Recycling news: 2015

Industry news WEEE and furniture Welcome to day 4 of Zero Waste Week. Today we’re focusing on WEEE and furniture reuse, and I’m delighted to welcome Cat Fletcher as guest blogger. Cat is a waste activist who sources and matches up tonnes of unwanted goods and materials with people who can reuse them. A founder of UK’s Freegle reuse network… Zero Waste Week · 10 Sept 2015 Industry news Aluminium D&T Challenge opens for young designers to share ideas for sustainable products The UK aluminium industry is inviting secondary school pupils to take up the Alu D&T Challenge. Schools participating in this competition linked to the Design & Technology curriculum benefit from free teaching resources, which encourage pupils to explore sustainable design and have their ideas judged by a panel of industry experts. The Alu D&T Challenge […] Alupro · 9 Sept 2015 Industry news Oxfordshire urges law change to enable HWRC charging Oxfordshire county council has called for a re-evaluation of government policy which prevents local authorities from charging residents to use household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs). A motion was passed at a full council meeting yesterday (September 8) calling on council leader Ian Hudspeth to write to the Communities Secretary requesting “an urgent re-evaluation of … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 9 Sept 2015 Industry news Port Clarence Team volunteers Groundwork NE & Cumbria, an environmental charity. dedicated to improving the lives of people across the North East of England and Cumbria are working together with members of Augean to improve a community allotment in Stockton. 10 employees from our Port Clarence site swapped operating mobile plant for spades and wheelbarrows yesterday as part of […] Augean · 9 Sept 2015 Industry news Caroline Lucas: Donate wasted food to refugees Food from the UK supply chain that would otherwise be wasted could be used to aid the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas has suggested. Speaking to letsrecycle.com at the launch of the Food Waste (Reduction) Bill in Westminster yesterday, the Brighton & Hove MP said she had been ‘moved’ by … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 9 Sept 2015 Industry news 10 simple tips to reduce food waste Carol Marty is passionate about reducing food waste. So passionate in fact, she and her friend Karen wrote a book about it! So who better to ask to write today’s guest blog? Over to Carol… I am so happy to be doing a guest blog post for Rae and Zero Waste Week! This is such… Zero Waste Week · 9 Sept 2015 Industry news Minister hints support for ‘voluntary’ food waste goals A bill obliging retailers and suppliers to limit the amount of food waste in the supply chain would likely be applied on a voluntary basis, recycling minister Rory Stewart has indicated. The Food Waste (Reduction) Bill is due to be introduced in the House of Commons by Bristol West MP Kerry McCarthy today (September 9). … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 9 Sept 2015 Industry news Middlesbrough takes Biffa work in-house Middlesbrough council is to bring its kerbside recycling service in-house, following a ‘major collapse’ in the market value of recycled materials. The decision will see the North East council terminate the two-year extension on its recycling collection contract with Biffa, which was due to run until April 2017. According to a council report presented to … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 9 Sept 2015 Industry news 11 ways to reuse your food! Welcome to day three of zero waste week. Today we’re talking about one of my favourite topics – food! I love a good ‘Use it up!’ challenge and today I’m inviting you to get on board. Did you know the average family throws away £50 per month of food? Today we’re going to be reusing… Zero Waste Week · 9 Sept 2015 Industry news Valpak claim 2015 Waste World Cup title Valpak have won the 2015 Waste World Cup, after beating the 2014 champions Wybone after a toughly contested match in Northampton on Friday (September 4). Wybone had made a strong start to the tournament, opening their title defence with a 2-0 win over Viridor Athletic in the group stage, as well as recording victories over … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 8 Sept 2015 Industry news N+P lays claim to be UK’s ‘largest RDF/SRF exporter’ Dutch alternative fuel firm N+P Group has laid claim to be the “largest exporter of SRF/RDF from the UK”, despite recent Environment Agency export data placing it sixth on the list of biggest exporters from England and Wales. Environment Agency data, based on the Transfrontier of Shipment (TFS) Notifications it receives, suggests that 1.3 million … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 8 Sept 2015 Industry news Entrepreneur buys Hampshire organics firm Commercial waste firm Eco Food Recycling has been sold to entrepreneur Melvin Keeshan. The Hampshire-based organics recycler, which was founded in 2010, recently moved to new premises in Ringwood to enable expansion. Mr Keeshan has previously worked in the financial, technology, recruitment and hospitality sectors, but wanted to become involved in an industry that ‘helps … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 8 Sept 2015 Industry news Packing a punch with my zero waste lunch Today I’ll be mostly getting my tiffin on, thanks to Jo at Boobalou. Last year Jo sent me some reusable kitchen roll, which is the cutest roll you’ve ever seen. I had quite a kitchen roll habit and reckoned I spent an eye watering £78 per year on something that would end up in… Zero Waste Week · 8 Sept 2015 Industry news How to reuse tins and glass Welcome to day 2 of Zero Waste Week 2015! Today we’re looking at how we can reuse tins and glass. Each family uses an average of 500 glass bottles and jars annually, yet 5 out of 6 glass bottles are thrown away. And