An annual community litter pick will return to Warminster as part of the Great British Spring Clean on Saturday 14th March from 10am to 12pm.
All equipment will be provided, and all volunteers will receive a free hot drink with the event jointly organised by Sustainable Warminster and Warminster Town Council.
Anyone interested in volunteering can meet at Warminster Civic Centre (Sambourne Road, Warminster BA12 8LB).
Warminster Town Council is asking people to notify them if they feel there is a road or area that would particularly benefit from litter picking.
The Great British Spring Clean has been running since 2016, with more than 4.5 million bags of litter pledged to be picked during that time.
To sign up or to suggest an area that needs cleaning email admin@warminster-tc.gov.uk or phone 01985 214847.
‘Meryl Sweep’ has appeared around Warminster after residents helped name Warminster Town Council’s new sweeper.
Warminster Town Council upgraded to a new Scarab 7.5-tonne road sweeper and asked residents to submit suggestions for its new name. Three names made the final three shortlist ‘Meryl Sweep’, Obi-Wan Cleanobi’ and ‘Sweep Caroline’ before a final vote.
After hundreds of votes were cast, ‘Meryl Sweep’ swept to victory with more than 47% of the votes. The new name is now proudly displayed on the new vehicle and was recently pictured working away in the Lake Pleasure Grounds.
Warminster Town Council remains committed to keeping the town clean, tidy and welcoming for both residents and visitors.
For more information contact Warminster Town Council, Tel: 01985 214847 or email: admin@warminster-tc.gov.uk
Pronti Buon Appetito is happily supporting Warminster Town Council’s reusable cup campaign.
The town council is running the environmental campaign, highlighting local venues that welcome the use of reusable cups – which includes Pronti Buon Appetito in Market Place, Warminster.
Pronti Buon Appetito is open 8.30am to 3.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday, offering a little taste of Sicily on your doorstep.
If you are visiting soon, remember you can bring your resuable cup and support the environment at the same time as our independent coffee shops.
Do you have old mobile phones, laptops, routers, cameras, leads and adaptors etc. lying around?
These can be dropped off at Kingdown School reception during school hours. Local company Blackmore IT can either repair and restore them to give to people in the community who need them or recycle the components. There is zero waste going to landfill so this is a project which benefits the environment as well as the community.
Warminster Town Councillor John Syme has raised his objections about the Malaby Biodigester at Bore Hill, Warminster, being included as one of the visitor locations in the Heritage Open Days for Warminster in September 2023.
Dear Sarah, I am a councillor who represents the Broadway Ward, Warminster Town Council in Wiltshire. The ward includes the Malaby Biodigester that is included on the proposed list of buildings open to the public on the Heritage Open Days in September 2023.
Let me stress that I am a great supporter of our heritage but there are times when proposed buildings are not suitable for inclusion. One such example is the Malaby Biodigester, Deverill Road, Warminster.
This biodigester is the subject of many complaints from members of the public especially those who reside in the vicinity of the building. The complaints are made to the Environment Agency and Wiltshire Council Public Protection Department who are investigating serious odour emissions from the biodigester. The Town Council have also debated this issue and have objected to an application by Malaby to increase their capacity and amend their licence accordingly. This facility is a public nuisance and to include it on your proposed list is unacceptable and insulting to the inhabitants of nearby homes.
I request as the local elected representative of the inhabitants around the biodigester that this building be removed from your list. It is not an HISTORIC building/facility, it is a public nuisance and would be an insult if allowed to remain on the list.
Do you have any interaction with the Warminster Town Council? If you do, who with?
I await your reply with interest.
Yours sincerely, Councillor John Syme Broadway Ward Warminster Town Council. Home: 07931 580367
Jude Holden, Local Democracy Reporting Service, BBC News, writes:
Litter bins are set to be emptied less frequently under plans to save money.
The proposed cut-back is part of Wiltshire Council’s new budget, which will see a reduction of some services, including grass cutting.
The council said reducing collections would make services more efficient by not emptying a bin if it is only a quarter full.
As inflation pushes up costs, the authority says it is facing a shortfall of £33m.
It is proposing a 2.99% rise in council tax from April to help pay for local services.
The proposed cutbacks are causing concerns, according to The Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Liberal Democrat councillor Gavin Grant said: “A lot of residents are going to wonder why they’re paying extra and getting less.”
Wiltshire Council leader Richard Clewer said “difficult decisions” had to be made.
“We are making changes to make our services as efficient as possible, for example at the moment we empty all our bins on the same schedule, instead we will now identify how frequently those bins actually become full and only empty them when we know they need emptying, we are also investing in new technologies so we can make better use of data.”
