News in brief

Bryson Recycling wheelie box trial successful

Manufactured by Straight plc, Brysons stackable wheelie boxes were rolled out between February and May 2014 and provide extra space for kerbside recycling alongside the smaller residual waste bins that have been introduced by the council.

Bryson Recycling which found recycling participation grew 16% in Newtonabbey with the new boxes – believes that if the wheelie box system was adopted across Northern Ireland, it could exceed the 50% statutory recycling target set by the EU for 2020.

Environment Minister, Mark H Durkan, who welcomed the positive results from the survey, said: The results from the pilots of the new system are very positive and the wheelie boxes do seem to produce a high quality of materials that can be recycled locally. This is good for the environment, sustains local jobs and supports our local economy.

Artist descends on Great Yarmouth skip firm

Norfolk-based artist Mik Richardson has used a Great Yarmouth skip firm as a canvas for his latest piece of work.

Mr Richardson descended on the towns seafront to paint murals of Norfolk landscapes on the side of skips over the weekend (June 21-22).

The artist hit the headlines last year for caricaturing Freddie Mercury as a gorilla on an art trail in Norwich to which the singers estate objected. The sale of the piece went on to make 20,000 for charity.

The idea is the result of a partnership between WT Skip Hire which owns the skips stationed next to the Sealife Centre – and Great Yarmouth Tourism.

Gary Thurtle, director of the skip hire firm, said: We are big fans of Miks work, so approached him with the idea of doing something for us, creating art using landscapes from the areas we deliver skips to. He loved the idea.

Defra funds study to boost flexible packaging recycling

Research into the separation of aluminium and plastics from flexible laminate packaging has received funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

LRS Consultancy, in partnership with Enval, SITA UK, Nestle UK & Ireland and Coca-Cola Enterprises, will study how the materials can be separated from laminate packaging collected in England such as toothpaste tubes and pet food sachets.

If a preliminary scoping study proves successful, the consortium may carry out trials to test collections and assess the cost benefit of the different approaches.

Dee Moloney, managing director of LRS, said: Brands are increasingly using flexible laminate packaging to help preserve their products for longer, reduce the amount of material used in the manufacturing process and lightweight their packaging.

The consortium is uniquely positioned to deliver this research and we are delighted to have received a good response from a broad range of interested parties who are keen to support the project.

Recycling reward for Havering residents

Residents in the London borough of Havering have been offered incentives to attend a series of recycling events run by the local council.

First time participants in the Give and Take days, swishing events and cookery workshops designed to boost awareness of recycling and reuse, will receive 800 points as part of London Green Points Haverings incentive scheme.

The days encourage residents to swap their unwanted items including bric-a-brac and CDs, and swish their unwanted textiles such as clothes and shoes.

Meanwhile, Love Food Hate Waste workshops include a demonstration of a three-course meal and tops on how to waste less in the kitchen.

Councillor Robert Benham, cabinet member for environment, said: Its great to see so many residents taking up the many initiatives we offer to help them reduce their waste, and now, theyll be rewarded even further with more Green Points, which they can spend on themselves or donate to some very worthy causes. So theres now even more reason to get involved.

WLWA wins Partnership Awards for contract

The West London Waste Authority (WLWA) has won two Partnership Awards for its new 1.4 billion contract to manage household waste in the area.

Alongside waste contractor and partner SITA UK, WLWA beat competition from other projects in the UK, Canada, Russia and Poland to win gold in the Best Waste/Energy/Water Project category at the Partnership Awards 2014 ceremony in London.

Signed in January this year, the 25-year deal will see SITA UK collect household waste from the boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames (see letsrecycle.com story).

The waste authority and its external advisors Sharpe Pritchard, PwC and Jacobs were also recognised for the way they worked together, winning Best Project Team award.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, chair of the WLWA, said: I’m delighted that this project, which protects the environment and saves local taxpayers’ money, has been recognised by these awards. Well done to all of our partners and, especially, the project team on these successes.