PRIME Minister Tony Blair was shown an "aerobic digester" yesterday when he opened a processor that could help solve the country's landfill problem.

Mr Blair visited Thornley Waste Transfer Station, County Durham, where he switched on a sophisticated composting machine that transforms rubbish into nutrients that enrich soil.

It is the first of what is expected to be an extensive network of aerobic digesters around the country. The machine reduces the amount of waste going to landfill and increases the amount that can be recycled.

Mr Blair said the machine was at the cutting edge of technology, and he hoped it would be taken up elsewhere in the country.

Mr Blair then travelled to Murton, east Durham, to a retail and business park which is in the first stages of construction.

The £50m Dalton Park scheme is situated on the site of the old Murton colliery and is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs when it opens next March.

Mr Blair was shown a model of the project while directors of the company behind the development, London and Amsterdam, explained the history of the site.

He also helped children from Murton Primary School, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Murton Jubilee Primary School to bury a time capsule at the site.

The children had included aerial photographs in the capsule, old postcards and an east Durham miners' banner.

Kathryn Jones, deputy headteacher of Murton Jubilee Primary said it was an exciting day for the pupils.