letsrecycle.com

Local authority news round-up (07/12/22)

With news on: EfW is ‘clearly’ recycling, Lincolnshire councillor says; Mid Ulster launches large electrical appliance reuse campaign; Staffordshire launches HWRC trade use consultation; and, Wealden councillors visit EfW and composting facilities.


EfW is ‘clearly’ recycling, Lincolnshire councillor says

The leader of Lincolnshire county council has criticised government recycling targets for not acknowledging that “what really matters” is how much waste is sent to landfill.

Figures which went before a meeting of Lincolnshire’s executive yesterday (6 December) show the county had a recycling rate of 40.8% between July and September, below its 50% target.

Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire county council

However, Lincolnshire sent just 4.47% of residents’ household waste to landfill in the second quarter of the 2022/23 financial year, with the target set at 5%.

Cllr Martin Hill, the council’s leader, asked the meeting: “Are we reporting targets for ourselves or are we reporting targets to government? To me, what really matters is how much waste is going to landfill, which is currently 4.47%, below the 5% target.

He added: “Frankly, I don’t agree with the way the government classifies it, because they want to pretend that energy from waste isn’t recycling, which it clearly is. There’s an agenda from the green lobby not to classify energy from waste as recycling.”

A report which went before the meeting said rolling out a separate collections of paper and card in three of the county’s seven districts had seen an improvement in the quality of dry recyclable materials (see letsrecycle.com story).


Mid Ulster launches large electrical appliance reuse campaign

Mid Ulster district council yesterday launched a campaign to encourage the repair, refurbishment and resale of large electrical appliances such as cookers, washing machine and dishwashers.

Run in partnership with Newtownards-based social enterprise Refresh Appliances Ltd, the ‘Recycle – Refresh – Renewed’ campaign sees Mid Ulster accept unwanted white goods at three of its household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) in Magherafelt, Maghera and Castledawson.

Cllr Sean McGuigan, chair of Mid Ulster district council’s environment committee

Seven of Mid Ulster’s other eight HWRCs will follow suit in offering the initiative in the new year.

Cllr Sean McGuigan, chair of the council’s environment committee, told residents: “You can help to make a difference by choosing to reuse your old electrical white goods whilst also benefiting the local community and economy.”

Refresh Appliances will refurbish the goods before making them available for resale with a warranty and free delivery and installation, “at a fraction of the original purchase price.” It will reinvest all profits, allowing them to provide employment and training for young people.

Ian Story, the company’s operations manager, said: “We hope that 2023 will see more and more Mid Ulster residents choosing to reuse. Remember, something old to you can be someone else’s new.”

Mid Ulster says the initiative is funded through the Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS) WEEE Local Project Fund.


Staffordshire launches HWRC trade use consultation

Staffordshire county council launched a consultation on 5 December on the best way for van-using residents to carry on visiting HWRCs free of charge.

Staffordshire plans to issue householders with free permits to distinguish them from traders pretending to be private residents. The permit will allow residents several free visits to dispose of bulky items per year.

The entrance to the Burntwood HWRC in Staffordshire (picture: Staffordshire county council)

Residents will be able to carry on using Staffordshire’s 14 HWRCs as normal, the council says, while traders who try to avoid paying fees by passing off commercial waste as household waste will be discouraged.

Simon Tagg, Staffordshire’s cabinet member for environment, infrastructure and waste, said: “The new system will allow householders to carry on using HWRCs free of charge as usual while weeding out small businesses which try and avoid paying for the service.

“There’s no reason why Staffordshire taxpayers should subsidise commercial use and we want to make sure we get the new system right, so that it’s practical and easy to use.”

The consultation runs until 22 January and Staffordshire says the feedback will influence the implementation of the new policy later in 2023.

Staffordshire brought management of its HWRCs back in-house in April (see letsrecycle.com story).


Wealden councillors visit EfW and composting facilities

Wealden district council members and officers recently visited Veolia’s energy from waste (EfW) plant in Newhaven and in-vessel composting (IVC) facility near Hailsham.

The council says the EfW plant annually generates enough electricity for the National Grid using non-recyclable waste from Wealden and across East Sussex to power 25,000 homes.

Veolia hosted several Wealden district councillors and officers at their AD and EfW facilities (picture: Wealden district council)

The IVC facility turns 60,000 tonnes of garden waste collected from households into compost, which is purchased by residents at local amenity tips throughout East Sussex and by farmers.

Cllr Ray Cade, Wealden’s portfolio holder for waste, said: “The facilities are impressive and it was very encouraging to see how well our waste is being managed to protect the environment.

“Clearly, the staff are dedicated to making sure our waste is recycled and efficiently disposed of when that is not possible.”

The council says the work carried out at the facilities helps Wealden achieve a 49% recycling rate and landfill less than 0.5% of collected waste.

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