EA launches consultation on SITA/Cyclamax plant
The £35 million plant, which is set to be developed at the Sheepbridge Industrial Estate in Chesterfield, is intended to operate as a merchant facility, treating 60,000 tonnes of commercial and industrial residual waste each year. The Environment Agency received a permit application from Sheepbridge Resource Park Limited – a subsidiary of Cyclamax designed to deliver the plant – in May 2009 and has received a draft permit to operate. A drop-in session to explain the draft permit is being held in Chesterfield this Friday (July 16). Cyclamax announced a partnership with waste company SITA in September 2009 to deliver six gasification plants, including the Sheepbridge development, across the UK (see letsrecycle.com story).
Environment Agency regulatory team leader Ian Foster said: “It's our role to make sure that gasification plants are operated to meet strict environmental standards and the conditions of their environmental permits. An environmental permit sets out stringent conditions that a plant must adhere to. We will not issue an environmental permit for any industrial site if we consider it will cause significant pollution to the environment or harm human health.”
Veolia helps Whitbread roll out food waste recycling scheme
The waste management firm will collect food waste from premises including Premier Inn, Beefeater Grill, Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Taybarns, by the end of 2010. The food waste will then be processed by anaerobic digestion operator Biogen Greenfinch at its Ludlow facility in South Shropshire, with the waste being turned into renewable energy. The full roll-out of the food waste scheme follows a successful six-month food waste collection trial, during which Veolia worked closely with Whitbread to analyse the food waste and to develop a plan that would accommodate the varied food waste streams of the Whitbread estate.
Commenting on the arrangement, Tom Spaul, chief operating officer at Veolia said: “Food waste is a valuable resource and can be diverted from landfill to help make a positive contribution to the environment and help the UK's drive for increased renewable energy sources. Recycling food waste is a growing area of waste management and we are pleased to be exploring its potential with Whitbread.”
North Somerset prepares “revolutionary” AWC roll-out
North Somerset council is gearing up to roll-out its “revolutionary” new kerbside recycling and waste service from next week (July 19).
Working with its waste and recycling contractor May Gurney, the local authority has delivered bins and containers to households in the region as it prepares to introduce alternate weekly collections for non-recyclable waste. The new recycling and waste services are being rolled out in two stages this summer, with households in the second stage getting their new bins and containers in August or early September, and their new services will begin from mid-September. These properties will continue on their current services until then. New services for people in blocks of flats of four or more households will be introduced separately in late autumn, and these households will continue on their current services until then. The local authority hopes to achieve £15 million in savings through working with May Gurney and delivering the new collection method (see letsrecycle.com story).
“Our recycling revolution has begun,” said Cllr Carl Francis-Pester, executive member for environment. “We'll be collecting a huge range of recycling materials each and every week – including plastics, cartons and all types of cardboard.”
Recolight schools programme rolled out nationwide
The campaign, which was trialled in 750 primary and secondary schools in South-East England from July last year (see letsrecycle.com story), was devised by the Croydon-based company to improve eight-to-13 year-olds' understanding of the differences between compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs – more commonly known as energy-saving or low-energy light-bulbs) and traditional incandescent light bulbs. One of the key messages of the campaign is to communicate why CFLs should be recycled rather than disposed of with domestic waste. The campaign is currently being marketed to teachers and will be available for use in classrooms from September 2010.
Nigel Harvey, chief executive of Recolight, said: “It is important to teach children of the need to recycle low-energy light-bulbs as it encourages these messages back into the home. Furthermore, children are the ones who, in the coming years, will be buying and recycling them once traditional bulbs are phased out.”
Clinton Cards awards Severnside waste and recycling deal
Greeting card company Clinton Cards Group has handed South Wales firm Severnside Recycling a contract to introduce recycling and waste management processes across the retailer's chain of stores.
Severnside, which also holds contracts with retailers such as Marks & Spencer, Peacocks and Tesco, will look to introduce a ‘no-landfill' ethos and tackle waste such as plastics, cardboard and glass. Severnside said it was well equipped to handle waste generated by the retailer, as 90% of waste generated by Clinton Cards is cardboard which can be reused in card and paper-based products. Clinton Cards currently operates at 420 locations in the UK after acquiring competitor the Birthdays Group in December 2004.
Paul Salador, group finance director of Clinton Cards, said: “This project forms part of our broader ongoing commitment to corporate social responsibility. Severnside's recycling audit has also shown that the waste management practice will generate significant financial savings both in the short and long term as landfill tax continues to escalate until 2014.”
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