Fife Herald Pinboard (03/04/20)

Pinboard for Friday 3th April

Giffordtown & District

Landfill Smells

Update from SEPA in their monthly report:

This update covers the period from 2 March 2020 to the 27 March 2020, and identifies what steps SEPA have taken to address the odour emissions from the landfill.

0n 2 March 2020, the site was visited by SEPA officers.

When driving past the site on the A92 there was an odour of putrescible wastes, possibly due to the drilling activities.

It was noted that the possidrain lining material was being laid against the piggyback. A drill rig was on-site constructing the gas collection boreholes. At the eastern side of the cells, there was a faint and sporadic landfill gas odour.

The additional groundwater boreholes required on the eastern side of the site (downstream of groundwater flow) have been drilled and installed.

A proactive odour assessment was undertaken. There was a faint landfill gas odour on the A92 between Angle Park, Sand and Gravels and Melville Lodges Roundabout.

On 26 March 2020, the site manager at Lower Melville Wood Landfill, Michael Lee, confirmed that the laying of the HDPE liner on Phase 3, Cell 2 has been completed.

All the gas collection boreholes are now drilled in the completed cell (Phase 3, Cell 2).

There is approximately a week of work left to tie in the cap around the perimeter of the cell and make repairs to any damaged areas of the liner.

As the capping work falls under essential construction designations by the Scottish Government, this work has not stopped due to the current lockdown.

A contractor will attend the site on Monday, 30 March 2020 to begin connecting the gas collection system. Resource Efficient Solutions will provide SEPA with an update on progress at the end of the week.

Due to the current Coronavirus situation, the Community Council visits are cancelled.

This has also influenced the opportunities to carry out odour assessments.

Fiveways Website

The website continues to gather new members and increase it’s audience. It is a great additional resource during this lckdown and provides community information, puzzles, stories, instructions on bread making and lots of other information. It can be found on www.thefivewayscommunity.com

Community Spirit

Giffordtown & District residents continue to support the community. A leaflet was posted through every door advising all of the support available ad how to access it. This has proved useful as there are already various collections from the local shops and from the chemist been organized. This is over and above the great neighbourly spirit that has been in evidence.

Make a noise for the NHS

On Thursday night on 26th March there was a tremendous raucous from the community. People assembled on the street, hung out of the window and clapped their hands, blew whistles, rang bells and banged saucepan lids with wooden spoons. Once resident was so enthusiastic, she now has one broken wooden spoon! It was a very moving experience to see so many people acknowledge the hard work and sacrifice from the NHS workers all over the country.

Litter Picking

The traditional Spring tidy up has been cancelled as reported last week. As the lockdown requirements allow us out of the house once per day and up to an hour for essential exercise, why not combine the daily constitutional walk and collect rubbish at the same time. The Community Council has purchased two litter picking sets; hi-viz vests, safety glasses and pickup poles. These can be borrowed via the Secretary and will be cleaned each time after us.

Lockdown & Speeding

The lockdown has seen a dramatic reduction in the volume of traffic flowing along the B937, which is really nice as the birdsong is now easily heard. However, it does not seem to have deterred a number of drivers from thinking that the B937 is some sort of sprint test. It is a 40mph zone and clearly signposted. The reason this limit was introduced many years ago is that the area is popular with walkers, horse riders and cyclists. During the lockdown, there have been an increased number of all those users, including families with children, prams etc. getting their daily exercise on the roads around the hamlets.