News in Brief

Wider mobile use could save waste industry 12m a year

According to the Environment Agency (EA), around 23 million waste transfer notes are produced a year in the UK with around 50 million pieces of paper being stored in filing cabinets and boxes at any one time.

Under UK waste legislation, businesses have a duty of care to ensure they produce, store and transport their waste without harming the environment. As part of this, they must fill in the waste transfer notes to show the waste is properly disposed of and keep the record for two years.

However, head of workforce management application MyMobileWorkers, Graham Whistance, who is also a member of the EA business advisory group for the national electronic duty of care (EDOC) programme, believes collecting this data electronically could save the industry millions.

Mr Whistance has welcomed the EAs EDOC programme, which is set to move waste data collection to an online system to monitor the waste journey from production and collection to transportation, treatment and disposal.

He said: If all of the 23 million waste transfer notes were recorded on the MyMobileWorkers app, we predict it could potentially save 12 million in a year. This breaks down into saving 2.3 million a year on paper, 8m in the administration time to process the jobs onto a computer and another 2 million in allowing 10%for inputting errors.

He added: Waste companies need to be a step ahead of the game now because the benefits of digital waste transfer notes are clear- being able to collect real time data on waste movements, for improved data capture and for auditing purposes – all resulting in less administration time.

Wastecyle benefits from 1m investment in Leicester

East Midlands-based recycling firm Wastecycle is benefitting from investing 1 million in a new waste processing hall in Leicester.

The firm opened the hall at its site on Wesley Street in August 2012, and is now receiving, sorting and saving industrial and building waste from Leicester-based drinks cans manufacturer Crown Bevcan after winning a contract in November 2012.

Wastecycles hall is also now handling waste from UK-wide company Miller Construction following a contract agreement in November 2012.

The two companies together create around 50 tonnes of waste overall each week. Of this, Wastecycle is currently recycling 97% to create new materials and products.
The facility processes waste from local authorities, universities, businesses, households and transport operators.

In total, Wastecycle processes more than 333,000 tonnes of waste and material through its recycling facilities, of which more than 90% is recycled and recovered.

MBA Polymers appoints new commercial director

Plastics recycling firm MBA Polymers has announced the appointment of Roger Hynes as its commercial director.

Mr Hynes has commercial management experience in several industries as well as a track record in delivering sales growth in emerging markets. According to MBA, Mr Hynes was a key part of delivering rapid global growth for CMC Markets and he helped grow the company from a start-up to a business worth in excess of 1billion in ten years.

Previously he was a main board director of financial firm CMC Markets, managing director of CMC EMEA and a director of CMC Australia and Asia. He has also run his own consultancy.

Mr Hynes said: My task will be to accelerate our business growth. MBA Polymers is widely recognised for its technology and capability in separating complex waste streams and is a business that is poised for growth. Im absolutely delighted to be joining at this critical time.

Nigel Hunton, MBA Polymers chief executive, said: Roger has wide experience of growing businesses in new markets and were delighted that he has come onboard.

SLR working on three AD projects in UK

Oxford-based environmental consultancy SLR is working with investors on three AD projects in the UK.

At one of the AD sites, in Darlington, SLR is acting as project monitor for HSBC Bank during the 12-month build of the 6.6 million Emerald Biogas facility. On completion the plant will process 53,000 tonnes of food and agricultural waste per year and produce 1.4MW of electricity for the national grid.

SLR is also working as the independent certifier to the funders for the 18-month construction of a 21 million plant in Dagenham. The facility is designed to compost 19,000 tonnes per year of co-mingled, compostable garden and kitchen waste as well as 30,000 tonnes per year of source segregated household and commercial food waste in an AD unit. It will also produce 1.4MW electricity for the national grid.

Construction is now underway at both sites, with the Darlington plant due to commence commissioning in July 2013 and handover of the Dagenham plant is scheduled for March 2014.

On top of this, SLR is currently providing technical due diligence on another planned AD facility in Teesside, which will have the capacity to handle 100,000 tonnes of waste per year.

SLRs Peter McKendry said: We believe the next two to three years will be critical in the delivery of a number of waste management schemes that have been in development for some time. The fact that we are now providing consultancy services both to developers and to scheme funders demonstrates the high regard that our expertise in new waste technologies is held.

Kirk Group appoints new chief executive

Liquid and biogas storage specialist Kirk Group has announced the appointment of Bill Leach as its new chief executive.Mr Leach will have overall responsibility for the strategic development and performance of the Group, which is made up of UK-based Kirk Environmental as well as Biodome Asia and Biodome International.

A University of Manchester graduate, Mr Leach has more than 20 years of experience in construction, civil engineering and utilities. Starting his career as a site manager, he most recently worked as group managing director for the water division of a FTSE 250 Support Services business where he trebled turnover and profit over a five-year period, according to Kirk.

Mr Leach commented: I am looking forward to getting to know the team behind Kirk Group and working with them on moving the business forward. Kirk is very well placed within the various industries it operates and the services it provides are industry-leading. I am excited with this new challenge and look forward to the business achieving further sustainable growth in the near future.

Andrew Peace, managing director of Kirk Group, said: Bills appointment gives KIRK a level of experience and expertise that will bring significant benefits to our employees, customers and supplier. With his support we have formulated solid plans for the development of the business both in the UK and overseas, and expect substantial growth in the next few years.