Welsh community recyclers reveal diversion achievements
According to Cylch, the Wales Community Recycling Network, its members helped divert 36,373 tonnes of material from landfill between April 2006 and March 2007. Of this, 28,258 tonnes was recycled, 4,207 tonnes was composted and 3,908 tonnes was re-used. The organisation claimed its members directly helped 52,000 low-income households, in supplying them with affordable household items.
With an annual turnover of about £16.1 million – of which £5.7 million came through sales and other income-generating activities – the sector employed 658 full time and part time staff and supported 952 people classified as “disadvantaged in the work place”. “The figures show that community re-use and recycling initiatives are not only helping tackle the landfill crisis but also directly helping people on low incomes and some of the more vulnerable members of the community,” said Mal Williams, Cylch chief executive.
“Greenest” school launches recycling campaign
Last week, award-winning pupils from Twydall Junior School helped launch Medway council's “Think Blue not Black” campaign, a bid to get households using their blue recycling boxes and bags for recyclable materials, rather than their black mixed waste sacks. Since Friday (January 25), households in Medway have been told they will not receive free black sacks from the council for non-recyclable rubbish and will have to buy their own. Those on the blue bag recycling scheme will, however, receive a new roll of blue recycling bags every 13 weeks.
Ginny Wilson, acting Headteacher at Twydall Junior School, which was named as the county's greenest school by the Medway Walking Bus project for recycling high levels of waste said she was pleased to endorse the campaign. She said: “I am very proud of the school's green credentials. We believe in educating our children about the importance of recycling and living a greener life, both in school and at home. We have recycling bins in our classrooms, which we encourage staff and pupils to use to help us recycle paper.”
Hillingdon launches re-use bank at CA site
The London borough of Hillingdon has launched its very first “re-use bank” that will allow residents to deposit items suitable to be used again.
The special “scrap store” at the New Years Green Lane civic amenity site in Harefield will allow items like reusable DIY materials, tools, windows, doors, fixtures and fittings as well as kitchen implements, furnishings, gardening items and toys to be dropped off to be used again. Residents will be able to help themselves to anything available for no charge, while the bank will also be emptied on a regular basis, the council said.
Kathy Sparks, deputy director of environment and consumer protection at Hillingdon, said: “This is an excellent idea and I hope that residents will take items which they no longer need, but are in good condition, to the bank instead of just throwing them away.”
Crusher to make recycling easier for licensed premises
The Agri-mac BC bottle crusher can be purchased, rented or leased from £25 per week. It runs off standard 240v electricity and accepts all sizes, colours and shapes of bottles according to Oswestry-based Agritel, which supplies industrial packaging, business stationery and pallet wrappers as well as recycling equipment to companies in the Wales and West Midlands regions. It can crush up to 60 small lager bottles in a minute – about two tonnes per hour.
John Morgan, sales director at Agritel said: “Some bars and clubs are paying up to £300 a month for their glass to be collected. As a result of crushing bottles into 12mm cullets, the Agri-mac provides an 85% reduction in the volume of glass to be stored prior to collection. Where collections are charged by volume as opposed to weight, these significant cost and space savings have already generated a great deal of interest in the product.”
Sapphire raises profile via transport fleet
The specialist recycling materials haulage firm has brought into service three new Mercedes vehicles for the 16-strong fleet used by Sapphire, which will sport Sapphire branding and its 08452 60 20 40 hotline. Baxter's moves around 35,000 tonnes a year of whole tyres and tyre chips for Sapphire – which converts used tyres to chips to be used as fuel for cement kilns across the UK. The new vehicles will also use a “walking floor”, which allows loads to be moved more easily and safely in and out of the vehicles.
Ryan Mifflin, head of sales and marketing for Sapphire, said: “Not only does the branding raise our profile – we've already received many sales leads from the existing trucks – the ability of Baxter's to drop off tyres and collect chips in same truck is more efficient for us and our customers. It's also good for the environment, as it prevents empty journeys.”
Staffordshire-based Sapphire was formed as a joint venture by tyre manufacturer Michelin UK and cement company Lafarge in 2001.
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