Waste not

South Tyneside Friends of the Earth has been involved in the consultation over the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy, which will direct waste management for South Tyneside, Sunderland and Gateshead as a joint initiatve for the next 15 years.  South Tyneside Friends of the Earth has submitted a response to the strategy, calling for less waste, more recycling and an avoidance of incineration.  South Tyneside Friends of the Earth also prepared a matching proforma response (pdf) for members of the public who wanted to respond to the strategy but were concerned about the skewed questions used in the consultation's official documentation.

Stop the second Tyne Tunnel!

South Tyneside Friends of the Earth was closely involved in the campaign to stop the construction of the second Tyne road tunnel.  See our companion Tyne Crossings Alliance site.   South Tyneside Friends of the Earth wants the Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Authority (TWPTA) to drop the road tunnel plans in favour of a sustainable, low carbon public transport authority.  Whilst the Government has backed the plans and the tunnel is going ahead, STFOE believes it’s still not too late for TWPTA to do the sensible thing.

Toxic Trow

The Trow Quarry fiasco has been big news lately. Here we have a bit of background into what it's all about. South Tyneside Friends of the Earth lobbied South Tyneside Council to reveal the truth about the toxic Trow Quarry waste problem, after the Council and the National Trust tried to conceal a damning report into the contamination on the site.

Now the council is planning to construct a concrete and rock barrier to protect the quarry site from coastal erosion in an attempt to stop the waste leaking into the habitat.

The Fellgate Folly

South Tyneside Council planned to put the greenbelt land at Fellgate under concrete in a speculative and unsustainable gamble to allegedly bring jobs to South Tyneside.  However, it's obvious by the position on the boundary of South Tyneside and adjacent to three major dual carriageways shows that the priority is for jobs outside the borough.  Our press release prompted a council response showing a  cavalier attitude to our greenbelt.

South Tyneside Friends of the Earth, together with local residents, campaigned both locally and regionally against South Tyneside Council’s plans to build a massive 90 hectare industrial estate on greenbelt farmland between the Fellgate estate and the A184. After public consultation for the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), the planning inspector decided against the project, and the greenbelt is saved for now.