Late on 01 April – 10:35 GMT, to be precise, NASA’s Moon rocket Artemis II launched carrying astronauts to the Moon for the first time in almost 54 years, closely followed by the attention of the world’s media. Having orbited the Earth, its translunar injection burn ignited and the craft, carrying its crew of four, broke free from the Earth’s orbit on its 240,000-mile journey to the Moon. This was the third launch attempt by NASA since February. […]
A radical new approach to food production, capable of transforming landfill sites into low carbon, affordable fruit and vegetable production hubs, has been unveiled by Sustain Wiltshire in Royal Wooton Bassett. In a world-first, landfill gas tapped from Crapper and Sons’ landfill site will be turned into heat, power and CO2, to create perfect year-round […]
Looking back at last year’s pre-Christmas blog, I asked two questions. First: ‘Will 2025 see a change of tack by Wiltshire County Council in relation to the Super-Midden? Second: ‘Will the logjams that we’ve experienced in planning and permit requests be eased, and maybe even removed?’ At that point I took the view that inertia […]
It’s been a while since our last update—mainly because we’ve been working hard behind the scenes and navigating a few frustrating hurdles. So, let’s start with the challenges and end with the good news (and there is good news!). Planning Delays and Radio Silence Despite words of strong support from Wiltshire’s councillors earlier in the […]
Back in 2023, we started on our mission to transform landfill into one of the most climate-friendly methods of waste treatment, generating heat, energy and affordable fruit and vegetables for local communities year-round. Since that seed of ambition was planted it has grown in its scope to incorporate a future alternative source of polymers for […]
Although frustration remains over the planning delay in relation to the Super-Midden and the pointless bureaucracy that we have encountered, we move forward positively. We have reached out to the elected councillors who seem keen to hold a meeting to resolve these issues. Although this has not occurred yet, our fingers remain crossed that the […]
It was due to be a very exciting week! That was the expectation. The day of reckoning for the future of the Sustain Super-Midden – when Wiltshire Council were due to announce their decision on planning permission – came and went. This was meant to be a momentous day: the day that our plans to […]
Do you ever get the feeling that you’re going round in circles? Back in 1993 Bill Murray starred on a comedy film about a weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who becomes trapped in a time loop forcing him to relive February 2nd repeatedly. In Wiltshire, we appear to be experiencing […]
As we move into May, we reflect on a blur of activity in April. Much has progressed, but frustrations remain. With a project as ambitious as the Sustain Super-Midden, it is the nature of the beast. What we can report is that our dual approach to negotiating with more than one manufacturer for the production […]
Following last week’s shocking news that the price of our positively pressured prototype greenhouse was due to increase by 230%, we have dealt with this issue head-on. First, we sat down with the MD of the manufacturer DBS. At times the online discussions were robust and honest, but we have been assured that a much-improved […]