Highland council confirms plans to limit sofas at some HWRCs
Highland council has confirmed that from 15 January 2024, it will no longer accept waste upholstered domestics seating (WUDS) at nine of its 21 household waste and recycling centres.
This follows guidance published by SEPA which comes into effect from January, which bans the landfilling of WUDS over fears they contain persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
From 8 January 2024, Highland council said WUDs will go into a separate container at larger recycling centres, but the nine smaller sites do not have the capacity. Residents can instead use the council’s bulky waste service.
The council previously sent WUDs to landfill, but recently struck a £930,000 deal with Levenseat. Under the contract, WUDS containing POPs collected from recycling centres will be transported to the transfer stations before processed at Levenseat’s energy from waste facility in Lanark (see letsrecycle.com story).
Councillor Graham Mackenzie, chair of communities and place committee, said he would like to reassure the public about POPs in their homes.
“The risk of exposure to POPs from upholstered furniture is low. Any risk can be greatly reduced by repairing rips and tears as soon as possible. The potential for pollution and harm increases at the waste disposal stage when furniture is broken up for disposal. Please try to avoid breaking up furniture that is being taken to Household Waste Recycling Centres.”
Geminor establishes waste treatment company
Geminor has announced that it has established Risavika Gjenvinning which will “develop new technology solutions for the treatment and recovery of waste from petrol and petrol biproducts”.
Research and development manager Henry Magne Haakstad said: “We plan to develop environmental technology for the treatment of oil-related waste such as drill cuttings. The aim is to help the oil and gas industry to move this type of specialized waste higher up the waste hierarchy. There is currently a big potential for the reuse of these contaminated masses,”
The company is situated in Tananger on the west coast of Norway.
General manager of Risavika Gjenvinning Bjorn Haaland said : “There is a need for new and more sustainable treatment solutions for special waste from the petroleum industry. The companies that are active in drilling operations need better environmental solutions for the processing of drill cuttings. Our methods will reduce energy use both in the processing and the transport of the special waste.”
Suez announces support for Princess Alice Hospice
Suez has announced that in it is supporting the Princess Alice Hospice this year in collaboration with Surrey county council.
Between 12-16 January, volunteers from the Princess Alice Hospice will be traversing Surrey, collecting Christmas trees from residents. Following this, the trees will be taken to Surrey county council’s transfer stations, managed by Suez, where they will undergo recycling.
Gareth Swain, Surrey regional manager for Suez said: “We’re pleased to be partnering with Princess Alice Hospice on this fantastic initiative to raise vital funds for the charity. Every year a huge number of Christmas trees are put out by residents for collection following the festive period, so we’re pleased we can do our bit in Surrey to support the community with recycling, and Princess Alice Hospice with their fundraising.”
Doncaster launches ‘check before you chuck’ campaign with focus on driver safety
City of Doncaster council has launched a battery recycling campaign with a focus on the safety of refuse crews
The council said carelessly discarded batteries caused a total of four fires in Doncaster waste and recycling facilities and refuse collection vehicles throughout 2023 and parents planning a pre-Christmas toy clear-out are being encouraged to ‘check before they chuck’ to ensure that figure does not increase.
As well as treating batteries “with respect at home and never leaving objects such as e-scooters or mobile phones charging unsupervised overnight”, people can help keep waste crews safe by taking a few simple precautions provided by the council:
- Separate Batteries: Before discarding any electronic items, always check whether there is a battery and remove it from the item
- Use Battery Recycling Programs: Any retailer selling batteries or items with batteries should also offer battery recycling programs, The Government says that any shop selling more than 32kg of batteries a year (that’s about one pack of 4 AA batteries per day) must offer recycling as well
- Use your local HWRC: Household waste recycling centres provide battery recycling facilities. Save old batteries and electrical items for your visit to the tip
City of Doncaster council’s cabinet member for waste, Cllr Mark Houlbrook, said: “We can’t stress enough the importance of keeping batteries separate to your waste and recycling. Fires caused by batteries, which can be found in modern devices such as phones and laptops, as well as scooters and e-cigarettes, put an enormous strain on the fire services and our crews. Please follow the safety advice around using these products to ensure you and your loved ones remain safe.”
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