Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Bidston's two airshafts

Good thought, but I don't think they used Methane Vents in 1956, I'll try and date when it was used as landfill.

I suspect it was only a soft landfill site, not general waste. Perhaps just a dumping ground when they removed Bidston Steel Mill and cleared for Tesco's etc.

I used to know the lad who was involved in that site when we had a Birkenhead Corpy, I think there was an attempt to make an outline of a future sports area, but sailor boy Heath destroyed the idea with his Metropolitan messes, the guy I last saw in the 80s sadly I was in a hell or a rush so didn't have chance to chat to him, I presume he's moved on to pastures new to fill up with rubbish somewhere in the world.

Nope! there were no methane vents on either tip. We spent most of our childhood playing on both sites.

The first methane vent was on the proper Bidston Moss tip. And that was vented to provide gas to Cadburys.

The Compton Road tip was not just general waste. I well recall ripping open a bag full of chiken legs. The tipping of that waste on Compton road started in the middle to late 60s. The Valley road site was finshed as a tip by the early 50s.

Which if I remember correctly was eventually outlawed because European Law said tips had to be vented to atmosphere and they didn't allow for capture and being used as an energy source.

Then the ruling changed again ..... dah di dah ...

Didn't know it was Cadbury's that got the goodies though

I might also add that the Compton Road tip was never fenced off as the Bidston Moss tip was. Bin lorries just came dumped the stuff and went. A bulldozer levelled it all and they sprayed it with disenfectant. One summer during all this dumping the avenues suffered with a plague of grasshoppers. They were everywhere in the houses