Waste centre to protect the planet

THE letters from TJ Hockley and 'Name and address supplied', August 9 Postbag, raise two important issues; why should anyone have to put up with someone else's rubbish and "out of sight, out of mind".

Regarding the first, I have great sympathy for the Hockleys, and their neighbours; the thought of a large grey shed full of someone else's rubbish festering at the bottom of my garden, would not be my first choice.

However, spare a thought for the residents of Braintree or Basildon who may end up living near to one of two 500,000 tonne per year processing plants, currently proposed to receive the rubbish collected from the whole of Essex, including Dunmow. I see no benefit to anyone and many disadvantages.

If the site next to the Hockleys home is chosen, it should only handle waste from the immediate community - waste should not be shipped in or out.

I also think that some form of compensation should be found for those directly affected by the development; a conventional waste transfer station offers no benefit to the Hockleys.

However, for our integrated recycling project to fully succeed, we need to be close to people, and have designed the facility to be a good, considerate neighbour, offering access to low-cost renewable energy, and no odour problems, as some compensation for any changes the development would bring - definately not a blot on the landscape.

My vision for the future of recycling is completely unlike the traditional rubbish dump.

Secondly, Name and Address Supplied asks "Do we really want to see out waste?" If we produce it, I think it is important that we do...

Only if we are aware of our impact on the planet can we ensure that we protect it for our children and future generations.

Neil Bookless

Managing Director

Environmental Energy Company

Duck Street

Dunmow