News in Brief

Oxford to start city-wide food waste trial

The service has been set up with 55,000 funding from Oxford city council and ReMade South East, a not for profit company which helps divert waste away from landfill. Organic waste from businesses collected under the scheme will be used to produce compost and electricity.

Councillor John Tanner, board member for a cleaner, greener Oxford, said: We are thrilled to get this extra money through the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership to promote food recycling by businesses. Tonnes of food are sent to landfill by pubs, restaurants and colleges in Oxford every year, where it creates damaging methane.

Cartakeback launches television advert

End-of-life-vehicle recycling scheme Cartakeback has launched a television advert that the company hopes will raise its profile and help boost ELV recycling rates.

The scheme is the largest of its kind in the UK and allows car manufacturers to meet their obligations under the End of Life Vehicle Regulations in the UK. Customers are able to identify the scrap value of their vehicle using the companys website.

Graham Price, CarTakeBack’s managing director, said: “It is a thrilling time for us all at CarTakeBack and the positive response we’ve already had from our car manufacturer and recycling partners, as well as the public of course, has been wonderful.

We decided on TV advertising as we are keen to clearly promote the legal route for recycling end of life vehicles, so the public is fully aware there is a reliable, trustworthy and environmentally sound route to disposing of their old car, and of course that they will get the best price from the three hundred recycling centres we offer across the country.

Grundon incinerator plans rejected

Waste management firm Grundon has said it is concerned and disappointed as to why proposals for an energy-from-waste facility at Shore Road, Perth, were rejected by Perth and Kinross council.

Plans for the 100 million incinerator were rejected in 2009, but Grundon had appealed the decision and amended the plans, against strong opposition from the local community. The amended plans were rejected again by the council last Friday (February 3).

In a statement, Grundons senior planner Veronique Bensadou said: We fail to understand why Perth and Kinross councils environmental health manager posted significant information about air quality, odour and noise on the councils planning portal in November- but did not provide this to our technical consultants.

Once we have received and evaluated the officers report following the council meeting, we will decide on our most appropriate course of action.

Viridor Credits gives 70 million to community projects

Viridor Credits is currently celebrating 10 years of supporting community, heritage and environmental projects all over the UK.

The Environmental Body, established in 2001, has so far helped community groups apply for over 70million of funding through the Landfill Communities Fund.

Part of the companys commemorative year included the award of 400,000 to RSPB to help Lapwings at Middleton Lakes, as well as funding the recasting of the ring of bells at St. Dunstan-in-the-West, Fleet Street for the Queens Diamond Jubilee.

General manager Lisa Nelson said: I am thrilled to have been part of some life- and community-changing projects over the years. We are currently seeing more projects than ever before awarded funding and its a great pleasure to know that Viridor Credits is helping to support so many great schemes.

Skip-hire firm goes interactive with online video site

A Norfolk skip firm has launched a video channel on its website to make it easier for potential customers to book a skip and to highlight its services to national companies.

Presented by deputy manager Gary Thurtle, it shows the range of sizes and volumes for the most popular skips. Frequently asked questions about skip booking are also answered in the video. The company plans to make further videos, including one about the recycling process.

Deputy manager Gary Thurtle said: “Booking a skip for the first time can be intimidating and we want to help people as much as possible. If people see the dimensions and volume of a skip on screen they can book with the confidence that they have the right skip for them. This saves us and the customer time and inconvenience. The website is also our shop window for national companies to look at, and we want to show we are a forward-thinking firm with which people can do business.”