“We will also be embedding our revised grass cutting programme, which sees suitable areas only cut twice a year – once in March and once in September to boost biodiversity, particularly for wildflowers and insects,” he said.
May 2019 will see Malaby Biogas celebrating the 7th anniversary of operations. The pioneering facility has been a centre of innovation and growth; leading the way in the development of a new and environmentally friendly industry which efficiently converts food and organic food production wastes into renewable energy and low carbon fertiliser for farms. Last year it became the first English anaerobic digestion (AD) plant to be approved under the new AD Certification Scheme (ADCS) which recognises excellent operational, environmental, and health and safety performance. Malaby Biogas prides itself on being flexible and responsive to the changing economic and environmental landscape by providing end of waste treatment services across the food production chain. As a result Director Thomas Minter was recognised by the industry’s trade association (ADBA) as AD Hero of the Year at their prestigious annual awards in July last year.
Since May 2012 the Biodigester has converted over 145,000 tonnes of food waste into 137,000 tonnes of low carbon, organic fertiliser and 45,000 MW of renewable electricity. It injects the electricity into the local town grid and provides enough power for around 2,500 houses – roughly 25% of Warminster, helping make the town extremely green.
Thomas Minter says: “The work our team has done to improve the carbon foot print of Warminster is huge and I am incredibly proud of their efforts to tackle climate change. We put into action the expression ‘Think Globally Act Locally’. The methane gas we capture and convert into green electricity is 22 times more damaging than carbon dioxide. Using it to help power the town by avoiding landfill methane emissions is something each team member should be very proud of. And it all comes from waste!”
Malaby’s roots are in the local community and it has provided employment and learning opportunities to a large number of local organisations, schools, businesses and individuals. With its integrated visitors centre and open-door policy, it hosts international groups on fact finding missions and helps school and university students with their studies covering biology, chemistry, engineering and environmental and social sciences. It treats wastes from far and wide from Warminster businesses to as far as the Channel Islands. Working with waste producers, collectors and hauliers, the Bore Hill Farm Biodigester helps minimise the need for environmentally damaging waste processes such as land filling or incineration. Government plans for weekly national household food waste collections will go a long way to reducing the need for waste disposal and will increase the opportunities for recycling.
Thomas Minter says: The circular benefits that come from converting organic wastes into low carbon fertiliser for farmers and green energy for homes and businesses are massive. Creating local green power 24 hours a day, every day of the year, offsets polluting electricity generated from fossil fuels and nuclear. When food waste policies roll out to households, we will be here to support the council in dealing with it as locally as possible. Our process is a win for everyone. However, we are not resting on our laurels but are looking to the future. New initiatives, such as building direct links with the people that use our power and improving the efficiency of the processes, will build a new bio-based economy across the country. We have global expertise, but doing this locally is very important as we look down the road to a difficult and uncertain world for our children.
ADBA Chief Executive Charlotte Morton said: “Malaby Biogas has been a pioneer in both using innovative AD technology to recycle food waste into valuable green energy and natural fertiliser, and in reaching out to the local community to raise understanding of the many benefits of AD.”
“We were delighted to see Bore Hill Farm become the first English AD plant to be certified under the ADCS last year and we look forward to continuing to work with Thomas and the team to push the boundaries of AD and ensure this exciting industry meets its full potential.”
The rotting head of a pig carcase has been dumped in a council grit bin just yards from the entrance to a busy Warminster primary school.
Despite being alerted to the grisly problem by a parent two weeks ago Wiltshire Council has taken no action to deal with the smelly problem.
The bin, near to Sambourne School, sits at the top of Boot Hill and is well stocked with rock salt for use in icy conditions.
Councillor Steve Dancey, a member of Warminster Town Council, was alerted to the matter by the parent, a 27 year-old mother of two, who was dismayed by the response she received from the county council when she called them to report the severed head.
Cllr Dancey, said: “She was told by the official at County Hall ‘this is not a hoax line’ as if they didn’t believe it.”
“She assumed someone might check but nothing has happened.”
“I’m quite happy to take my litter picker out and remove litter from the street but I draw the line at dealing with old pig heads. The council needs to treat calls from the public seriously or they will lose more public esteem.”
“The parent thinks the matter is disgusting and I’m inclined to agree.”
The dismembered head came to public notice after several dog walkers noticed their animals had taken additional notice of the bin and were barking at it.
When the lid was lifted the shocking situation was revealed.
