Bristol trial aims to recycle one million used nappies
Pura NappiCycle is aiming to recycle one million used nappies and other absorbent hygiene waste through kerbside nappy collection – which is free to parents.
The Bristol trial, which started on 31 July, sees nappies collected by Green Bottoms and transported to the NappiCycle facility to be cleaned. Any plastics and cellulose fibres will be separated for reuse. 
This trial is preceded by a smaller trial – also in Bristol – in which 6.3 tonnes of waste were saved over a six-month period, equivalent to 31,500 used nappies.
Guy Fennell, founder of Pura, said: “Many parents in Wales already enjoy a free, local authority provided nappy collection and recycling service thanks to the support of the Welsh government.
“We want to bring nappy recycling to households throughout the entire UK. This requires investment and government backing which we will continue to lobby for, for the sake of our children’s futures. This trial brings us one step closer to achieving our goals.”
WRAP local authority accelerator for food waste collections opens
WRAP’s Joint Procurement and Food Waste Collection Implementation Accelerator Programme is now accepting expressions of interest (EOI).
The programme aims to give free support for local authorities in England for the implementation of weekly food waste collections.
WRAP says it has been working with Defra, major manufacturers and public buying organisations to work through capacity constraints due to the imminent volume of procurement requests.
A range of technical and project support will be offered to help local authorities navigate challenges. The programme will focus on increasing collaboration and using clusters and supportive networks to solve the common challenges in the roll-out of food waste collections.
Local authorities can apply individually or as partnerships, however support will be delivered in clusters or groupings.
WRAP has created the initial programme to be aimed at local authorities who would like to procure containers and vehicles with other local authority partners and feel they need support to do so.
The EOI form can be filled out here.
Prevented Ocean Plastic partners with England rugby captain
Recycling programme Prevented Ocean Plastic (POP) has partnered with Saracens and England Women’s rugby captain Marlie Packer to raise awareness of the ocean plastic crisis.
The 18-month deal will see Packer become a brand ambassador and support POP’s Better Plastic Choice scheme. Other athlete ambassadors include 2024 Paralympics GB table tennis player Martin Perry, leading British beach volleyball player Issa Batrane, professional windsurfer Sarah Jackson, and 2022 Marathon Canoe World Champion, Beth Gill.
The programme incentivises the collection of waste plastic to be recycled into high quality, fully certified recycled plastic used by supermarkets and brands around the world that meets regulatory health and safety standards. The plastic is traceable back to source and can be identified through a triangular blue logo.
Prevented Ocean Plastic is currently used by Lush, Lidl, Louis Vuitton and more.
Packer has won 104 caps for England to date. She is a 2014 World Cup winner, eight times Six Nations Grand Slam winner and was World Rugby’s 2023 World Female Player of the Year.
She commented: “I love what Prevented Ocean Plastic are doing to help UK consumers make better choices around their buying of more sustainable products, and I’m proud to harness my profile and platform to support their efforts.”
Cawleys and Sky Studios Elstree achieve 79% recycling rate
Earlier this year, Cawleys partnered with Sky Studios Elstree to improve its waste management practices.
In three months, Cawleys has reached a 79% recycling rate across all waste. This exceeds the 65% three-year target.
The waste management company said that the remaining 21% has been sent to an Energy from Waste (EfW) facility.
Initially, Cawleys placed a “waste champion” on-site three days a week to provide training to staff and reinforce best practice. Going forward, the partners will meet monthly so that an account manager can provide the studio with reports and recycling rates, and ensure standards are maintained.
Phil Gudgeon, managing director at Cawleys, commented: “With our Luton MRF capable of secondary sorting all mixed wastes, Cawleys is confident we can continue to maintain and improve this recycling rate and support Sky Studios Elstree.”
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