Trees Grow From Load of Rubbish

6/2/2006

Liverpool Echo (Liverpool, England)

By Kate Mansey

Trees will be planted in household rubbish as part of plans to transform a Merseyside eyesore.

The revolutionary idea will see Wirral greenery rooted in a mixture of shredded paper and compost waste.

Some of the pounds 2.7m being pumped into redesigning Bidston Moss landfill will be spent on thousands of earthworms to be dumped all over the site.

It will transform an area the size of three football pitches next to the M53 in Wirral.

Mark Boothroyd, landscape architect for Groundwork Wirral, said: "Soil really is a limited resource so we wanted to create something different to help the plants grow.

"By using recycled newspapers and household waste we are using things people no longer need to produce plants and trees that everyone can benefit from.

"The earthworms will be brought in to help weed out any impurities in the soil."

The aim of the project was to transform 68 hectares of disused land overlooking junction 1 of the M53 into woods and parkland.

Native British elder and ash trees will be planted in the park, which is due to open at the end of summer.

Cycle paths and lakes will also be introduced.

A spokeswoman for New-lands, which is overseeing the project, said: "Following research by Liverpool University and the University of Lancaster, sub-soil was mixed with paper crumb to provide organic matter and act as a bulking agent to improve the structure.

"Once mixed, the soil was then placed onto the site with plants rich in nitrogen.

"Earthworms were then added to accelerate the soil's development by feeding and burrowing."