News in Brief

Work due to start on 1m Norfolk recycling centre

The new recycling centre is expected to be up and running – on a site adjacent to the existing one on Pump Lane in Caister – by Spring 2013. It will feature a one way road system to free up traffic flows, have better parking facilities and be more spacious with a well-signposted layout for the large number of recycling containers and the Reuse Shop. It will also include a dedicated central area for service vehicles so that the site doesn’t have to close for essential waste collection and servicing operations.

The current recycling centre at Caister is the second busiest of Norfolk’s network of 20 sites, but it has a below average recycling rate. The new site will specifically address this, as Cllr Borrett explains: “The design of the new site at Caister will be based on the best practice layouts which we’ve put through their paces at King’s Lynn and at the newly-opened Dereham site which have been very successful.

Bill Borrett, Norfolk county council’s cabinet member for environment and waste, said: “This investment is about giving residents of Great Yarmouth and the other communities in east Norfolk access to top quality recycling facilities. It’s part of our strategy to boost recycling in the county, to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill in Norfolk and avoid spending so much of council taxpayers’ money on huge landfill costs.”

Bradford and Calderdale preferred bidder confirmed

The appointment of Skanska as the preferred bidder for the Bradford and Calderdale Waste Partnerships 25-year waste disposal contract was confirmed yesterday (April 10). The Waste Partnership is a joint venture between the city of Bradford metropolitan district and Calderdale Metropolitan borough councils.

Skanska, which has Waste Recycling Group as operational subcontractor, was named as preferred bidder in December 2011 for the contract which will receive 62.1 million in government PFI credits (see letsrecycle.com story). Once confirmed, the contract will see Skanska develop a multi-million waste treatment resource recovery facility and an energy-from-waste incinerator at Bowling Brick Lane, Bradford.

The facility will will extract dry recyclables including cans, plastics and paper from mixed residual waste before the rest is incinerated to produce energy.

Construction of the plant is expected to take three years and cost approximately 170 million. This will be undertaken by a 50:50 engineering, procurement and construction joint venture between Skanska UK and AECOM.

Commission consults on priority environment objectives

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to gather views on the 7th EU Environmental Action Programme (7th EAP), which will set out priority objectives to be pursued up until 2020. The consultation remains open until June 1.

In recent months, the Commission has adopted a number of strategic initiatives on environment policy such as the Resource Efficiency Roadmap and Communication on improving the implementation of EU law. The 7th EAP should provide an overarching, coherent framework for these strategic initiatives, setting out priority objectives and showing clearly how environment policy can contribute to green growth and deliver better health and well-being. It should secure the commitment of all actors concerned EU institutions, Member States, regional and local administrations, businesses and private sector stakeholders, NGOs and civil society to a common agenda.

European Commissioner for Environment, Janez Potonik, said: The EU is home to some of the most ambitious environmental rules to be found anywhere in the world. These rules are doing a lot to protect our environment and people. But their strength depends on their implementation on the ground and we need to make them fit for new challenges. We would like to hear from citizens what we can do, together with our Member States and all other stakeholders, to better protect our environment and sustain our prosperity within the planet’s limits. The EU may not be able to do everything, but we would like to hear where it can have the biggest impact, and how, for improving the quality of our environment – for ourselves and for the children of our children.

Recycling centres to be upgraded in East Riding

East Riding of Yorkshire council is investing up to 1.4million in upgrading two of its household waste recycling sites at Hessle and Driffield.

Up to 825,000 will be invested in the Humberfield site, Hessle, and 600,000 in Driffields Kelleythorpe site, increasing the capacity. The sites take a list of nearly 40 materials that are sent for recycling, ranging from paper and glass through to spectacles and oil. The monthly recycling rate for each of the ten sites is between 70-80%.

The major works will include making both sites split-level, and with separate entrances and exits to ease the traffic flow.

John Skidmore, head of streetscene services at East Riding of Yorkshire council, said: The work to both sites will take up to six months and we intend keeping disruption and any closures to an absolute minimum. The work has become vital because the sites have reached capacity.

Sheltered housing scheme residents compost food waste

Residents of a sheltered housing scheme in Brighton have started recycling food waste using a Green Johanna hot composting unit.

Cavendish Court is the latest Housing 21 housing scheme to use the system, which converts both garden and all food waste into compost for use in the courts communal garden. Residents launched the project at Cavendish Court in late March 2012 at a resident engagement workshop called Waste, its Mine its Yours. The project will roll out at 20 Courts across Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire and was developed and trialled by independent social engagement practitioner and green champion, Anthea Rossouw of ARA-UK, an independent social engagement practice.

It is hoped that the initiative at Cavendish Court will emulate the success of the trials run at nine other Housing 21 housing schemes in Sussex, where the reduction in waste going to landfill has been halved through residents getting involved in managing and improving waste services. This success recently led to Housing 21 being granted funding of 58,000 through the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to introduce or trial new schemes that reward and recognises people or communities for adopting positive behaviours towards managing their waste. Housing 21 is working in partnership with the University of Brighton, AmicusHorizon and Great Green Systems on the rollout of the scheme.

Mark Alum, contracts manager for Housing 21 said: This is a fantastic project. The Green Johannas produce beautiful compost, take the smell out of the domestic waste as well as being a great way of getting everyone in Housing 21 courts to do something together.”
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