Professor John Robertson OBA
In the Guardian:
More than 100 old landfills in England that may be contaminated with toxic substances have flooded since 2000, potentially posing a serious safety risk, it can be revealed.
Some of these former dumps containing possibly hazardous materials sit directly next to public parks and housing estates with hundreds of households, the analysis by the Greenpeace-funded journalism website Unearthed , in partnership with the Guardian, found.
Although councils are supposed to keep track of the dangers of these sites, funding has long since disappeared and some local authorities had no idea they were responsible, the investigation found.
What is the situation in Scotland after 18 years of SNP Government?
In 2007, in the last days of Labour, there were 110 known landfill sites. The data is checked for completeness by local authorities which, in Scotland, have not been subject to decades of Tory cost-cutting initiatives such as those mentioned in the Guardian report. There are currently only 40 landfill sites in Scotland.
https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/4jsdkdg1/waste-landfill-quality-report.pdf
Also:
Waste sent to landfill fell from around 7 million tonnes in 2005 to 2.3 million tonnes in 2022, and 2.0 million tonnes in 2023. Rapid decline in waste going to landfill recently, driven by shift from landfill to incineration.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-circular-economy-waste-route-map-2030/pages/4/
Landfill under SNP is now only 33%, one third, of that under Labour
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
I am sure that will ‘change’ should Labcons take control of Holyrood next year, for the worse.
Well done SNP on that crucial policy to reduce toxic waste etc.
The council in Edinburgh, run by Labour/Tory and I think LibDem coalition, which kept the party chosen by the people, the SNP out at the last council election). The Tory/Labcons council are proposing to remove the large bins,in most of the city and replace with ‘gull proof sacks’ (not rat proof though!) which would mean people storing rubbish in their houses/flats, or dumping it somewhere because most people will have to store rubbish until collection day. Same recycling bins, remove them they say replace with bags, so any existing recycling bins will be full to the brim very quickly and well, as is happening now, the city will look even more like an actual rubbish dump. I have lived in Edinburgh for thiry six years and it is since Labcons/Tories took control again, the city is a mess. they remove traffic lights and plonk temp ones in heir place and I always think hmm, I wonder who’s getting the contracts for those temp lights in situ for many weeks or even months.
Anyway without boring people with rubbish stories, I have a wee theory that to wreck the capital of Edinburgh is deliberate, after all, people can blame the SNP, some as I have overheard(!) do still believe the ‘SNP’ run the council! They did for four years, previous, and things started to improve but as the Eng HQ’d parties have controlled the council forever, that short stint was hardly enough to make things better for the people of the city.
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I am sure that will ‘change’ should Labcons take control of Holyrood next year, for the worse.
Well done SNP on that crucial policy to reduce toxic waste etc.
The council in Edinburgh, run by Labour/Tory and I think LibDem coalition, which kept the party chosen by the people, the SNP out at the last council election). The Tory/Labcons council are proposing to remove the large bins,in most of the city and replace with ‘gull proof sacks’ (not rat proof though!) which would mean people storing rubbish in their houses/flats, or dumping it somewhere because most people will have to store rubbish until collection day. Same recycling bins, remove them they say replace with bags, so any existing recycling bins will be full to the brim very quickly and well, as is happening now, the city will look even more like an actual rubbish dump. I have lived in Edinburgh for thiry six years and it is since Labcons/Tories took control again, the city is a mess. they remove traffic lights and plonk temp ones in heir place and I always think hmm, I wonder who’s getting the contracts for those temp lights in situ for many weeks or even months.
Anyway without boring people with rubbish stories, I have a wee theory that to wreck the capital of Edinburgh is deliberate, after all, people can blame the SNP, some as I have overheard(!) do still believe the ‘SNP’ run the council! They did for four years, previous, and things started to improve but as the Eng HQ’d parties have controlled the council forever, that short stint was hardly enough to make things better for the people of the city.
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That commnet was from me, Hetty!
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Hi John, completely O/T but Bob Lamont’s positive response to the nuclear waste article the other day sparked off this very long piece on Wind Power.
Mythbusting: “Wind power is unreliable, inefficient and harmful to nature”
From Europe’s largest renewable energy producer Statcraft 2nd April 2024.
“Wind power is often characterised by incorrect, inaccurate and misleading claims.”
Six stubborn myths about wind power
1. “Wind power takes up large areas of land.”
If you count the entire area around and between the turbines in a wind farm, there is no doubt that a wind farm is the energy source that requires the largest area of land per MWh produced, even if the direct impact on nature is small.
