British Embassy plans action over illegal waste in Brazil
The response comes in the wake of Brazilian media reports which claimed that 64 containers of around 1,400 tonnes of hazardous material had been found at three ports in the country and were believed to have been exported there from the UK. The British Embassy in Brasilia said that the UK was “completely against illegal trade of any kind” and that the UK authorities would not hesitate to take action against the company found to have exported the material in contravention of the controls over exporting waste set out in the Basel Convention.
The statement concluded that the UK “takes a strong global lead on protection of the environment and the safeguarding of human health, and will do all it can to stamp out the illegal trade in waste”.
Eco-towns to include ambitious waste targets
The four sites were unveiled yesterday (July 16) by housing minister John Healey as Whitehill-Bordon in Hampshire, St Austell (China Clay) in Cornwall, Rackheath in Norfolk and North West Bicester in Oxfordshire. As part of the project, the four green developments are expected to set targets for residual waste levels, recycling levels and landfill diversion which should go beyond current measures outlined in the 2007 national Waste Strategy targets for 2020. In addition, the eco-town applications need to outline how the targets would be monitored and maintained and establish how the sites will be developed to allow the separate collection of the seven priority materials identified in the Waste Strategy.
In addition, the planning applications need to provide evidence that consideration has been given to the use of locally generated waste as a fuel source for combined heat and power (CHP) generation for the town, and set out how developers can ensure no demolition, excavation or construction waste will go to landfill, unless it is the least environmentally damaging outlet.
Report published to aid waste infrastructure developers
A report outlining how developers of major infrastructure projects, including waste and energy, can manage the requirements of the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) has been published.
Released by Kent-based public relations firm Quantum PR and public affairs consultancy Politics International, the document is intended to help companies involved in commissioning, designing, building or operating major projects to meet IPC guidelines when the body takes over from local authorities in making decisions to grant planning application for large projects in April 2010.
David Massingham, director of Politics International, said: “The new IPC process will make winning consent more straightforward by taking the politics out of the decision-making. But effective consultation and communication at all levels will continue to be vital, and that is where we can provide strategic guidance through the still complex requirements.”
Banbury firm launches battery recycling box
The recycling boxes, which have patent pending, are manufactured in mild steel and are intended to help provide a means of collecting and recycling batteries in accordance with the European Directive that came into effect in May this year, which saw targets set for 75% of nickel-cadmium batteries to be recycled by September 2011.
RS Fabrications, which specialises in racing car and racing car equipment manufacture, claim that currently under 2% of all batteries in the UK are recycled, with 22,000 tonnes of household batteries being landfilled each year.
SITA UK wins Doncaster contract extension
Waste management company SITA UK announced today (July 17) that it has retained its waste collection contract with Doncaster metropolitan borough council for a further six years.
The new contract, which is set to begin on October 5, will see the company extend its existing kerbside collection scheme to include flats and multi occupancies, and also see cardboard taken out of the green waste stream and collected within the kerbside collection service. Residents are also set to benefit from same day collections for both the alternate weekly residual waste service and kerbside recycling collections. As part of the new deal, SITA will also work with social enterprise company, Doncaster Re-Furnish, to provide a bulky waste collection service for the handling and sorting of items such as sofas and fridges.
David Foster, logistics operations director at SITA UK, said: “We are delighted to have retained our contract with Doncaster council. This is a real opportunity to help further improve recycling rates across Doncaster, helping the council meet its targets for landfill diversion.”
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