Letters: August 31, 2016

Anonymity is granted only at the discretion of the editor, who also reserves the right to edit letters.

Some burning issues

YOUR report about the meeting on Sunday August 28, of residents opposing the proposed construction of a waste incinerator at South Marston was misleading.

I told the meeting that planning law means dangers of pollution are dealt with by the Environment Agency, so the council cannot refuse planning permission on these grounds.

I did not say, and do not accept, that the proposed plant would use clean technology, as your article suggests.

Moreover, your article is simply wrong in saying that the developer’s ‘gasification’ technology does not involve burning.

Burning a substance is to combine it with oxygen, resulting in a significant rise of temperature.

This is exactly what would happen in the incinerator. But it would be neither a renewable process, nor a clean one. Domestic waste contains large quantities of plastics which are not a renewable resource and cannot be burnt without releasing toxins.

The proposed plant would have to filter the exhaust gases to remove these toxins in the form of fly ash, acknowledged to be toxic in the developer’s planning application.

The fly ash would have to be taken away in lorries. Inevitably some toxins would also escape up the chimney into the atmosphere.

Waste incineration is not efficient. Domestic waste, even after it has been processed to produce the RDF the plant would burn, contains high levels of moisture and non-combustible materials.

The result: High levels of greenhouse gas emission for low levels of energy produced.

ROBERT AYRES

chairman

SKIP residents’ group

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Incinerator worries

THERE was another meeting last Sunday regarding the proposal to build in incinerator here in Lower Stratton.

It was perhaps not a good time to have it what with the Bank Holiday etc. However, there was quite a good turn-out by locals.

It was well presented by the committee leader, with a lot of interesting facts. Most of the news was totally new to me and I learnt quite a lot.

Some of the things that bother me is exactly what is the so-called waste that is going to be burnt in the incinerator? We all know that a lot of waste burnt on its own is relatively safe, but who is going to ensure that it is not a a totally mixed variety?

We all know that many materials are safe of their own but when you mix two so-called safe products together it is possible to discover that the two substances, when mixed, produce toxins that are a danger to health.

Who is going to ensure with the thousands of tons of waste being delivered to the site that this doesn’t happen?

And here we come up against another problem.

Where are all these lorries that are transporting all this waste going to go? There is a sort of bottleneck at the White Hart roundabout now, but how much worse will it get with 90-plus lorries taking waste to the proposed site?

And this is a residential site, not an industrial site. There are proposals to build 2,000 homes to the east of Stratton.

This, with the prevailing wind pattern, would mean that these new homes would be more or less directly down wind of the proposed incinerator.

I urge the council to think this through very carefully.

If the council takes the same type of attitude to this as they did to the proposed windmills at Honda a short time ago, they could be faced with peaceful civil disobedience to stop this monstrosity ever being built.

It worked before back in the 1960s when women were walking back and forward across Ermin Street to stop traffic after a poor little girl was killed in the village when a cover fell off an articulated lorry passing through.

That is how the by-pass came to be built.

So let’s get this one right to save all residents and the environment.

DAVID COLLINS

Blake Crescent, Swindon

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Hazards from smoke

PLEASE can I ask that readers who have allotments be considerate to the householders surrounding the allotments.

Every weekend, and often during the week, several people decide to burn their cuttings/rubbish, causing great plumes of smoke to be blown towards and into open doors and windows of neighbouring houses.

We have had to go into the house on lovely sunny days and shut all windows and doors, which makes it very uncomfortable during this hot weather.

Someone even set fire to their whole area of overgrown weeds on the open ground which made us worry in case the wind spread the fire.

People often leave their burning waste unattended and don’t seem to care how it affects other people who are sitting in their garden or have washing out. All I ask is that they consider composting their cuttings/waste and allow us to enjoy the time we spend at home.

Thank you

HELEN VON STEUBEN

Redcliffe Street, Swindon

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Praise for litter pickers

WELL done to residents in Haydon Wick Parish for their initiative in tackling litter (SA, August 25).

I hope their various ideas are a success.

Every effort made to raise awareness of this issue is a good thing.

Roadside signs near Membury Services on the M4 read “Help stop litter. Bin it.”

Retailers selling fast/convenience food and drinks must do more to encourage customers to dispose of packaging responsibly.

More prominent in-store notices, labelling on products and reminders in advertising perhaps?

We can all help. If each of us picked up and binned a piece of litter when we see it, the improvement would be huge.

Dropped rubbish looks a mess. It’s a health hazard and a danger to wildlife.

Clearing it is a drain on financial and manpower resources.

On busy roads and motorways, workers risk their lives to tidy up after the lazy, thoughtless individuals who drop litter.

Please bin your rubbish. Don’t drop it.

D WARREN

Ramleaze, Swindon

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Confidentiality issue

I AM writing with regard to the article (SA, August 26) concerning the wife who saw indecent images of children on her husband’s phone.

I sincerely hope that the counsellor involved who called in the police did so only after a full discussion with the wife and her consent was obtained. This was not made clear in your article.

This is not to say that the case described should not have been reported and brought to court.

But the way it was reported could be interpreted as though the counsellor acted on their own initiative, irrespective of the wife’s wishes.

There are many people with problems who may be actively considering seeking counselling help.

It would be extremely unfortunate if they, having read this article, were put off, fearing that their counsellor might divulge personal information without their consent.

To the counselling profession, of which I am a member, confidentiality is essential. This is why any ambiguity can cause risks.

JUDY NICHOLS

Counsellor and Hypnotherapist.

Grosvenor Road, Swindon

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Number of problems

I WONDER whether any other readers can enlighten me as to the following.

I have recently attempted the near-impossible task of trying to contact Virgin Media with a TV fault.

After dialling one of three numbers I have for them – all the same in reality – and pressing about 24 keys to enter my account number, the robotic woman decided, twice, that she didn’t recognise my details. Would I care to try again later as they were so busy.

I can’t go on. The robot woman seems to hate me apparently.

Are they the worst company to try to contact? It’s a big fat yes from me.

RODNEY J M WIRDNAM

Whilestone Way, Swindon

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Apology for remarks

FURTHER to the correspondence about the puzzles page.

I freely admit that I was a little quick off the mark with my criticism of Mr Woodward and realised after posting my first remarks that his solution was for the previous day.

However, I had not had time to look at the puzzle for that day, so my remarks still stand.

It is obvious many of us enjoy the puzzles page and long may it continue.

For my part I see them as a means of trying to keep the old grey matter from atrophying.

Let us all keep enjoying them, with apologies to Mr Woodward for any offence caused by my remarks.

VERONICA GARSIDE

Wharf Road,Wroughton

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Grease is a winner

CONGRATULATIONS to all the young people who took part in the musical Grease held at the Wyvern Theatre over the weekend.

It was a truly amazing performance. The enthusiasm and spirit was a credit to them. There were some truly outstanding performances by some of the solo actors. Friends of ours from South Africa over here on holiday were making their first visit to the Wyvern and enjoyed the show.

I am sure they will go back home with some lovely memories of the young people who took part and did so well.

CLIVE ALEXANDER

Alma Road, Aldbourne

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Searching for family

I AM searching for the surviving family of Ship Surgeon Maurice Perlman, who was killed in action in 1943 serving in the Merchant Navy. He was living in Chippenham, as were his parents and wife.

I discovered that a son Adrian or Adiran, Perlman was a solicitor in Chippenham and born in 1933. If anyone has any information about the whereabouts of the family please email me on martin.sugarman@yahoo.co.uk, or call 07806 656756.

MARTIN SUGARMAN

Merchant Navy historian