Peterborough launches business recycling service
The service will help local businesses comply with the pre-treatment regulations and save money on Landfill Tax, the council said. They will be able to sign up to have glass bottles and jars, office paper, newspapers and magazines, steel and aluminium cans, cardboard and plastic bottles recycled. The council has part-funded the upgrade of the MRF that saw the sorting plant double its capacity to 90,000 tonnes per annum.
Councillor Graham Murphy, Peterborough city council's cabinet member for environment and community safety, said: “Businesses in Peterborough have a big part to play in reducing the city's environmental impact. This new service helps them to comply with the new government regulations on business waste whilst increasing recycling rates and reducing the amount of waste that ends up in local landfill.”
Think tank calls for green products tax
The report – entitled Good product, bad product? – makes the case for product levies, stating that that “very little” government policy is encouraging products to be designed to be more environmentally-friendly. It suggests replacing VAT with a green tax that fosters “eco-design” – starting with packaging.
Julie Hill, Green Alliance's waste policy expert, said: “The market still brings forward products that conflict with the government's own environmental goals, from appliances that can't be taken off stand-by to packaging that can't be recycled. And without the right price signals this pattern is set to continue. Other European countries do it so let's tax bads – not goods.”
London firms signing up to WEEE service
A company in London has now signed 200 businesses to a new service collecting waste electrical and electronic equipment and batteries for recycling.
Mayfair-based company First Mile received a £95,000 grant to fund three new collection vehicles and logistics management equipment from London Remade's Enhance Capital Fund, and launched the service in December 2007. Since then, it has been recruiting around 10 clients each day. The businesses are given a box of five WEEE sacks at £25 each, which can each hold up to 25kg, and one for batteries at £20 each. Bulky waste can also be collected with the right sticker on each item, again costing £25 each.
Bruce Bratley, managing director, First Mile, said: “We want to get every SME in London recycling by 2010. That may sound a tall order, but it's easy with First Mile's services. It is incredibly important that every business takes responsibility for the waste it produces. They must stop just thinking it's a good idea to recycle and take action now.”
Residents responding to Swansea prize draw
The initiative designed to increase participation in the city's kerbside recycling services has been developed by the council and steel reprocessor Corus. Residents attaching special address tags to their green recycling bags are automatically entered into the grand prize draw to win 12 months free from paying Council Tax. The draw has also seen four bi-monthly winners awarded can crushers and Champagne flutes made from recycled glass.
Trish Flint, Swansea council's recycling team leader said: “The scheme has been really successful with thousands of residents entering every draw. It shows that our residents are utilising our kerbside recycling scheme, helping us to reduce the amount of household waste sent to landfill.” Nicola Bennett, communications manager at Corus, added: “It is very encouraging to see Swansea residents taking part in the scheme.”
Bolton offers extra bins for paper and card
Bolton residents are being offered an optional extra 240-litre bin to allow them to recycle more paper and card.
The beige containers are a response to feedback from householders saying they need a greater capacity to recycle their paper and card beyond their existing clear sacks. If requested, the new bins will be collected fortnightly along with other recyclable material. Residents in Bolton, who collectively recycled 29.26% of their household waste last year, will soon see leaflets dropping through their letterboxes explaining how to get the new bins. A series of roadshows in April will also provide information on the new service.
Bolton's executive member for “cleaner, greener, safer”, Cllr Elaine Sherrington, said: “Residents in Bolton already work hard to recycle their rubbish but we yet again are looking to make recycling easier. We hope that providing the option for households to have a bin for paper and card will increase the amount recycled, and reduce the amount of paper being blown onto the roads.”
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