However if the land where the wind turbines are located can be used at the same time for other purposes, such as grazing or farming, the footprint is minimal.
2. “Wind power destroys nature.”
The impact of wind turbines on wildlife is often significantly exaggerated, not least when compared to the impacts of other interventions in nature. For example, if we look at the risk to birds in general, the impact from collisions with wind turbines is small compared with collisions with buildings or other infrastructure. Having said that, bird death is an undesired consequence of wind power, so both experiments and research are carried out to reduce the risk.
3. “Wind power is inefficient.”
A common objection to wind power is that it is inefficient because a wind power plant only produces when it is windy, not necessarily when we need the power most. This is only partially correct. Wind turbines do not need very strong winds to produce electricity. A land-based wind power plant often has a capacity factor a of 35–40 per cent, and is in operation 80 per cent of the time.
4. “Wind turbines generate noise at levels harmful to health.”
Although wind turbines generate noise from both the blades and the generators, and some people are bothered by the noise. Wind turbines can emit both high-frequency and low-frequency sound, as well as infrasound. Modern turbines generally generate less noise than older models. The World Health Organisation believes that research does not support the claim that wind turbines themselves contribute to more physical and mental health problems.
5. “Wind turbines use more energy than they produce.”
It is sometimes claimed that wind turbines are not profitable, climate-friendly or sustainable because the energy that goes into building them exceeds the energy the wind turbines produce over their lifetime. This is not true. A life-cycle analysis published in the scientific journal Renewable Energy in 2012 shows that, after only three to seven months, a wind turbine produces more energy than is required to manufacture it and set it up.
6. “Wind turbines require increased supplies of rare minerals.”
The newest turbines use significantly less rare earth materials per MW than earlier models. Although the materials are called “rare”, there is no reason to fear that there will be a shortage of rare minerals anytime soon. However, it is a challenge that many of these materials are extracted in countries such as China and the Congo, often under conditions that do not take sufficient account of people and the environment. The solution to these challenges is that we become better at recovering valuable minerals, and that Europe makes more effort to become self-sufficient in these minerals.
Mythbusting: “Wind power is unreliable, inefficient and harmful to nature”
Wind turbines require rare earth elements such as neodymium and dysprosium for permanent magnets used in the turbines’ generators. The average offshore wind turbine requires 600 kg of rare earth materials.
REE have never been commercially extracted in the UK, nor has there been any systematic exploration for REE.
REE like neodymium and dysprosium are found in Scotland, although typically in small amounts. There are documented occurrences of REE-bearing minerals in Scotland, particularly in the Northern Arran granite and in alluvial sediments derived from the granite. Loch Ailsa, Loch Borralan and Loch Urigill in North West Scotland also have occurrences of REE.
https://ukcmic.org/downloads/reports/the-potential-for-rare-earth-elements-in-the-uk-2024.pdf
From wind turbine magazine
Can Wind Turbines Work When Its Not Windy? – Wind Turbine Magazine
Wind turbines do not generate electricity when it’s not windy. They also don’t generate electricity when the wind speed drops below what’s called the ‘cut-in-speed’. That’s the minimum wind speed below which the wind turbine stops generating electricity.
Cut-in speed varies among different types of wind turbines.
For example, the 225kw Vestas V27 wind turbines—all cut-in (i.e. start generating electricity) as soon as the wind speed reaches 3.5 metres per second (mps), or about 8 miles per hour (mph).
Much larger turbines, like the 2MW ‘Vestas V90’—which stand over 100 metres tall—have a slightly higher cut-in-speed of 4 mps, or 8.95 mph.
Most medium and large size wind turbines’ cut-out speed is around 25 mps, or 60 mph, although some larger turbines have additional control systems which allow them to continue operating at even higher wind speeds.
According to the Met Office Scotland’s mean wind speed annually is 10.74 knots or 12.35 mph. January to April and October to December the mean wind speed is 11.70 knots or 13.46 mph.
Proven to be extremely dangerous to health and environment. Nuclear Small Modular Reactors promoted by British Labour in Scotland?
or
Renewable energy, an already working and profitable, safe source of power championed by The SNP Scottish Government?
JB
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Thank you for the follow-up JB – The 8 and 8.95 mph start speeds are pretty damned impressive.
