MGB Plastics invests in bin manufacturing
UK bin manufacturer MGB Plastics has invested a “seven figure” sum in new machinery to boost container production.
The firm has bought a 2,700 tonnes Krauss Maffei injection moulding machine for its Rotherham factory, which increases manufacturing capacity at the site to two million bins and kitchen caddies per year.
The machine also reduces setup times and will “increase flexibility and energy efficiency” at the factory.
Karl Stillman, OnePlastics group sales director, said: “We are delighted to have acquired this new machine which is central to our long-term plans and a perfect complement to our existing portfolio.
“The investment programme fits perfectly with the strategic goal of OnePlastics parent company One51 Plc to grow both organically and through acquisition.”
MGB Plastics is one of the UK’s largest suppliers of wheeled bins alongside its sister firm Straight plc, which are both part of the OnePlastics Group.
East London AD plant achieves PAS 110
East London Biogas Ltd has achieved PAS 110 certification at its anaerobic digestion (AD) facility in Dagenham.
The achievement means the organics recycling firm can now give further assurance to its customers that digestate produced at the East London facility is beneficial for crop growth.
Digestate produced at the facility is used predominantly by farmers in Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.
The facility, which was opened by former Secretary of State for Business Vince Cable in April 2014, received funding under the Foresight-managed UK Waste Resources and Energy Investments fund – the first investment initiated by the Green Investment Bank in 2012.
Nigel Aitchison, Partner and Head of Environmental at Foresight said: “The plant, which has been financed by funds managed by Foresight Group, has been operational now for over 12 months and this is a significant milestone in its development.
Carl Sargeant opens Torfaen HWRC
Welsh minister for natural resources Carl Sargeant has officially opened a new household waste and recycling centre (HWRC) in Torfaen.
The HWRC, based at Panteg Way in Pontypool, is owned by the council but managed and operated by FCC Environment under a seven-year contract which began in April 2015. The contract also includes management of a waste transfer station at the site.
Torfaen council has set a 75% recycling target for the HWRC, which is set to rise to 80% the second year of the contract and 85% in the fifth year.
In order to achieve the rates, new waste streams will be collected at the HWRC such as mattresses and carpets.
Opening the site, Mr Sargeant said: “Wales is the best in the UK for recycling, and local authorities and households continue to make efforts to recycle more, and send less to landfill. I am pleased to open this new facility which will allow Torfaen County Borough Council to recycle a wider range of materials, therefore reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill.”
Viridor launches Revive brand compost
Waste firm Viridor has launched its newly branded compost Revive at all 11 household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) owned by West Sussex county council.
Produced locally by Viridor, the soil conditioner is made from green waste collected from households in the county and meets the BSI PAS 100 standard.
The 40-litre bags, designed to use less plastic than the previous pre-formed pillow caste style sacks, include instructions for use in gardens and horticultural areas.
Eki Evbuomwan Viridor’s education and customer relations manager in West Sussex, said: “People are pretty keen on gardening in West Sussex and the new-look Revive is flying out of West Sussex County Council’s 11 household waste recycling sites.
Express withdraws recycling scandal claims
Newspaper firm the Express Group has accepted that two of its titles’ stories regarding a recycling “scandal” in the UK contained errors.
The Express reported in January that 280,000 tonnes of material being rejected from the recycling system was a “scandal” – but failed to mention this was set against 10 million tonnes of household recycling collected.
Both articles suggested that the reason for there being contamination in the recycling stream is that householders are confused about what can and cannot be recycled, due to having to sort recycling into multiple containers.
Yet this is inconsistent with the evidence of the recycling statistics that the newspapers relied on, which show that the highest level of rejects is recorded by authorities with single or two stream collections.
The Express Group made changes to the articles three months after a complaint was lodged by Eunomia’s senior consultant Peter Jones.
Writing in the Isonomia blog, Mr Jones said: “This is another example of recycling getting a negative press based on preconceptions and misunderstandings rather than facts.”
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