it’s a sad picture with tins too – £36,000,000 worth of aluminium… Zero Waste Week · 8 Sept 2015 Industry news BIS announces £775,000 WEEE fund for councils Local authorities are being invited to bid for support from a new scheme to help increase the collection, re-use and recycling of unwanted electrical items, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills announced today (September 7). Up to £775,000 has been made available by retailers, suppliers and manufacturers of electrical equipment as part of the … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 7 Sept 2015 Industry news Your EMR online account - EMR Self-Serve Portal EMR (European Metal Recycling) · 7 Sept 2015 Industry news EA secures funds to help tackle illegal shipments The Environment Agency has secured €640,000 (£467,000) in funding as part of its wider pan-European work to help tackle environmental crime. The EU windfall will be partly used to help tackle waste crime, particularly illegal transfrontier shipments, and strengthening prosecutions. It comes from the EU’s ‘LIFE’ programme to develop the European Network of Prosecutors for … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 7 Sept 2015 Industry news Industry gears up for RWM 2015 The circular economy is due to take centre stage at this year’s RWM in partnership with CIWM, which takes place from 15-17 September at the NEC in Birmingham. The exhibition, renowned as Europe’s largest event for resource efficiency and waste management, is this year expected to attract 700 exhibitors and 13,000 visitors. In addition there … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 7 Sept 2015 Industry news The University of London show how small steps = significant change Wondering how to get your business or organisation on board with Zero Waste Week? Pip Sadler from the University of London is sharing her guest post with something to inspire you! Over to Pip… A couple of years back my employers, the University of London, set up a Sustainability Champions network and sent out a… Zero Waste Week · 7 Sept 2015 Industry news Looking forward: Amey’s Milton Keynes waste recovery park Amey is currently developing a facility for treating black bag waste on behalf of Milton Keynes council which will encompass recycling, gasification and dry AD technologies. Michael Holder visits the site before its planned completion in 2016. With London just 35 minutes away by train to the south, and Birmingham under an hour away to … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 7 Sept 2015 Industry news RDF export begins levelling off Tonnages of refuse derived fuel (RDF) exported from England and Wales continue to show year-on-year growth, with a record 1,363,809 tonnes sent abroad for energy recovery during the first six months of 2015. However, with just over 170,000 tonnes more RDF exported than during the same period in 2014, the rapid growth in the market … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 7 Sept 2015 Industry news 10 creative ways to reuse plastic Welcome to Zero Waste Week 2015! This year we’re all about the reuse. Past generations valued everything and wasted nothing. With their make-do-and-mend attitude, items were refurbished, repaired and reused creatively. Nowadays we live in a disposable culture which is bad for our bank balance, our environment and even our health! During Zero Waste Week… Zero Waste Week · 7 Sept 2015 Industry news Tell us your Zero Waste Week pledge for 2015! This year’s Zero Waste Week theme is ‘Reuse’. I love this theme because it gets us rethinking waste and helps make more of the resources we have. If you’re a complete newbie then grab a reusable bottle and ditch the bottled water habit. If you’re more experienced, is there a disposable items you could swap… Zero Waste Week · 6 Sept 2015 Industry news CIWM: Recycling targets ‘blunt instrument’ Recycling targets are ‘relatively blunt instruments’ that may not help boost Europe’s circular economy, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) has warned. Responding to the European Commission’s calls for ‘efficient’ suggestions to its circular economy package, CIWM added councils were no longer in a position to bear the burden of waste and recycling collection … Read More The po… letsrecycle.com News · 4 Sept 2015 Industry news Thanks for your summer selfies! Brush off the beach towel and pack up the windbreak! The final entries to letsrecycle.com’s ‘Summer Recycling Selfie’ competition – sponsored by DHL Envirosolutions – are in. From Brighton to Barcelona, Australia to LA, readers have been taking advantage of the last golden rays of sunshine to send some truly spectacular snaps. You can see … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 4 Sept 2015 Industry news The Week in Waste – 4 September 2015 Take a look at the ‘Week in Waste’ video report. In this week’s report by letsrecycle.com, sponsored by Biffa, we aim to give you a snapshot of the news in the world of recycling and waste management. This week we report on exclusive research by letsrecycle.com’s Tom Goulding which has found that South Oxfordshire is likely … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 4 Sept 2015 Industry news O-I transfers glass recycling to Viridor EXCLUSIVE: Glass manufacturing giant O-I is to transfer its Scottish glass recycling operations to Viridor’s £25 million plant. Under a seven-year agreement, Owen-Illinois Inc will buy treated cullet from Viridor’s new advanced glass recycling plant in Newhouse, North Lanarkshire. And, O-I will close its own cullet sorting plant with the input glass container materials going … Read More The pos… letsrecycle.com News · 4 Sept 2015 Industry news The vital case for data on waste Ahead of this month’s RWM show at Birmingham NEC, Barry Dennis FCIWM, CEnv, chairman of the event, says that better waste data can help resolve two of the most pressing issues for the waste sector: resource