Pickles praises recycling rewards scheme
Secretary of State Eric Pickles has visited Havering to assess the progress of a DCLG-funded recycling rewards scheme.
The London Green Points initiative – which was launched in the London borough 12 months ago – aims to reward residents for their recycling efforts by offering discounts at some 118 shops and restaurants in the area.
Mr Pickles visited Café Bueno in Romford to show his support for the scheme, which was funded by a Department for Communities and Local Government grant in support of weekly waste collections.
The minister said: “Rewards for recycling show how working with families can deliver environmental benefits without the draconian approach of punishing people and leaving out smelly rubbish.
“I was delighted to see how well this approach, supported by government funding, has been working for the people of Havering and I urge other councils to follow suit and encourage families to go green.”
Mr Pickles hopes to encourage more recycling reward schemes across the country, having launched a smaller £5 million fund in August for councils to provide their own incentive schemes (see letsrecycle.com story).
JWS wins Trafford Centre contract
Manchester shopping destination intu Trafford Centre has selected JWS Waste to handle its onsite waste and recycling services.
The recycling firm was successfully in tendering for the Trafford Centre contract, which already works with around 500 businesses across the North West region.
The JWS fleet will collect trade waste including recyclables from the Centre, which will be processed at its four-acre materials recycling facility in Salford.
Robin Tweedale, managing director at JWS Waste, said: “We could not be more delighted to be working with intu Trafford Centre. Every waste management company wants to work with iconic businesses the Trafford Centre, and the entire team is extremely proud to have been selected after the competitive tendering process.”
Ferrybridge Multifuel 1 nears completion
A long-anticipated energy-from-waste facility in West Yorkshire is due to enter its final commissioning phase with 48 full time staff recruited to operate the plant.
Ferrybridge Multifuel 1 (FM1) is owned by Multifuel Energy Ltd, a joint venture between SSE and Wheelabrator Technologies – and will use a range of feedstock including biomass, waste-derived fuels and waste wood to generate 108 MW of power per year.
Construction began on the £250 million plant in 2012, which is located adjacent to SSE’s existing coal-fired power station near Knottingley.
Some 48 full-time employees have now started their operational roles at the site ahead of the facility’s opening, which is expected in summer 2015.
Colin Drew, FM1 Plant Manager said: “I’m confident that I have the right team around me to ensure that the plant will run as effectively and efficiently as possible when we begin full operations later this year.”
Multifuel Energy Ltd has applied to build and operate a second multifuel facility at the site, which has yet to receive planning permission.
Probio Energy signs RDF export deal
North East firm Probio Energy Ltd has signed a contract with Hull-based Transwaste Recycling & Aggregates Ltd to export refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from the UK.
Probio Energy will export in excess of 200,000 tonnes of baled RDF over the period of the contract, with the baled material comprising household and commercial and industrial waste.
The RDF will be exported from Hull to energy-from-waste plants in Scandinavia.
Kris Baker-Rain, Probio Energy general manager, said: “We have found a long term professional supplier in Transwaste, they have very strict quality control procedures in place and take pride in the job that they do.
“The staff are knowledgeable and fully understand the consequences of not following quality guidelines for the waste to energy plants.”
VEKA Recycling expands Midlands facility
VEKA Recycling has doubled the size of its Midlands Recycling Centre, moving to a new 18,000 square foot site in Stourbridge.
The move comes in response to an expansion in VEKA’s PVC collections, which is collected from window installers and reduced in size.
The material is then sent in 24-tonne loads to the firm’s Kent facility where it is processed for use in PVC-U windows and other plastic building products.
Simon Scholes, business administration manager for VEKA Recycling, said: “Having outgrown our former Birmingham site in just six months, our new bigger premises mean we can offer an even better service to existing and potential customers.”
“We have added a new 18-tonne curtain-sided collection vehicle at the site, which is conveniently located close to major motorways and further underlines our commitment to recycling even more post-industrial and post-consumer PVC window frame material.”
Over 2,000 businesses using edoc
A year after its launch, over 2,000 business have signed up to use the voluntary online system for recording waste movements, known as edoc (electronic duty of care).
As of January 21, there were 2,171 businesses with active edoc accounts, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). These businesses include waste companies; government bodies; manufacturers; retailers, and agriculture, construction, transportation, public utility, financial, insurance and real estate companies.
The vast majority of these businesses are listed as waste producers, but some are also listed as one, or some, of the following: waste carriers, dealers, brokers and importers.
The figures emerged as ownership of edoc officially transferred from the Environment Agency to Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and, in Northern Ireland, the Department of Environment.
edoc was designed to as a digital alternative to paper waste transfer notes, saving time and money while still fulfilling the legal duty of care for waste. The system was made available to businesses across the UK from January 2014 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Resource management minister Dan Rogerson said Defra was “committed” to supporting edoc for the foreseeable future, via its work with waste firms and the Technical Advisory Group.
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