Greenstar acquires Yorkshire recycling firm
M&B Haulage and Waste Paper Company, which employs 70 people, predominantly recovers and recycles pre and post consumer paper and cardboard, while also operating as a waste and recycling collection service to the industrial and commercial sector. Irish-owned Greenstar hopes the move will help it to expand across the UK following its take over of Waste Exchange Services in March, and plans to build a materials recycling facility in Birmingham (see letsrecycle.com story).
Ian Wakelin, Greenstar UK managing director, said: “Greenstar is committed to developing a recycling infrastructure throughout the UK and continues to lead the way in providing recycling led waste management solution. This acquisition cements our commitment and complements the recent announcements of investment.”
Warwickshire market for waste-derived fuel
Cement company Cemex has been granted permission to trial refuse-derived fuel at its cement kiln in Warwickshire.
The Environment Agency (EA) has granted permission for the firm to replace up to 30% of the coal used to fuel its Rugby Works with “climafuel” – a paper-like fuel produced from residual household waste. Cemex is already trialling Climafuel at its plants in Barrington in Cambridgeshire and South Ferriby in North Lincolnshire, as a replacement for fossil fuels (see letsrecycle.com story ).
David Hudson, EA Environment Manager for Warwickshire said: “We are happy that a trial should go ahead, subject to tight controls that we have placed upon the company. When the trial is over Cemex will have to present a further case for continued burning for our consideration.”
Green push for corrugated packaging
The company has joined a “Corrugated Recycles” campaign launched by the Confederation of Paper Industries in March by encouraging its entire customer base to agree to the inclusion of the logo on all new or existing packaging. The logo is already recognised throughout Japan, the US and the Far East and Smurfit kappa believes it is important the logo reaches the same level of recognition in the UK. Already over 75% of its customers have signed up to the campaign.
The company said: “Around 84% of all corrugated boxes are recycled in the UK and yet the industry has done little to promote its green credentials to date. That is why the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) has launched the Corrugated Recycles Campaign and Smurfit Kappa UK is doing its utmost to fully support the initiative.”
Funding boost for construction waste recycling
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has concluded a £2.3 million funding round to support aggregate recycling in the UK.
Recipients include Ringway Infrastructure Services – which received £147,000 to process highway material on behalf of Worcestershire county council, and Southampton-based Raymond Brown Eco Bio Limited – which was granted £335,000 to wash and grade aggregates from construction and demolition waste. WRAP hopes that the money will help to increase aggregate recycling in the UK by an additional 751,000 tonnes a year, making the construction industry more sustainable.
Mike Falconer Hall, WRAP's aggregates capital project manager, said: “We are already seeing the impact the funding has made to these companies and we now look forward to seeing similar levels of success in future projects.”
Plastic recycling system unveiled for waste electronics
Following four years of development, the company has developed a system to break down the plastic content of household devices into pieces the size of cornflakes before refining them into individual polymers. Sims plans to roll out the new technology across its eight European Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) recycling facilities in the coming months – which it hopes will help it to exceed targets for recycling electronics set by the WEEE Directive.
Graham Davy, UK managing director of Sims Recycling Solutions, said: “The plastics from WEEE are often contaminated with heavy metals or brominated flame retardants and conventional techniques do not allow the separation of the hazardous substances, making the whole recycling process very difficult. The new technology we have pioneered means that this contamination issue can finally be addressed and now we can produce flakes that are 99 per cent unmixed.”
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