THOUSANDS of West Yorkshire homes could be supplied with green power from one of Europe’s biggest landfill site.

The operators of Welbeck tip in Wakefield have revealed plans to take gas from decomposing waste to generate electricity which will then be fed into the local grid – enough to power 8,000 homes.

But protesters have labelled the move “too little too late”, claiming the eco-friendly plan should have been installed at the tip seven year ago.

Landfill gas is currently collected on site through a system of pipes and burnt off into the atmosphere.

Resource

Waste Recycling Group (WRG) has submitted details of its proposal for the development of a “landfill gas control and utilisation facility” to Wakefield Council.

Keith Hobbs, senior estates and planning manager for WRG, says: “ We have submitted these proposals as we are keen to ensure that the landfill gas is used as a resource instead of just burning it off.

“By using the gas to generate electricity Waste Recycling Group can make a positive contribution to the UK’s renewable energy programme. The generation of ‘green’ electricity using landfill gas is a significant contributor to the Government’s climate change commitments, as it offsets the need to burn fossil fuels.”

But Paul Dainton, president of Rats (Residents Against Toxic Scheme) said the plan should the scheme should have been installed long ago.

He said: “WRG have delayed installing this for seven years now. During that time around 1m tonnes of gas a year has been wasted by being burnt into the atmosphere for local people to breathe in. It is an absolute disgrace. I would be reluctant in welcoming this proposal as so many of their promises rarely come to fruition.”

Under the site’s current planning permission, WRG has outline per-

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