So given ” Met Office Scotland’s mean wind speed annually is 10.74 knots or 12.35 mph. January to April and October to December the mean wind speed is 11.70 knots or 13.46 mph”, could perhaps someone from Met Office Scotland advise the State of a Secretary for Greggs how many dead calm events occurred in each sector – There is an anemometer atop every wind genny, so it should be fairly easy for a Labour ‘drunk sorry dunk sorry think tank’ to correlate the data to evidence his claim….
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The “may” is doing all the heavy lifting in the Grauniad article, unfortunately regulating what goes to landfill is a relatively recent initiative, as has been controlling leachate – It is true that monitoring in England has become disconnected, and with flooding become an increasing problem, we really should be grateful SEPA did not suffer the degree of political interference and chicanery the DoE did…
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O/T Remarkable article in the Wales section of the BBC News website (dated April 26): ‘Thousands attend Welsh independence march’.
See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj0zpz2ev6eo
Remarkable for BBC Scotland watchers: (i) the event is reported; (ii) indeed, the event is reported at length; (iii) pro-Indy politicians are quoted, giving out pro-Indy messages; (iv) there is NO countering negative framing anywhere in the piece.
There is a pro-Indy march in Glasgow soon. How will BBC Scotland act?
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So sorry stewartb, I just saw you too had written about the Indy march in Wales yesterday and that the BBC had it on their website prior to me making my comment below.
Liz S
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O/T
BBC Website Wales Politics page has a story on a Welsh Independence March that happened yesterday (it has been descending as a story since this morning and it is now no longer one of the main articles on that page but , as a article, it is now one of the ‘Latest updates’ articles noted at the bottom of that page).
“Thousands attend Welsh independence march”
However another story on that Welsh Politics page that is still one of the main articles, as currently it is the 4th article on that same page is this:
“Reform UK ‘would work with any other Senedd party’ “
This is a puff piece by the BBC where the article states:
“Nigel Farage has said Reform UK would be willing to work with any other party to form a government in Wales next year”
The article continues in stating that :
“Reform is hoping to win its first Senedd seats at the Welsh Parliament elections in May 2026, with recent polling suggesting support for the party is closely behind Labour, and neck and neck with Plaid Cymru”.
I think we all know who, as a party, the BBC would want to be the ultimate winner in that “neck and neck” fight between them, Reform UK, and Plaid Cymru.
Farage was asked “if his party would commit to keeping free prescriptions in Wales” ?
Farage replied: “If we can, yes of course.”
The “If we can” means NO.
Farage is for a private Healthcare Insurance scheme for his whole UK.
He and his rogue supporters in the media, are trying to convince gullible voters in the UK that the NHS is failing, and that it cannot be sustained and so the UK needs to adopt what he says is a fairer and more successful model for health care which is privatisation.
What Farage does not tell people is that like all insurance based systems, there is a tiered system based on the amount you can pay in Insurance premiums .
That is ‘what you pay, as in how much you pay, determines the level of service that you get’.
The level of service that the “Few” will always get , in a reformed UK Insurance based system for Private healthcare will be far more extensive based upon on the larger premium contributions that they can afford to pay towards their private Healthcare.
Where as for the “many” to receive the same level of excellent service that they now currently get with the excellent NHS, well that will based purely upon how much they can pay in premium contributions towards their private Healthcare.
As we read that Farage states that he will be “willing to work with any party in Wales to form a government in Wales, well that is a lie.
His party would not work with Plaid Cymru and vice versa.
In Scotland Reform UK would never work with the SNP either but they would work with any other party at Holyrood (except Greens obviously) .
The problem with those who intend to vote for Reform UK is the same problem that those who voted for Brexit also had as a weakness.
That was and still is where the ‘finer details’ of what and who they were voting for, were either ignored or not looked into (researched) from an actual future consequences perspective, as apparently the slogans were all that was needed to convince them to both vote for Brexit and now also to vote for Reform UK.
(See what is currently happening in America with their current big economic problems all based on what the Trump administration have done , and then see that as a future template for what Reform UK want to do in their UK if they get any power, either outright power or as part of a coalition UK government in 2029).
I have no doubts that Anas Sarwar would be more than willing to sink down to the depths of having some kind of informal alliance with Reform UK in order to try to achieve his career ambition of becoming the next FM, which then would, for him, be a way that he would see as laying the groundwork for him to finally get into the HOL.
Vote SNP in 2026 and if we do it via a majority then we need have no fear that there will be any risk of a real ‘coalition of chaos’ being formed by others at Holyrood, which would be to Scotland’s and also the people’s detriment and would need to be suffered, as a situation, for 4 to 5 long long long and extremely hard years until the next Scottish elections.
Liz S
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