Nottingham energy facility gets green light
A £70 million gasification plant and materials recycling facility in Bilsthorpe have been granted planning permission by Nottingham county council.
The council’s planning committee approved plans submitted by Peel Environmental to build the development on Tuesday (November 18).
Developed in conjunction with energy-from-waste specialist Waste2Tricity, Bilsthorpe Energy Centre will handle around 120,000 tonnes of non-hazardous waste from businesses and households across Nottinghamshire per annum.
Up to 23,000 tonnes of this throughput will be recycled at the new MRF and the remaining 97,000 tonnes of residual waste treated to generate electricity via gasification technology. The project is expected to generate some 330 construction jobs.
First Mile celebrates 10th anniversary
Commercial recycling company First Mile celebrated its 10th anniversary this month, throwing a party at the Drury Club in Covent Garden, London.
The venue underwent an ‘upcycled transformation’ ahead of the evening which took place on November 13, while Ben Bridgewater – who has been giving Prince Harry mixing lessons – delivered an all-night DJ set.
Over 300 customers, suppliers and friends of the company attended the party which recognised some of First Mile’s achievements, including the adoption of mobile technology to run its 50-strong fleet.
The business has also strived to make it easy for businesses to get collections when they need and to recycle at least 75% of their waste.
ReFood launches food waste scholarship
Food waste recycler ReFood has announced the industry’s first dedicated scholarship programme to inspire the next generation of sustainable students.
‘Sustainable Visionaries’ will see undergraduates from across the UK compete to demonstrate why they believe minimising waste can drive a circular economy in order to win a £5,000 bursary.
The programme has generated interest with organisations including Sheffield Hallam University, Moulton Agricultural College and Leith’s School of Food & Wine offering their backing.
Students from each institution will also be asked to write a 500-word entry detailing how recycling food waste can help the UK achieve 2020 waste targets – with a ‘sustainable champion’ chosen from each partner.
Philip Simpson, commercial director at ReFood, said: “Although using food caddies and recycling plate scrapings is becoming routine for homeowners, binning food waste is still common place among businesses throughout the food chain.
“The decision to partner with organisations in each sector of the food chain and extend a scholarship programme to students across the country is part of our wider initiatives to inspire the food waste champions of tomorrow and eradicate food waste to landfill by 2020.”
TRA re-launches charity shop grade specifications
The Textile Recycling Association (TRA) has drawn up a specification grade for used clothing and textiles donated to charity shops that is sent on to reprocessors.
It is hoped the guidelines will ensure charity shops find a more environmentally friendly way of disposing of bags containing waste.
Charity shop grades have been published annually by the TRA since 2002 with the latest revised specification launched this month.
TRA recommends that charity shops take steps to meet these specifications if they wish to obtain a value for their used clothing which is comparable with the prevailing market prices for charity shop grade clothing.
Items not be included under the grade include textiles rejected by cash for clothing businesses, cushions, duvets, carpets, balls and cones of wool and offcuts from the manufacturing process.
Meanwhile, clothing accepted under the grade should be mixed, clean and dry with all shoes received paired up.
Febreze and TerraCycle launch recycling scheme
Febreze and TerraCycle have partnered to launch the Air and Home Care Brigade – a new recycling fundraising initiative to enable consumers to recycle previously non-recyclable air and home care products and packaging.
Items that will be saved from landfill under the scheme include plastic air fresheners and plug-in refills, plus air and home care product trigger heads, pumps and caps and flexible home cleaning wipe packs.
To celebrate the launch, Febreze has also unveiled its Freshness Rewards Contest – a six month collection competition and sweepstake to see who can save the most air and home care waste with £5,000 worth of charity donations to be won.
Subscribe for free