News in Brief

Merseyside unveils plans for new HWRC

A site on Cheadle Avenue in Liverpool has been identified as a possible location for the urgently needed HWRC. It would become the second such site in the city alongside an HWRC in Otterspool. The new facility will be able to accept a wide range of materials, including: car batteries, cardboard, engine oil, garden waste, paper, furniture, rubble, scrap metal, textiles, drinks cans, timber, glass and soil.

Carl Beer, MRWA chief executive, said: Liverpool currently only has one Recycling Centre this is something both ourselves and Liverpool city council are keen to improve. The new site will provide modern and badly needed facilities to help people in the city recycle much more easily.

He added: Were currently consulting with the local community as we know that local residents and businesses may have questions about the development of the site and how it will operate. Liverpool city council will also consult with the public as part of the statutory planning process before deciding on the planning permission which will be submitted in January 2014. If successful, were hopeful that construction of the new HWRC will start in summer 2014, with the centre opening later in the year.

Waste carrier licence changes come into force

Changes to Duty of Care Regulations which require local authorities to be registered as waste carriers have come into force.

From January 2014, local authority waste services must be registered as a first tier waste carrier waste carrier, which is free of charge. The Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) issued a reminder to its members regarding the changes.

Local authorities can register on the Environment Agencys website. Guidance is available for the application process and once registered, councils will receive formal notification of the Waste Carrier Licence and registration number. The licence does not need to be renewed unless there is a change in address for the authority.

Wastecycle awarded Safecontractor status for 4th year

Nottingham-based waste and recycling firm Wastecycle has been awarded Safecontractor accreditation for the fourth year running in recognition of its health and safety practices.

The Safecontractor initiative is a third party accreditation scheme which aims to help businesses manage their health and safety risk.

Wastecycle has developed health and safety procedures that are implemented throughout the business and put a strong emphasis on employee engagement and participation. It has also developed a positive near miss and potential hazard spotting reporting culture to improve safety and prevent accidents with all potential hazards being carefully reviewed with improvements made to prevent accidents where appropriate.

Daniel Shearstone, construction development manager at Wastecycle said; We take health and safety very seriously at Wastecycle as it is essential in a relatively high risk business like ours that we protect our employees from hazards. Its great that the work were doing in this area has been recognised with the Safecontractor accreditation but we wont rest on our laurels.

We see a clear correlation between the number of near misses reported and our accident frequency rate. The business continues to work hard on its safety culture and to promote the importance of near miss reporting that is reflected in over 1,200 near misses reported this year so far.

Scotch whisky industry makes progress on waste

Good progress has been made by whisky makers to reduce the amount of packaging used and waste landfilled, according to the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA).

In its third annual environmental strategy report the SWA said its members were close to achieving zero waste to landfill, with only 5% of waste disposed of in this way in 2012. However, it added that significant challenges remain to ensure packaging weight is reduced.

Commenting on findings of the report, Julie Hesketh-Laird, director of operational and technical affairs at SWA, said: While the majority of the overall weight of the industry’s main product is Scotch Whisky which will be enjoyed by our consumers, distillers are working hard to ensure packaging is minimised

But, global consumer demand for premium packaging remains difficult to square with reductions in packaging weight. This is an area where strong supply collaboration will be required to drive innovation in design as well as technology.

HSE issues skip loader safety advice

Advice for workers on safe usage of skip or container loading vehicles has been issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Available on the HSE website, the pocket card advice leaflet contains a brief checklist of things you can do to protect yourself and others. It states that vehicles and lifting equipment should be checked every day before starting work, highlighting dangers such as: being stuck by vehicles; falling and slipping; failures of lifting equipment; striking overhead cables/obstructions; vehicle overturns; and runaway vehicles.

When operating a skip loading vehicle, the guidance advises that workers should minimise reversing, but where it is necessary, to make sure that the reversing are is clear. It adds that workers should wear full safety gear, prevent contact with overhead cables or obstructions and to ensure lifting arms are fully lowered before setting off.