we have a very good working relationship with Swindon Borough Council. We are trying our best to encourage people to recycle and cut down on their waste."

Chapel Farm, which used to be under Wiltshire County Council control, opened in 1984 and was handed over to the Hills Group in 1996. There are seven people employed at the tip, ranging from the compactor driver to the weighbridge man, who weighs incoming refuse lorries. The tip does not take any special waste, like toxics or medical refuse. All of these go to another Hills tip in Purton, where a new public recycling centre will open in December.

In total Hills Waste has more than 100 employees working at various tips, transfer stations, and recycling centres across the West Country. The company has the Wiltshire County Council contract to dispose of and recycle all of its waste. In the Swindon borough, the council, through Swindon Contractors, is still in charge of its own recycling.

Every day at Barnfield Road Recycling Centre, more than 2,000 cars drive through the gates to dump domestic rubbish, including fridge freezers and old televisions.

This is Swindon's flagship recycling centre, open seven days a week from 8am to 6.30pm.

Each driver has the choice of dumping their rubbish into one bin or sorting it out into different groups bottles, cardboard, garden waste or cans. The civic amenity site is officially off-limits for businesses and is open to the public only.

Traders illegally using household waste recycling centres throw away about 7,500 tonnes and cost the borough council about £100,000 a year. The recycling centre opened in 1978 and has since gone from strength to strength.

Earlier this year a national survey revealed that Swindon Borough Council is fourth in England in the league table of recycling.

According to the Government, the council recycles 18 per cent of its total household waste.

This is way above the national average of 9.7 per cent and the average for unitary authorities of 11.2 per cent. The Government has set tough new targets, forcing councils to slash the amount of waste sent to landfill sites.

By 2003, the council will have to recycle 45 per cent of its domestic waste. Swindon Council and Wiltshire County Council are currently drawing up a waste strategy plan and are planning to have a draft copy ready by early next year.

A forum set up to examine the plan is carrying out a countrywide consultation looking at alternative means of waste disposal, including incineration.

John Short, the director of Swindon Services, said: "There are going to be a lot of tough changes in the next few years to reach all the new targets, but we are confident we will succeed.

"We are here to protect the environment of Swindon and everything we do is tested thoroughly.

"Barnfield, Shaw Tip and the work that is going on at Peatmoor Tip are all tested frequently by the Environment Agency, so everyone can rest assured that they are safe.

"We are putting a lot of work into recycling and at the moment we are doing as much as we can."

This Christmas a temporary recycling centre is being set up next to Barnfield Road, while the centre closes for improvements.

It is an area of rural tranquillity in the centre of Swindon.

There are even rumours that the area is home to a family of deer.

Only 20 years ago this area used to be Swindon's main rubbish tip.

And now Peatmoor tip is being transformed by Swindon Services, which was formerly Swindon Contractors, into a community forest.

So far the first phase of the tree planting has been completed at the 40 acre site. There are another two phases planned so eventually in a few years time the people of Swindon will have a forest right in the centre of the town.

The second phase will be completed within the next five years.

The tree planting is part of the Great Western Community Forest which will eventually stretch from Wootton Bassett to Lechlade.

At the moment there is an existing tip next door to the site which will eventually become the third phase of the community forest in about ten years time. This is Shaw Tip, which takes what is called inert waste like soil, paper and wood.

The finished woodland, which will be made up of Oaks, Beeches, Ash, Lime, and Hawthorn trees, will include cycle paths, walking routes, and a car park.

Bob Fisher, the Swindon Services site manager, said: "One of the things we have had to do is make sure that everything is environmentally sound.

"We carry out countless tests to make sure that everything is pollutant free, including the soil, the water and the air. The forest when it is finished will be wonderful and it will be somewhere people can come and escape urban life just on their doorstep.

"We are paying for all the work to be done using our own resources.

"There is definitely a family of deer already living in the first phase of the forest, even though they keep very much to themselves."

The Great Western Community Forest project was launched in 1991 following a successful bid by the then Thamesdown Council.

It is one of 12 community forests in England and will cover 140 square miles stretching from Wootton Bassett to Faringdon and the Downs to the Thames. It is a 30 year programme with a lot of the work being done on privately-owned land.

Andrea Riding, the project marketing officer, said: "Swindon represents the largest area of the community forest.

"The project is well underway, even though it will take time before the trees are grown enough to see the results fully. We work very closely with Swindon Borough Council and other bodies. It is a way that we can bring back nature to a community for the benefit of all. The Shaw Forest Park, which is what we are calling the Peatmoor tip project, is well underway and it will become somewhere families will be able to come to escape."