News in Brief

BinCam recycling project launched by Newcastle Uni

In each household, a small sensor is attached to a camera phone in the kitchen bins. The so-called BinCam takes a photograph every time the lid slams shut and this image is fed directly to the BinCam Facebook page. Graphs will be used to chart how well each household is doing in the recycling league and theres the opportunity to leave comments or share recycling tips. The project is being led by research students Anja Thieme, Jack Weeden and Julia Miebach, postgraduate students in human-computer interaction at Newcastle University.

Ms Thieme said: By taking a photograph and uploading it to Facebook, the idea is that we create a platform for self-reflection – a permanent reminder. Its a bit like having your conscience sat on your shoulder niggling away at you. And on top of that you know that other people are also judging you.

Straight wins London flat recycling container contract

Leeds-based waste container supplier Straight is to provide its Steelybin metal four-wheeled recycling containers as part of the London Waste and Recycling Boards (LWaRB) flats recycling programme.

The contract represents the largest single order to date for the Steelybin product and will be worth almost 250,000. Under the contract Straight will be delivering over 1,300 of the 1,100 litre units to a number of London boroughs from June 2011. Straight is also providing more than 70,000 of its kitchen caddys for the collection of food waste. In March 2011, LWaRB issued 3.7 million to 16 London council projects for flat recycling, which the statutory body issued as part of its 5 million flats recycling programme (see letsrecycle.com story).

Commenting on the Steelybin contract, Jonathan Straight, chief executive of Straight, said: We are very pleased to be working alongside the LWARB on the Flats Recycling Programme to address the problems associated with recycling in flats within the London boroughs. The programme is a significant step in encouraging all households to recycle, and we look forward to other councils across the UK following suit.

Leicestershire man fined 5,000 for illegal waste disposal

Leicestershire resident Thomas Edward Neal has been fined 5,000 after pleading guilty to operating a regulated facility without an environmental permit at Barrow Road in Sileby.

Mr Neal operated as a sole trader and ran a skip hire business trading as Dusty Bins Skip Hire at the New Hayes Farm site, where he deposited, stored and treated controlled waste such as wood, plastic, scrap metal, cardboard, rubble and other associated waste with no environmental permit in force. Environment Agency officers visited the site on a number of occasions following an anonymous report of illegal waste activities taking place, which was evident when the regulator visited the site in September 2010. Mr Neal has subsequently removed waste material from the New Hayes Farm site and provided copies of waste transfer notes that confirmed that the waste had lawfully been disposed of. The court fined Mr Neal 5,000 and ordered him to pay costs of 2,290.84 and a 15 victim surcharge.

Speaking after the case, Mervyn Tongue, a lead Environment Agency officer in the investigation said: Illegal waste disposal activities threaten the environment and human health. Such activities are a problem in Leicestershire and across England and Wales. I am pleased that the court has recognised the seriousness of the offence and imposed a severe penalty on Mr Neal. I hope this will act as a deterrent to others who may consider managing waste illegally.

Casepak takes first plant delivery at 21m MRF

Paper recycling specialist Casepak has taken delivery of the first plant equipment at its 21 million materials recycling facility (MRF) in Leicester.

The company this week received its materials sorting equipment from American-based Bulk Handling Systems, alongside specialist screening equipment and additional fibre screen. Casepak is developing the 150,000 tonne-a-year capacity sorting plant with a combination of automated technology and intensive manual quality control and claims it will be one of the most advanced facilities in the UK (see letsrecycle.com story). And, it has already agreed a deal with Walsall metropolitan borough council to deliver 28,000 tonnes of recyclable material to the plant each year once it becomes operational in September 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story).

Kevin Thomas, director of MRF operations at Casepak, said: With the building envelope now complete, the site is taking great shape and most importantly without any delays. The equipment that has begun to arrive this week will be gradually installed during the summer alongside the remaining fit-out items to complete the site development.

Nottinghamshire moots 70% recycling target

Nottinghamshire county council and Nottingham city council have agreed a joint 70% recycling target for all waste under the local authoritys draft waste core strategy.

Agreed by the councils respective cabinets this week, the goal will see the waste collection authority and waste disposal authority work together to divert increased levels of waste from landfill out of the four-to-five million tonnes produced in the region each year. For waste which is not currently recycled, the draft plan proposes recovering energy from what is left, which could include incineration for general waste and anaerobic digestion for food and other organic waste. The strategy, which is set to cover a period of 10 to 20 years, is set to be adopted in December 2012 and is due to go out to public consultation over summer 2011.

Councillor Jane Urquhart, Nottingham city councils portfolio holder for planning and transportation, said: “Recycling more will depend on the ability to process a wider range of materials from both businesses and households. Food and other organic wastes could also be dealt with using more sustainable treatment methods.

Tyre specialist ITWS conducts recycling project

Solid tyre specialist International Tyre and Wheel Solutions (ITWS) has joined with Suffolk-based material separation firm Aquablast to develop a means of disposing of super cushioned solid tyres.

The tyres in question, SG Revolutions tyres, are popular in the waste and recycling sector due to their use on plant and vehicles that operate in the industry. ITWS has, therefore, sought to find an appropriate outlet for end-of-life SG Revolution tyres. On behalf of ITWS, Aquablast has conducted experiments on a range of tyre sizes using ultra-high pressure water jet technology, which was used to be separate the rubber compound from the metallic content. This produces a wire-free rubber crumb, which requires no further size reduction or grinding and has a wide range of applications in re-manufacturing or as filler in adhesives and sealants. The process separates the rubber from steel re-enforcing wire and recovers metal shards embedded in tyres used, for example, in scrap yards.

Donald Blair, managing director at Aquablast, said: Although, of course, car and truck tyres, including general waste rubber and EPDM, are banned from entering landfill, OTR tyres larger than 1.4 metre and rubber crawler tracks are still exempted under the 2006 EC Landfill Directive. This was because no effective recycling technology existed before our process evolved.