News in brief

Veolia wins women in business award

Veolias vice president for UK & Ireland Estelle Brachlianoff accepted the award, which was backed by the Confederation of British Industry, in London on Thursday (June 12).

The award is intended to recognise those who have opened up opportunities for people outside the established norms of their industry.

Ms Brachlianoff has been promoting careers for women within the waste and recycling industry on platforms including BitC Responsible Business Week, the Institute of Civil Engineers and the London Business School.

Commenting on the award, Ms Brachlianoff said: We are delighted to receive this external recognition of our commitment to a diverse workforce. Now we are looking for talented people from all backgrounds that share our belief in innovation and sustainability and would like to embark on an exciting career with a long-term future.

ERP enters Swedish market and relaunches website

WEEE compliance scheme the European Recycling Platform (ERP) has announced a new partnership with Swedens Electronics Recycling Association.

The partnership with Elektroniktervinningsfreningen (EF) means Swedish producers can apply for membership with ERP, and adds to firms operations in the neighbouring Nordic countries.

ERP Denmarks country manager, Martin Therkelsen, will work alongside EFs managing director, Josef Tapper, to bring the association within ERPs network.

Mr Therkelsen said: We are very pleased that Sweden is now entering ERPs network, and we look forward to welcoming Swedish companies into our international collection system.

The scheme has also relaunched its website, which includes interactive features such as a how to recycle widget showing how different types of WEEE, batteries and packaging are recycled.

According to ERP, the relaunch means the website is now cleaner and easier to navigate as well as having social media connectivity on all pages to share events and news stories.

Scotland launches litter strategy

Scotland has launched its first national litter strategy since devolution to combat the 250 million visible pieces of waste dropped each year.

Announced by the Scottish Government and backed by resource efficiency partner Zero Waste Scotland, the stategy will see littering and flytipping penalties increase from 50 to 80 and 200 respectively.

The new rules will also see the introduction of a 5p charge for single use bags in Scotland from October 2014.

Environment secretary Richard Lochhead said: This strategy sets out how the Scottish Government is providing leadership on waste prevention, working with our partners to reduce litter and increase recycling.

“I look forward to continued co-operation and collaboration as we implement this, and the forthcoming marine litter strategy.

Dorset Waste Partnership elects new chairman

The Dorsert Waste Partnership joint committee has elected councillor Anthony Alford as its new chairman.

A member of West Dorset district council, councillor Alford replaces Dorset county councillor Hilary Cox, who has stepped down from the committee.

Councillor Cox had chaired the Dorset Waste Management Liasison Panel from 2003 before becoming chair of the DWP when the body formed in 2011.

DWP is made up of seven Dorset councils, providing waste collection, disposal and street cleansing services. The partnership does not include Bournemouth and Poole.

Science centre unveils waste adventure exhibit

Magna Science Adventure Centre has launched Its a Rubbish Adventure, an interactive educational exhibit explaining what happens to the 340,000 tonnes of waste thrown away in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham each year.

The Rotherham-based attraction teamed up with Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham (BDR) Waste Partnership and Shanks Group for the project, which will feature workshops for schools and families.

It will show the processes involved in treating and recycling the waste as it will happen at the Manvers Waste Recovery Facility, due to open in 2015 as part of a 25-year PFI contract with the BDR Waste Partnership and Shanks.

The workshops are supported by a 28,000 grant from the Royal Academy of Engineering as part of a public education scheme.

Colin Fletcher, Shanks contracts director for the Manvers facility, said: This is really all about getting children interested in recycling and excited about engineering, encouraging them to think about it as a career choice. Engineers from Shanks will be working with Magna to deliver the workshops, which will feature everything from electromagnetic sorting to composting.