IN reply to Mr Geoff Wheatman (Letters, March 26), Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Friends of the Earth fully support the residents of Enfield, off Henry Street.

We have written to both local and county councils and been in touch with Greg Pope MP and the Environment Agency to object.

However, it is not Friends of the Earth policy to endorse road-building schemes, especially when they cut through green belt land. We welcome the idea of the regeneration of the Huncoat Power Station site, but that should not and need not be linked to any extension of Whinney Hill landfill site.

As I mentioned previously, we all need to be more environmentally responsible by actively participating in recycling schemes.

But while plans are continuing to be proposed to extend landfill sites, there is no incentive for local authorities and government to seek alternatives to our mounting waste problem.

It is not just about recycling, but a real focus needs to be put on manufacturers to cut down on the amount of packaging that is needlessly used just to be tipped. Think also of the millions of tonnes of plastic carrier bags and disposable nappies which go to landfill every year.

These are problems that need addressing, but while bigger holes are being dug in the ground to accommodate them, local authorities bury their heads in the sand and hope the problem is buried out of sight.

Also, we are fully aware that the tip is operational until 2042 and we, sadly, have to accept that fact, but that does not mean we should go ahead and accept an extension resulting in far more waste being dumped there.

If an alternative route to Whinney Hill was proposed with a direct link to the M65, is it not feasible that the life span of the tip site would be prolonged, as the applicant then has a purpose-built operation in place and would seek to gain maximum commercial benefit from it?

Already, it is known that other landfill sites across the North West are being phased out, leaving Whinney Hill as the sole remaining one left in the east of the county. A direct link off the M65 would then make it easier, and, I hate to say it, more logical too, to bring waste to Hyndburn.

It should be remembered that when waste is landfilled that is not the end of the story. It remains in the ground literally for generations polluting by emitting methane gas and other toxins.

So even if the life of Whinney Hill expires in 2042 its consequences and legacy will not.

IAN S DIXON (Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Friends of the Earth), Grange Street, Clayton-le-Moors.