News in Brief

The tyre retreading industry has welcomed new European regulations to ensure retreaded tyres meet the same standards as new tyres.

ECE Regulations 108 and 109, which came into force at the beginning of this month, require retreaded tyres to undergo the same “type approval” tests as new tyres. It is now illegal to sell retreaded tyres which have not been officially “e-marked” to these standards.

The Retread Manufacturers Association said the new quality standards would be a significant boost to the reputation of retreaded tyres, ensuring “quality, integrity and performance”.

Sheila Ikin, director of the Retread Manufacturers' Association (RMA), said: “We welcome the fact that ECE Regulations 108 and 109 are now mandatory in the UK as they commit retreaders to a number of actions designed to ensure traceable quality throughout the retreading process.”

Stirling council has invested in eight new 42,000 vehicles for use with its blue and green box kerbside collections.

The Recycling Urban Artic vehicles, supplied by Northamptonshire-based King Highway Products, hold about three tonnes of waste material each. But because they are so small, only a standard driving licence is required to drive the vehicles, and the council is not forced to employ drivers licensed to drive Heavy Goods Vehicles.

A council spokesperson said: “Compared to other kerbside collection vehicles, these trucks are far less expensive than the 100,000, 17 tonners other local authorities have bought. When full, the trucks can easily drop the trailer and attach an empty one to minimise turnaround time. This means more boxes can be emptied during the day.”

The news trucks mean materials are separated at the kerbside, and have allowed Stirling council to add plastic bottles to its collections of paper, newspapers, textiles, glass, foil and cans.

Waste software firm Direct Environmental has developed a new internet-based waste tracking system.

The Sheffield-based company has developed the “Wastetracker” system for commercial waste producers, carriers and disposal sites to record waste data as required by law. The company now hopes to remove the complex paperwork associated with waste management and allow for a more transparent process.

Direct Environmental's managing director David Webster said: “Waste producers will be able to choose their waste carriers and disposal points, giving them far more control over what happens to their waste. It also helps the Environment Agency to identify illegal disposal of waste and the perpetrator.”

The company received business support and advice from Business Link South Yorkshire for the project and is now looking to introduce the system to some of its customers, including Sheffield based mining equipment supplier Conflow.