News in Brief

SITA welcomes go-ahead for Charlton Lane Eco Park plans

The decision, which was made last week (June 30) by the councils Planning and regulatory committee, represents a major step forward to the project, which is known as the Charlton Lane Eco Park. It would involve 40,000 tonnes-a-year of food waste being treated at the AD facility and 60,000 tonnes-a-year of household waste being handled by the batch oxidation system gasification plant. The development, which was first unveiled in September 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story), is being proposed by SITA subsidiary Surrey Waste Management, which currently holds a long-term waste management contract with Surrey county council. The approval will now be forwarded to environment secretary Caroline Spelman, who has 21 days to decide whether she wants to review the decision.

Gareth Phillips, planning manager at SITA UK, said: We are delighted the County Planning Authority has agreed to permit the development of the Eco Park. Surrey needs facilities like these to deal with the countys waste in an environmentally friendly and cost effective way. The Eco Park is a key part of Surrey county councils waste management programme which aims to deliver a world class solution for the county.

WRAP launches 1m Waste Prevention Loan Fund

The Waste and Resources Action Programme has launched a new 1 million Waste Prevention Loan Fund, which aims to reduce waste at source by supporting organisations to introduce business models and processes which make more efficient use of material resources.

The fund, which was originally unveiled in last months Waste Review, will allocate its funds to businesses, local authorities and social enterprises over the next four years, supporting initiatives in areas such as product reuse, repair and upgrading services and materials recovery and reuse by the manufacturer. The maximum investment will be 100,000 and the minimum will be 20,000, with the money being made available in phases. The first of these will involve a percentage of the funding being made available as loans to assist with cash-flow for a business (retailer or product supplier) which is switching from generating immediate income through product sales to generating income from service delivery.

Welcoming the new initiative (details of which can be found here), waste and recycling minister Lord Henley said: Preventing waste being created in the first place is not only good for the environment but also good for a companys bottom line. This new 1 million fund will encourage inventive thinking that will be shared to offer resource efficiency savings for businesses and individuals.

B&M acquires WSR Recyclings trade routes

North West-based waste management company B&M Waste Services has purchased WSR Recyclings trade routes, in a move which will expand its presence in Widnes and Warrington.

The acquisition means that B&M, which has its head offices in Bromborough on The Wirral, is now responsible for collecting waste and recycling from WSRs existing business customers, with its ethos of maximising landfill diversion and the value of material collected without placing too much responsibility on its customers. It comes as Widnes-based WSR focuses on developing the waste treatment part of its business, and B&M said it would work closely with WSR when sending customers waste for treatment.

Peter Cooke, chief executive, B&M Waste Services commented: WSR is one of the longest established waste management companies in the North West dating back to the 1930s and we are proud to be partnering with them. We will continue to work closely with WSR to ensure a smooth hand over and to utilise their waste treatment facilities for our customers.

Illegal waste site operator forfeits nearly 700,000

The operator of an illegal waste site in Cambridgeshire has been jailed for over two years and ordered to forfeit nearly 700,000 following an Environment Agency raid.

Tony Gray, also known as Wade Levi Smith, appeared in Norwich Crown Court last month (June 24) having pleaded guilty at an earlier date to operating a site at Wheatley Bank in Wisbech without a permit or licence. Mr Gray, 56, had also pleaded guilty to tax evasion and abstracting electricity illegally and he also asked the court to consider an offence of money laundering. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison on each of the six offences considered, which will run concurrently. And, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, Mr Gray was also ordered to pay 698,427 under a confiscation order. Of this, 69,414 will be paid as compensation to the HMRC and 1,908 to electricity supplier Eon. Failure to pay this sum would lead to a four-year prison sentence.

After the hearing, Phil Henderson, Environment Agency crime team leader, said: We are pleased that the court recognised the seriousness of these offences and sentenced accordingly. Our use of the Proceeds of Crime Act will demonstrate to criminals that we will not only prosecute them for environmental offences but pursue them for all monies gained while illegally dealing in waste.

Waste companies team up to tackle Glastonbury waste

Two South West waste companies worked together to tackle waste and maximise recycling at last months Glastonbury Festival, at Pilton in Somerset.

A team of more than 1,000 temporary litter collectors employed by Bristol-based music festival recycling specialists Festival Recycling worked during the festival to collect recyclable items. More than 15,000 colour-coded bins were provided on the site to help 150,000 revellers separate and dispose of their recyclable items, including cardboard, paper, glass bottles, beer cans, and plastic bottles. The recyclables were then manually sorted at the festivals recycling barn before being transported off site to Perrys Recyclings depot near Yeovil to be baled and recycled. The depot remained open especially during Glastonbury weekend to process the huge amount of recyclable material from the festival.

Outlining the approach taken by the festival organisers, Perrys Recycling said in a statement: Glastonbury Festival has a strong commitment to reducing the events impact on the environment all caterers must provide compostable or reusable cutlery and plates, and some of the energy is provided by solar panels. The organisers are hoping that 60% of waste can be recycled this year and used the slogan Love the Farm, Leave No Trace to encourage visitors to dispose of their litter in the correct bins.

South Bucks extends Biffa collection contract

South Bucks district council has extended Biffas waste and recycling collection contract by a further seven years from 2014, taking the deal up to 2021.

The contract was originally awarded in November 2007, at a cost of 10.5 million, to Verdant (see letsrecycle.com story), which has since become part of Birmingham-based Biffa. It covers the weekly collection of dry recycling and refuse from 27,000 households, as well as cleansing over 400 kilometres of local streets and roads. Related services include graffiti, flyposter and flytipping removal. The company also runs a kerbside collection of garden and kitchen waste.

The Buckinghamshire local authoritys Environment portfolio holder, Councillor Bill Lidgate, said: Were under more pressure than ever to deliver efficient and high quality services to our residents, and have worked in partnership with Biffa to achieve future annual contract savings of around 150,000 per year. We are pleased that we can plan for future services with a long term and transparent contract in place.