What? Where? Who? Why? When? Image Source:

What? Waste from the UK Where? Guiyu, a village in China Who? Waste management Companies from the UK send waste to China Why? To save money Image Source: When? On going – this image was taken in March 2005

Learning objectives  To discover where our waste goes  To look at the implications of disposing waste in landfill sites  To consider Orgreave Mine as a possible landfill site  To consider the views of different groups of people

Made in Britain, Dumped in China  This was the front page of The Independent newspaper on the 26 th of January 2007  Look carefully at the images  How do they make you feel? Source: © 2007 Independent News and Media Limited 26 th January 2007

Dumped in China  The story behind the headline… Source: © 2007 Independent News and Media Limited

The Facts  Last year over 2 million tonnes of waste from the UK was dumped in China.  200,000 tonnes of this was plastic.  Much of the plastic can not be recycled – it is burnt in incinerators or kilns filling the air with toxic gases.  Massive scrap heaps of dumped rubbish are now scattered across the country.

The issues  Children play on the waste dumps, collecting rubbish as they go by. This is a huge risk to their health!  Toxic gases released from burning plastic cause air pollution effecting the health of local people and the environment.  People suffer from lead and mercury poisoning.  Greenhouse gases are given off from landfill sites contributing to global warming.  Local water supplies become contaminated putting people’s health at risk.  Poverty – people are paid very little to landfill the waste from the UK.

What do you think?  Is it fair that we send our waste to China to be land filled?  What should we do?

Why not landfill in the UK?  There are many brownfield sites in the UK that could be used for landfill  A brownfield site is a site that has already been developed (used) in the past.  Orgreave mine is just one of these sites…

Landfill at Orgreave  Before the AMP Waverley development was put forward and accepted, Orgreave mine was offered to Rotherham Council as a landfill site.

Landfill at Orgreave  What are the pros and cons of using Orgreave mine as a landfill site?  Sort the cards into two columns:  For the landfill site  Against the landfill site

What do you think?  Do you think that using Orgreave mine as a landfill site is a good idea? OR  Do you think using the mine as a landfill site is a bad idea?