News in brief

Schools recycle WEEE and textiles for children’s air ambulance charity

Around 65 schools are signed up to the WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) Recycling Rewards programme and are actively using the online recycling education resources.

As part of the programme, mobile phone, WEEE and textile recycling containers are also placed at the schools for children to donate to. The collected materials are used to generate funds for the participating schools as well as The Childrens Air Ambulance.

Environmental education programme Wastebuster, environmental compliance firm DHL Envirosolutions and recycling firm LMB Textiles have teamed up to deliver the scheme. According to DHL, mobile phone collection containers are also being placed at household waste recycling centres and at DHL premises.

Simon Potter, director of DHL Envirosolutions said: DHL is very proud to be involved with this fantastic recycling rewards programme and the positive benefits it offers to both schools and the Childrens Air Ambulance.

The Hampton Hill event was hosted by CBBC presenter Ed Petrie and Wastebuster’spuppet character, Busta, to highlight the importance of recycling to the children.Childrenthen presented The Childrens Air Ambulance with all the mobile phones collected by Richmond schools.

Zero Waste Scotland publishes landfill tax impact report

Zero Waste Scotland has published a report Scotland Landfill Tax Bill 2012: an Economic Assessment which looks at the potential impacts of three possible landfill tax options from 2015 on waste policy, the environment, society and businesses in Scotland.

It follows the Scotland Landfill Tax Bill, which was introduced to the Scottish Parliament in April (see letsreycle.com story). The Bill could see Scotland adopt a new tax to replace UK Landfill Tax from April 2015 and also introduce a Scottish Communities fund.

The three options assessed in the report, put together by consultancy firm Eunomia, are: no landfill tax to apply in Scotland from 2015; maintain a similar landfill tax system as the rest of the UK, set at similar tax rates; and to maintain a similar system as the UK model but to implement a non-self-assessment model.

The report suggests that the Scottish Government prefers for the most part to maintain a similar tax to the one currently in place across the UK.

The total cost for setting up a system based on the UK system, the report estimates, would be 540,000, while setting up a non-self-assessment model would be 615,000 with a 360,000 per year running cost from 2015 onwards.

However, the report states that the removing the landfill tax altogether from 2015 would cause massive disruption in the waste management market and would likely lead to a increases in gate fees, waste disposal and waste generation.

Furthermore, with regards to setting up a Landfill Communities Fund in Scotland, the report argues that there would likely be no net benefit relative to the fund accruing instead to the public purse.

Wheeled recycling boxes trialled in Northern Ireland

New wheeled recycling boxes are being trialled by Northern Ireland firm Bryson Recycling at households in Castlereagh and Newtownabbey.

Almost 5,000 households across the two towns will try out the Wheelie Box containers, which have been developed by Bryson and UK manufacturer Straight plc over the past three years.

According to Bryson, the Wheelie Box allows residents to recycle a wider variety of products than before, helps to drive up recyclate quality and comes as a direct response to customer feedback.

Eric Randall, director of Bryson Recycling said: The Wheelie Box provides extra room for recycling, it is sturdy enough not to be blown over in the wind, has a hinged lid and it is on wheels so it is easy to move. The Wheelie Box has also allowed us to extend the range of items that we can collect from households for recycling, especially cartons and plastics which householders have been keen to recycle for many years.

“The Wheelie Box has enormous potential to be rolled out across the UK, and we are delighted to be at the forefront of this exciting innovation.

Bryson Recycling, part of social enterprise the Bryson Charitable Group, currently provide a weekly recycling service to over 170,000 households. Castlereagh Borough Council will be the first area in Northern Ireland, and just the second in the UK, to trial the boxes.

Brighton student develops plastic bag recycling technique

University of Brighton student Ela Nouraud has developed a technique to recycle old plastic bags and turn them into useful everyday objects, including pots, egg boxes, wallets and long-lasting plastic shopping bags.

With 13 billion plastic carriers being used in the UK each year and 10% of all plastics ending up in the sea, the 3D design materials and practice student has come up with TRUC (Technique to Recycle Use Carrier bags).

Explaining the process, she said: I sort the carrier bags and heat press them in order to create a sheet, to then be thermo-formed on top of a shape, either made by myself or in the case of the egg box it is formed on top of the real egg box.

To make new long-lasting plastic bags, granules from the polyethylene bags are mixed with a resin to produce tubes of materials which are flattened by rollers. The resulting polyethylene film is cut, rolled up, and ready to be turned into robust bags. Alcohol based ink is applied and the bags are cut and heat sealed.

The 22-year-old hopes to turn her technique into a commercial enterprise in her native France after she graduates in July 2013.

She said: I hope this makes people understand the rewards you can get from recycling.

South East London EfW plant rewards community projects

Three projects that were successful in applying for funding from the SELCHP (South East London Combined Heat and Power) Community Fund have been presented with their grants at a ceremony at the SELCHP Energy Recovery Facility in Deptford.

Northbrook Park Community Group were awarded 3,000 to install Trim Trail fitness equipment and tarmac at Grove Park in the borough of Lewisham. The community groups Michelle Ball said: We are so excited about getting this equipment in the park and we would like to thank SELCHP for their support.

Baring Primary School, also in Grove Park, received a grant of 4,000 to purchase a retractable safety net for the schools playground.Headteacher Diane Brewer said: Thanks so much to SELCHP for this award. We can now look forward to getting the netting over our playground. I know the children will be so excited when I share the cheque with them in assembly.

Abbey Wood Nursery School & Childrens Centre were also given 3,500 to develop a vegetable plot and a garden.

Robbie Jameson, General Manager of SELCHP, said: At SELCHP we are wholeheartedly committed to the communities around us and our Community Fund is an excellent way of giving something back to support these worthy projects.

The SELCHP facility is jointly owned by Veolia Environmental Services who also operate the plant and French firm CNIM.