Dr George McGavin and Dr Zoe Laughlin will present ‘The Secret Life of Landfill: A Rubbish History”.  Along with the film crew from Tern TV they were welcomed to Viridor’s landfill site in Dunbar, East Lothian for three days of filming in May.

During the 90-minute documentary, viewers will get the chance to see a modern-day landfill site in operation. As well as a host of scientific experiments and interviews, the programme will detail how the nature of our waste is changing and the challenges this poses.

Barry Falgate, Dunbar Landfill Manager, Viridor, said: “This was an excellent opportunity to give BBC viewers an insight into the important work Viridor does every day. It’s incredibly important for everyone involved in the industry to help change the public’s perception that landfill hasn’t changed since the Victorian era.

“With the modern day best-practice techniques that Viridor uses at this site and the rest of its sites across the UK, people will be able to see the incredible amount of organisation, technology and engineering goes into effective waste management.”

Michelle Moran, Landfill Gas Resource Manager, North and Scotland, Viridor, who was interviewed as part of the documentary, added: “Most people aren’t aware of the level of science and highly engineered containment that goes into designing and operating a modern-day landfill site for a major European capital and it was great to be involved in a documentary that helps improve public awareness.

“I love working in such a dynamic industry and viewers will get to see first-hand some of the huge range of challenges myself and my colleagues deal with on a day-to-day basis.”

Harry Bell, creative director, Tern TV, said: “It was a tremendous privilege to be allowed to access all areas at one of the UK’s most dynamic landfill sites: Viridor’s Dunbar site. Through documenting the pioneering work being carried out by experts throughout the operation this film tells the incredible untold story of our historic relationship with rubbish and how it is becoming a valuable resource for the future.   The scale and the science of this ‘secret world’ is breath-taking.”

The programme will be broadcast on BBC 4 on Thursday, 23 August at 9pm.