News in brief

letsrecycle.com’s Amy North gears up for SITA UK cycle

Joining almost 300 members of the waste companys staff on its Big Ride cycle relay in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, Amy will pedal her way from Kensington & Chelsea to Barking in Essex.

The relay, which aims to raise 50,000 for the charity, originally departed from SITAs most northern sites in Aberdeenshire on May 12, and is due to reach St Erth in Cornwall on June 20.

Speaking prior to the challenge, Amy said: We are now about half way through the Big Bike Ride so I would first like to congratulate all of the people that have taken part so far and say good luck to those who will be joining in over the coming weeks.

I will be strapping on my helmet tomorrow for a 19 mile leg from Kensington and Chelsea to Barking so I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has donated so far. Any further donations to this fantastic cause are always welcome.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so at Amys JustGiving page here.

Sector welcomes changes to PERN guidance

A rule change over the amount of material that can gain PRN subsidy when sent for recycling overseas has been welcomed by the reprocessing sector.

Changes to the Environment Agency guidance means exporters will no longer be able to claim packaging export recovery notes (PERNs) for all materials found within export bales, which includes contamination (see letsrecycle.com story).

The Resource Association, trade association for the reprocessing and recycling industries, welcomed the update – after those involved in domestic reprocessing called for a level playing field between PRNs and PERNs.

Resource Association chief executive Ray Georgeson said: With good enforcement this will rectify the inconsistency that has penalised UK reprocessors and will act as encouragement for further investment and employment in the UK.

Plastics recycler fined following worker injuries

ECO Plastics Ltd has been fined 12,500 after a worker was struck by a reversing forklift truck at its Hemswell site in Lincolnshire.

Robin Eddom, 63, from Scunthorpe, suffered severe back and tissue injuries when he was hit by the vehicle while walking through the Goods Out warehouse at the waste processing plant in March 2012.

Lincoln Magistrates Court heard how ECO Plastics had designated a separate walkway for pedestrians to use within the building but the Health & Safety Executive found the plastics recycling company had allowed the walkway to be taped off and blocked with building materials while construction work was underway.

ECO Plastics, which pleaded guilty to serious safety failings, was also ordered to pay 5,261 in costs.

Speaking after the hearing on Monday (June 2), HSE inspector Karin Abbott said: This could so easily have been a fatal incident. Mr Eddom has been left with devastating physical and psychological injuries, which have forced an earlier retirement from work and will leave him in discomfort for the rest of his life.

Biogen confirm Warwickshire AD plant on schedule

Organics recycling firm Biogen has confirmed its 45,000 tonne-a-year anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Warwickshire will be completed to schedule.

The facility, at the Merevale & Blyth Estate in Atherstone, is the companys fifth plant currently under construction and will process food waste from households, food manufacturers and retailers in region.

Construction of the main building is to start in the next few weeks, with the plant due to be operational and generating electricity by mid-2015.

Julian ONeill, chief executive of Biogen, said: The Merevale AD plant will play an important role as part of our expanding network of facilities in the UK. The plant is also great news for our current customers in the Midlands as it will provide a cost effective and sustainable food waste solution on their doorstep.

BlueMAC MRF equipment installed in Cambridgeshire

A materials recycling facility (MRF) designed and built by BlueMAC has been installed at Woodford Recycling Services Ltd in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

Supplied by Blue Machinery Central, the new MRF will be powered by on-site generated renewable energy via a subsidy with Arevon Energy, which oversees the biogas operations on-site.

Woodford Recycling Services decided to source the MRF as part of a 2 million investment to increase efficiency and capability in recycling and reclamation. It is designed to achieve a throughput of 20 tonnes per hour, providing future-proof capacity for the firm.

Commenting on the installation, Woodford Recycling owner Mark Farren said: We visited the BlueMAC factory to discuss our requirements and the design and engineering capabilities we saw there gave us total confidence in making our investment with the company.