Recycling and waste management firm, Viridor, has taken part in a BBC Four documentary which charters the history of landfill and explores how modern-day landfill sites operate on a daily basis.
Film crew at Viridor’s Dunbar landfill site in Scotland
The documentary, “The Secret Life of Landfill: A Rubbish History” aired last week (23 August), where Viridor welcomed film crews from Tern TV to its Dunbar premise in East Lothian, Edinburgh, for three days of filming in May.
Hosted by Dr George McGavin and Dr Zoe Laughlin, the programme aims to change the public’s perception of landfill sites, by outlining how waste is changing, the challenges it poses and showing “the tonnes of re-usable material that is still being sent to landfill.”
Waste quantity
During filming, Mr McGavin explained that Viridor’s Dunbar site has accumulated a height of 40 metres of rubbish in the last two decades.
He also told viewers that it deals with a total of 600-800 tonnes of municipal waste each day, which, according to Mr McGavin, is a “constant battle for its workers to get the trash loaded into their 20 tonne dumper trucks and up the hill before they are ‘overwhelmed’ by it all.”
Adding to his statement, Barry Falgate, Dunbar landfill manager, Viridor, said: “This was an excellent opportunity to give BBC viewers an insight into the important work Viridor does every day. It’s incredibly important for everyone involved in the industry to help change the public’s perception that landfill hasn’t changed since the Victorian era.
“With the modern day best-practice techniques that Viridor uses at this site and the rest of its sites across the UK, people will be able to see the incredible amount of organisation, technology and engineering goes into effective waste management.”
Michelle Moran, landfill gas resource manager, North and Scotland, Viridor, who was also interviewed as part of the documentary, added: “Most people aren’t aware of the level of science and highly engineered containment that goes into designing and operating a modern-day landfill site for a major European capital and it was great to be involved in a documentary that helps improve public awareness.
“I love working in such a dynamic industry and viewers will get to see first-hand some of the huge range of challenges myself and my colleagues deal with on a day-to-day basis.”
To view the documentary, visit BBC Four’s website.
Related links
The Secret Life of Landfill: A Rubbish History
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Source: letsrecycle.com General
