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News in brief (15/02/23)

With news on: WRAP Cymru launches food waste recycling campaign; Currys expands refurbished technology trial; Former site manager jailed over fraud; European waste organisations to join new EU platform; and, ISB Global joins UKRI incubator programme.


WRAP Cymru launches food waste recycling campaign

Resources charity WRAP said that its Welsh arm has launched a campaign with the Welsh government for people in Wales to recycle more of their food waste.

The campaign, titled Be Mighty, is backed by celebrity chef Matt Pritchard also known as The Dirty Vegan.

Celebrity chef Matt Prichard shared tips on overcoming the ‘yuck factor’

According to WRAP, the campaign aims to help reduce the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels for energy by generating energy from Wales’s food waste. The NGO said that in 2021/22, more than 10,000 Welsh homes were powered by food waste recycling.

However, data shows that last year approximately a quarter of all general rubbish contained food waste, equivalent to 100,000 tonnes of unrecycled food waste, WRAP noted. The organisation has calculated that this wasted food could have powered an additional 7,500 homes in Wales for a whole year.

In a bid to improve food waste recycling, Mr Pritchard shared a number of tips to help overcome the ‘yuck factor’ which was found to be one of the biggest barriers to recycling food waste. These included using a caddy liner to reduce smells and spills, avoiding liquid items, keeping a lid on the caddy and emptying it regularly.


Currys expands refurbished technology trial

Currys has said that on the back of the success of its trial selling refurbished technology online, it plans to expand it by also including items in ‘very good’ and ‘fair’ conditions.

The trial initially began in November last year and has seen 80% of the refurbished product lines sell out within the first week.

Currys said that items are checked over, restored if required and repackaged by the retailer

Based on the uptake, the retailer has decided to take the step expand the range of refurbished products it offers to include items in ‘very good’ and ‘fair’ conditions on top of those in ‘excellent’ condition, with the former available at “an even lower price”, it said. Currys added that all items are sold with a 12-month technical guarantee regardless of their condition.

Currys noted that the demand is being driven by “growing eco-consciousness” amongst the British public as well as the financial challenges of the cost-of-living crisis.

According to the retailer, the refurbished products are individually checked over, restored if required and repackaged by Currys.

Mandeep Gobindpuri, head of development – circular economy at Currys said: “Buying refurbished saves customers money and saves good tech from landfill. This trial is a win for customers, and a win for the planet.”


Former site manager jailed over fraud

Lincolnshire Police has reported that a former site manager has been jailed after “siphoning millions” from a Lincolnshire-based metals recycling company.

The police said that Garry Killick, 48, of Gleneagles Close in Stamford was sentenced to three years and nine months for nine counts of fraud by abuse of position after appearing Lincoln Crown Court last week (9 February).

According to the police, Mr Killick used his position “to fraudulently divert funds totalling £2.2 million from the company by creating false customer records on bogus sales of scrap metal, paying others by way of cheque, bank transfer and PDQ, which is electronic transfer onto bank cards”. The police added that the fraud went on from July 2014 to July 2017.

Lincolnshire Police reported that a former site manager has been jailed over £2.2 million fraud (picture: Shutterstock)

The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Constable James Norton from the Economic Crime Unit, said: “Garry Killick was calculated in his offending, using his authority, and abusing the trust he had with the business to benefit financially.”


European waste organisations to join new EU platform

A number of industry experts are set to join the new EU Platform on Sustainable Finance for a mandate of two years, including the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) and others.

EuRIC, Plastic Recyclers Europe (PRE) and European Waste Management Association (FEAD) said they have applied to join the platform jointly through the European Alliance for Sustainable Finance in waste management and recycling (EASF).

EuRIC is one of the members of the European Alliance for Sustainable Finance in waste management and recycling (EASF)

With only EuRIC to be represented previously, the joint selection of the three allows for more resources to support a science-based implementation of the ‘taxonomy regulation’ which directs investments towards the most sustainable activities, the group explained.

Ton Emans, president of PRE, commented: “The platform will drive the transition towards the circular economy, and plastic recycling is one of the key solutions to achieving that. Being part of the platform gives us a voice to further accelerate the industry’s progress towards achieving higher recycling rates and to increasing the use of recycled plastic.”


ISB Global joins UKRI incubator programme

UK-based recycling and waste management software firm, ISB Global, has announced that it is joining UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Global Incubator Programme.

ISB Global’s involvement with the programme is part of work by UKRI to develop the UK into becoming a world leading exporter of ‘Green Technology’.

The company’s place on the Global Incubator Programme, which runs for six months to June 2023, follows its involvement with the EDGE Scaleup Programme, a separate UKRI programme designed to support companies already on their scaling-up journey with the potential to disrupt existing markets.

Chris Williams, founder and CEO of ISB Global, commented: “When we joined Innovate UK EDGE Scaleup Programme, we set ourselves the goal to drive the rapid scale-up of our operations across the globe.

“These programs with Innovate UK, are two of many initiatives launched at ISB Global during 2022 and 2023. All of which are driving the development and deployment of Waste & Recycling One (WR1), our industry-leading waste management software solution.”

Jon Hazell, Innovate UK partnership manager, commented: “Innovate UK’s Global Incubator Programme is a fantastic opportunity to support Innovative UK SME’s to explore the potential of overseas markets. We’re delighted that ISB Global has joined the programme, and we’re looking forward to seeing how the business progresses.”

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