First English council joins halving waste to landfill pledge
The council joins contractors and retailers including Network Rail, Laing O'Rourke, Balfour Beatty, Asda and Marks & Spencer in pledging to reduce the amount of construction waste it sends to landfill by 50% by 2012. Since being launched in October 2008, the ‘Halving Waste to Landfill' pledge has already seen over 80 organisations agree to help reduce the 25 million tonnes of construction waste that is sent to landfill each year. Last month, Fife council became the first Scottish local authority to announce its participation in the pledge (see letsrecycle.com story).
John Frubin, programme design and sustainability manager for Manchester city council, said: “We are keen to make the Council as green and sustainable as possible in all aspects of our work and signing up to WRAP's Construction Commitment: Halving Waste to Landfill is a demonstration of our drive to achieving the target of halving the amount of waste we send to landfill by 2012.”
Biffa signs waste and recycling deal with Greggs
The High-Wycombe waste management company is working with Greggs, which operates over 1,400 shops nationwide and 10 regional bakeries, to help it to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill through the introduction and trialing of new recycling schemes. In addition, Greggs is working with Biffa on the creation of energy from waste, composting, aerobic digestion and other methods of waste disposal to help reduce its carbon footprint in line with its “Our Values” corporate responsibility goals.
Peter Boughton, group production project manager at Greggs, said: “We are working with Biffa to experiment on new recycling initiatives as well as building on existing schemes. Biffa are providing an excellent service, in particular in providing us with information on the amount of waste resulting from our operational processes and thereby helping us to take action to reduce it.”
SEPA updates thermal treatment guidelines
Scottish environmental watchdog the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has launched an updated set of guidelines for the thermal treatment of waste.
The ‘Thermal treatment of waste guidelines 2009', which build upon and replace guidelines published in 2004, are intended to help to introduce Scottish Government policy on the requirement to recover energy from waste in an efficient manner, without impeding the need for waste prevention, reuse, or recycling. The guidelines, which are divided into issues such as planning and partnership working, are aimed at being used by developers, local authority planners and SEPA staff to assess and determine applications for the next generation of thermal treatment facilities in Scotland.
Kenny Boag, national waste policy unit manager for SEPA, said: “The 2009 guidelines provide clear and practical advice on recovering energy from waste and make it clear that every effort should be made to maximise waste prevention, reuse and recycling. These guidelines will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in the sustainable management of Scotland's waste.”
Viridor uses 3D images to outline Cardiff EfW plans
The images and height data from Bluesky, which is owned by SLR Consulting and has worked with Google and the BBC, are being used to give an outline model of the proposed 350,000 tonne-a-year capacity site at Trident Park, Splott, as part of Viridor's planning application and Environmental Impact Assessment. The proposed facility, as illustrated by the virtual reality model, would be used to process residual waste, generating electricity for export to the National Grid and heat for use by local businesses.
Peter McGuckin, principal at SLR Consulting, said: “The addition of the Bluesky 3D building models and aerial photography transforms the interactive model from a standalone illustration of the site to a real world visual representation of the entire locality.”
Online food waste seminar launched in Wales
Business waste minimisation service Envirowise has launched an online resource aimed at reducing the estimated 600,000 tonnes of food waste produced every year in Wales.
The online seminar, entitled 'Dealing with Food Waste', can be accessed via the internet and targets the issue of food waste in schools, colleges and universities and its environmental and financial cost. The ‘webinar' forms part of the Envirowise-managed, Welsh Assembly Government-funded, Public Sector Waste Minimisation Campaign. The webinar focuses on the disposal of waste from the kitchens of education establishments and highlights the consequences of not dealing with waste – such as used cooking oil – responsibly.
Jane Davidson, Welsh minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, said: “Using the web is an important way to spread the message that schools and colleges have a role in helping us reduce the amount of food we send to landfill. The gases generated by the food breaking down pollute our atmosphere which then has a detrimental effect on our environment and climate.
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