News in Brief

The recycling rate for telephone directory Yellow Pages has reached an all-time high, the company said.

This year's annual survey suggests that 57% of UK households now recycle their Yellow Pages, up six percentage points from the 2004 survey.

Richard Duggleby, head of external relations at publishers Yell, said “Not so long ago, we could only have dreamed that a region would achieve a 50% recycling rate and yet every region in the UK has achieved, and in most cases exceeded this goal.”

Most households recycle their Yellow Pages directory through paper banks, but Yell said more than 40% of local authorities now accept Yellow Pages in their doorstep collections. Only 28 of the UK's 476 local authorities do not offer residents the opportunity to recycle the directories, the company added.

The Scottish Waste Awareness Group (SWAG) has re-launched an improved website for the Waste Aware Scotland campaign.

A fresh design and improved navigational tools have been included in the Waste Aware Scotland website

The website at www.wasteawarescotland.org.uk has been revamped and updated with new information, expanded sections, a fresh design and improved navigational tools to make the site easier to use.

New additions to the website include a “Waste Journeys” section for people who want to know about what happens to their waste and a new “Resources” section which includes a range of publications and promotional materials.

Vicky Armour, Enquiries and Campaigns Officer for the Scottish Waste Awareness Group, said: “Through consultation with both the SWAG team and members of the public, we have made a number of changes which we hope will improve users' experience of the website and attract new visitors to the site.”

Sedgefield borough council has achieved record recycling rates this summer as the result of a sticker campaign.

The council said it has achieved a 23.4 percentage point increase in its recycling rate for July, with a 14.4 percentage point increase overall for the year – supported by contractor Premier Waste Management. Sedgefield has tried a number of communication methods in the past, but says its boosted recycling rates is largely the result of placing stickers on residents' bins.

The stickers display a simple message reminding residents not to throw out glass, paper and cans but place them in their “Kerb-It” recycling box.

Sedgefield borough council technical services manager Gordon Lennon said: “We have been pleasantly surprised by the success of the sticker campaign. We always thought that it would be a simple effective way of increasing participation and capture rates but it has greatly exceeded our expectations.”

Surrey county council is launching the second phase of the county's “It's about time” waste campaign, this time targeting shoppers at supermarkets.

A sustainable shopping roadshow will be visiting supermarkets and shopping centres around Surrey from October

A sustainable shopping roadshow will be visiting a number of supermarkets and shopping centres around the county from 3 October to 13 November. Staff will be encouraging the public to more sustainably using a shopping basket display and by encouraging onlookers to make a smart shopping pledge – ‘to do just one thing’ – that could make a difference.

Reusable cotton bags, the county's Sustainable Shopping Guide and other information will all be available to help inspire and get people started.

Marianne Cole, Surrey County Council’s Waste Projects Officer, said: “Encouraging people to shop smart will help us to reduce the 580,000 tonnes of household waste that is created each year in Surrey – 90,000 tonnes of which is food waste – the majority of which is currently going to landfill.”