security and waste crime. If the UK is to move towards a circular resource use model, we need a comprehensive understanding … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 3 Sept 2015 Industry news Every Can Counts and KA ‘KAnival Krush’ take Notting Hill Carnival by storm Every Can Counts, KA drinks and recycling company SUEZ joined forces at this years’ Notting Hill Carnival to encourage an estimated one million revellers to recycle empty drinks cans at the world famous event. Installed on Portobello Green at the heart of the festivities the ‘KANIVAL KRUSH’ zone featured the unique ‘Kenny the KA Van’ […] Alupro · 3 Sept 2015 Industry news Software firm AMCS completes acquisition of P&L Irish-based recycling vehicle technology and software provider AMCS, has today (August 3) announced the acquisition of P&L Software Systems Limited, a supplier of waste management software in the UK. P&L, which is headquartered in Adderbury, Oxfordshire, provides software for the management of waste which includes categorising materials, recording load weights and invoicing and order informatio… letsrecycle.com News · 3 Sept 2015 Industry news Recycling firm fined after employee falls into baler A West Yorkshire recycling firm has been ordered to pay £120,000 after a worker died from injuries suffered at its Batley site. Bradford Crown Court heard how Simon Brook, an employee of Gwynn Davies-McTiffin Ltd, was found lying seriously injured at the bottom of a horizontal baling machine in August 2012. His legs, which had … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 3 Sept 2015 Industry news Eunomia finds minor emissions gain due to RDF exports The transporting of waste materials for incineration in mainland Europe as RDF is a “very minor contributor” to total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This is one of the findings of a report “RDF Export – analysis of the legal, economic and environmental rationales”, published today by Bristol-based consultant Eunomia for a group of RDF exporters … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 2 Sept 2015 Industry news Viridor opens £25m glass recycling facility Viridor officially opened its £25 million glass recycling plant in North Lanarkshire yesterday (September 1) – with Scottish Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead on hand to cut the ribbon. The plant, at Newhouse, is capable of recycling 200,000 tonnes of glass per year, and is one of three such facilities in the world according to the … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 2 Sept 2015 Industry news South Oxfordshire success down to organics surge A surge in organic waste recycling across South Oxfordshire and Vale has seen both councils perform strongly in the 2014/15 recycling league tables, Biffa has revealed. In an interview with Tom Goulding of letsrecycle.com, Biffa Municipal regional manager Brian Ashby explained that a glut of green waste combined with a food waste campaign had helped … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 2 Sept 2015 Industry news South Oxfordshire set to top recycling in 2014/15 EXCLUSIVE: South Oxfordshire looks set to top the recycling league table in England for a second consecutive year, letsrecycle.com can reveal. Research conducted into the best performing collection authorities in England for 2014/15 found that South Oxfordshire district council has once again come out top – with a provisional recycling rate of 67.32%. The council … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 2 Sept 2015 Industry news Wood recycler urges full consultation over EA fire guidance Hadfield Wood Recyclers has criticised the Environment Agency for failing to consult more widely with industry in its “restricted” review process for controversial Fire Prevention Plan guidance. The wood recycling firm has called for a full consultation on the Environment Agency’s Fire Prevention Plan (FPP) document, which the firm claims includes “unworkable” storage restrictions which … Read … letsrecycle.com News · 2 Sept 2015 Industry news Waste industry praises Safer Lorry Scheme Waste industry and fleet operators have welcomed new safety rules rolled out for heavy goods vehicles in London today (September 1). The Safer Lorry Scheme bans all vehicles weighing over 3.5 tonnes from the capital’s roads if they are not fitted with sideguards to protect cyclists. The measure – which was first proposed by Mayor … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 1 Sept 2015 Industry news Q2 WEEE performance ‘on target’ BIS indicates Targets set by the Department for Business (BIS) for the collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) for 2015 look likely to be met, provisional figures published today (September 1) suggest. The data, which has been published online by the Environment Agency this morning shows that a total of 254,260 tonnes of all categories … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 1 Sept 2015 Industry news Veolia scraps Herts EfW plans Veolia is not to challenge the government’s decision to reject construction of its proposed energy from waste plant in Hertfordshire. The 380,000 tonnes-per-year capacity site at New Barnfield was turned down by Communities Secretary Greg Clark in July following a reassessment of the facility (see letsrecycle.com story). The decision follows three years of political wrangling … Read More The po… letsrecycle.com News · 1 Sept 2015 Industry news ‘Insufficient evidence’ for Glasgow crash prosecution Scotland’s Crown Office has outlined the reasoning behind its decision not to prosecute a Glasgow city council RCV driver whose vehicle careered into and killed six people at Christmas. The Crown Office released the details of its decision following the conclusion of a fatal accident inquiry into the incident at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday … Read More letsrecycle.com News · 1 Sept 2015