Thurrock blames suspended collections on ‘eco-mob’
Thurrock council announced yesterday (24 August) it had suspended garden waste collections for the rest of the week “because of the actions of protesters” near its waste depot.
Campaign group Just Stop Oil forced the closure of one Essex road and the imposition of traffic restrictions on another as they demanded the government end new oil and gas projects in the UK.
The restrictions affected refuse collection vehicles’ access to the site in West Thurrock where household waste is off-loaded for onward disposal, Thurrock says, creating issues for collections.
Cllr Andrew Jefferies, Thurrock’s cabinet member for environment, said: “The restrictions forced by this eco-mob mean that we cannot operate our waste collection service at full capacity because we cannot move the large heavy collection vehicles as we normally would.
“The protesters’ ham-fisted attempts to hamper the operation of oil depots means that our residents have to suffer disruption to their household waste collections, while they have had no significant impact on their intended targets.”
Thurrock says the protests will also “delay” residual waste and recycling collections.
Newham ‘bound by national negotiations’ over pay increases
Newham council says it cannot award staff in its waste and recycling service a retention payment of 10% of their annual basic salary as they are “bound by national negotiations”.
The union Unite says 130 loaders, sweepers and drivers employed by Newham will strike over pay between 27 August and 3 September.
Newham says the national offer would see a £2,229 increase for all its staff, which would equate to a 9.9% increase for waste operatives and 7.8% for HGV drivers.
The council said in a statement: “We have to work on a consistent and fair basis for all Newham staff, not just our staff in the waste and recycling service. We must take a council-wide approach on any changes to terms and conditions.
“We also need to take into account the council’s financial position and consider affordability in any solution we are able to agree with the unions.”
Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “It’s wrong that [our members] are paid almost £2,000 less than workers in neighbouring councils. The workers have Unite’s backing until they get a fair pay increase.”
CCTV helps Blaenau Gwent catch fly-tippers
Blaenau Gwent council says it has captured more than 20 fly-tipping offences since February using dedicated CCTV surveillance equipment.
In that time, the council has issued 35 offenders with fixed penalty notices worth a total of £14,000.
It says it is pursuing five more cases through the courts for offences including fly-tipping, allowing the escape of waste from a vehicle and failing to comply with a commercial duty of care.
Cllr Helen Cunningham, the council’s executive member for place and environment, said the fines should act as a “real warning” to those thinking about fly-tipping.
The penalties should also encourage those paying for the removal of waste to ensure the business or individual doing so is a registered waste carrier and they are taking it to a licensed waste management facility, Cllr Cunningham added.
She said: “CCTV is proving a valuable tool in capturing and gathering evidence and this should be a clear warning to anyone thinking of committing this offence that we are monitoring known hotspots and areas of concerns reported to us by members of the public.
“There is no excuse for illegally dumping waste and we will continue to have a zero-tolerance approach.”
BioCapital AD plants receive ADBA accreditation
Anaerobic digestion trade body ADBA has congratulated renewable energy investment company Bio Capital for receiving its accreditation at three of its plants.
Bio Capital was awarded the Anaerobic Digestion Certification Scheme (ADCS) certification at Barkip Biogas in North Ayrshire, Energen Biogas in North Lanarkshire and Warrens Emerald Biogas in County Durham.
ADBA launched the ACDS in 2017 to assesses safety, environmental and operational performance at AD plants.
The association said the accreditation was a mark of “efficiency, best practice and professionalism in anaerobic digestion operation”.
Tom Bateson, Bio Capital’s group head of SHEQ, said: “This accreditation gives us the confidence that we are attaining the highest standards in the industry and further shows Bio Capital’s vision for constant progression across our sites, always pushing forward to ensure we achieve absolute best practice across the board for our employees, our facilities and the environment.”
Bio Capital became the first AD company in the UK to achieve ADCS at its Granville Eco Park plant in Northern Ireland in 2018.
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