Hamilton strikes Highland deal and reaches mattress milestone
Musselburgh-based Hamilton Waste and Recycling has been awarded a processing contract for recyclables from Highland council, while also reaching an important milestone for mattress recycling.
Highland council announced last week (10 August) it has awarded Hamilton Waste and Recycling a contract for the receipt and treatment of co-mingled mixed recyclate.
Highland council’s deal with Hamilton is valued at £1, the minimum allowed, but is said to be index-based so the council “will receive income from the sale of recyclate” on a quarterly basis.
The material will be processed at Hamilton’s recycling facility in Musselburgh, around 160 miles away.
This will run until February 2024 and includes an option of multiple extensions by up to 36 months subject to mutual agreement.
Meanwhile, the company also announced yesterday (18 August) that it has recycled over 250,000 mattresses.
Hamilton said that in doing this, it has recovered over approximately 2,500 tonnes of metal, 750 tonnes of foam and 500 of polyester, which can be used to manufacture products. Residual materials that cannot be effectively recovered are used in the production of solid recovered fuel.
On the contract, Hamilton’s managing director, Robin Stevenson, commented: “We’re delighted to be supporting Highland council and its residents by maximising the environmental and commercial value of their recyclable household waste.
“This material will play an important role in developing more sustainable products and meeting Scotland’s ambition to create a more circular economy.”
On mattresses, he added: “We are on track to recycle approximately 100,000 mattresses this year and plans are in place to increase this capacity by a further 20% in 2023.
“Whilst this is a fantastic achievement by the team, Scotland is still only recycling one in 10 waste mattresses, with over 650,000 mattresses still being landfilled every year.
“This wanton waste of recourses is completely unnecessary and needs to be addressed by Scottish Government if we are to achieve our circular economy ambitions.”
Suffolk backs battery campaign after fire at MRF
Suffolk Waste Partnership announced yesterday it is backing a nationwide campaign on the safe disposal of old batteries in a bid to avoid starting fires in refuse vehicles.
The campaign, titled Stop Battery Fires, has been launched by national safe electricals recycling group Material Focus.
This comes as, in June, a fire at a materials recycling facility (MRF) in Great Blakenham, which recycles waste from across Suffolk, is suspected to have been started by a battery in household recycling. Located deep within nearly 400 tonnes of waste, the fire took nearly two hours to extinguish.
According to Environmental Services Association, lithium-ion batteries are responsible for nearly half (48%) of all waste fires in the UK each year, costing some £158 million.
Councillor James Mallinder, the chair of Suffolk Waste Partnership, said both batteries and electrical items can be recycled at any of Suffolk’s 11 recycling centres, as well as other local recycling banks, with many supermarkets accepting them.
Renfrewshire to upgrade recycling centres with funding
Renfrewshire council is set to upgrade its recycling centres after being awarded almost £350,000 from the Scottish Government’s £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund.
The council said the investment will see new compactors installed on sites to increase the volume of materials accepted in skips. New skips will also be added for cardboard, soil and plastics which are not currently collected separately.
Other plans include the procurement of three jumbo roll packers to compact open skips on sites and refreshing the layout and signage of recycling centres to make access safer.
Councillor Michelle Campbell said: “We’re delighted to have been awarded this significant funding which will allow us to make improvements at our recycling centres that will benefit both our staff and residents.
“We’ll be able to expand our capacity to accept more recycling, separate it out further on site, and also make our sites more inviting and easier to use for residents.”
Suspended sentences for two men who burned waste at Northampton site
The Environment Agency reported yesterday that two men who repeatedly ignored warning by the Agency were sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work each.
David Wells, 41, of Fretter Close, Broughton Astley, Leicestershire, and Daniel Hancock, 32, of Gull Crescent Northampton, had previously pleaded guilty at Northampton Crown Court. They were ordered to pay £4,900 in costs.
The court heard how both had been storing and burning waste without environmental permits at a site on the edge of the village of Boughton.
Nearby residents reported toxic fumes and seeing flames coming from the Boughton Springs site, the Agency continued.
The pair continued to burn material without permission and to store mixed waste illegally on the site despite visits from Agency officers.
In July, the pair were still storing illegal mixed waste in defiance of officers’ advice. The Environment Agency, the court heard, had “no alternative but to prosecute”.
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