Business review for AbitibiBowater
The company formed from Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater Inc (see letsrecycle.com story) is to develop action plans for achieving a series of business priorities, inclusive of sales and marketing plans.
These priorities are to realise $250 million (about £120m) in annualized synergies by the end of the first quarter of 2009, to reduce debt by $1 billion (£475m) over the next three years and to provide “a broad range of forest products and best-in-class customer service, with an unsurpassed commitment to environmental sustainability”.
Axion to trial PVC floor recycling scheme
The six-month trials will look at both offcuts from the installation of new PVC floors as well as uplifted end-of-life flooring material. The company, which has a recycling plant in Bramhall, Greater Manchester, said it is working with three leading flexible flooring manufacturers on the project, who have agreed to produce flooring products using the recycled PVC.
Jane Gardner, project co-ordinator at Axion Recycling explained: “We shall be visiting installers working on major floor projects, whether it's a big department store, hospital or school, to set up the best options for sustainable collection systems. Depending on where they're based and local collection facilities, these will either be bulk bags or cages to store the offcuts and old flooring material before it is sent for recycling.”
WRG to set carbon emissions benchmarks
Waste Recycling Group (WRG) emitted the equivalent of 1,175,256 tonnes of carbon dioxide during 2005/06 – but is determined to improve the performance.
This was its declaration as it revealed it is now including carbon benchmarks within its corporate responsibility reports. The first “draft calculation” of its impact is appearing in its eighth report. Spanish-owned WRG explained its calculation as an estimate of gross carbon dioxide emissions minus emissions avoided by the company generating energy-from-waste, as well as the carbon “locked up” in its landfill sites. The company also discounts plant-based material within waste handled, which it sees as merely part of the natural biological cycle.
Graham Watson, WRG's Environment Manager, explained: “There is increasing interest in businesses being able to understand and quantify the overall carbon impact of their activities. We believe that WRG, through the services that we provide, already brings a positive environmental benefit to society, but we clearly also release carbon dioxide and it's right that we try to evaluate and minimise this impact.”
42 councils using RFID bin system
The system uses software and RFID technology from Bradford-based automatic identification specialists Concept Labelling Solutions (CLS) as well as handheld mobile computers from the company's electronics partner CipherLab, which has offices in Leeds. It allows councils to record the weight of household bins along with the time of collections to show how much householders are recycling.
Mark Stothers, managing director of CLS said: “Local authorities are encouraging and implementing recycling schemes all over the UK, but it is imperative that they are able to measure just how many households are participating in these schemes and how much waste they are actually recycling.”
Augean acquires Bristol liquid waste firm
Hazardous waste management company Augean plc has acquired a waste liquid recycling company based in Bristol for £5.8 million.
The company, RNA Investments Ltd, operates with the trading name Chemical Recoveries Ltd at a 3.4 acre site in Avonmouth. It specializes in recycling contaminated industrial solvents, oils and water. Known as Chemrec, the business had £5.1 million revenue and made around £400,000 in profit each year. It is to become part of Augean's treatment division.
Peter Worlledge, chief executive of Augean plc, commented: “This acquisition will enhance Augean's existing service capacity and geographical reach in the treatment and recovery of hazardous wastes. The acquisition is further demonstration of Augean's strategy to become the leading provider of hazardous waste solutions in the UK.”
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