News in Brief

Ambassadors spread Commonwealth recycling message

Zero Waste Scotland worked in partnership with Festival 2014 organisers to recruit over 80 recycling ambassadors to help the huge crowds flocking to sites across Glasgow to separate their waste to ensure as much as possible was recycled.

The recycling ambassadors were stationed at recycling points at the Glasgow Green Live Zone and Kelvingrove Bandstand sites, which hosted a wide range of music, arts and sporting events alongside the Commonwealth Games.

Ambassadors helped visitors to separate paper, card, plastic, food waste and compostable packaging from general waste, so that the right things go in the right bins to maximise the amount that can be recycled. The volunteers came from a wide range of backgrounds, with students, retirees, staff from Zero Waste Scotland and waste management firm Viridor and members of the public.

Scotlands Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Richard Lochhead, visited the Glasgow Green site to meet the volunteers and thank them for their efforts.

He said: With these volunteers on hand to champion recycling its never been easier to do the right thing and put waste into the correct bin. Recycling helps avoid burying waste in landfill, where it can release harmful greenhouse gases. Sorting our waste for recycling helps to realise its value, making our economy more circular. The Recycling Ambassadors are doing an excellent job and Id like to thank them for giving up their own time to help make Glasgow 2014 as sustainable as possible.

Londoners targeted by re-use campaign

Nearly one million Londoners are being targeted by a campaign aimed at taking unwanted household items, refurbishing them and giving them a new home.

The London Re-use Network (LRN) has announced that it will target five boroughs – Lambeth, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Wandsworth, and the City of London – with information aimed at boosting the amount of furniture and white goods donated for re-use, diverting good quality material away from landfill or incineration.

LRN uses refurbished items to pass on to low income, recently housed families at low cost so that they can turn their new flat or house into a comfortable home. Re-use also helps the Network provide volunteering and training opportunities in retail, administration, and waste management, helping people gain the skills they need to get back into the job market. It extends the life of an item, reducing CO2 emissions, while minimising the need to use up more raw materials. And it means donors can be sure that none of their items will be fly-tipped.

The campaign, supported by 55,000 from the capital’s waste chiefs at the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) – channelled through WRAP, the national waste minimisation body – will feature leaflets, posters, online and social media marketing, as well as liveried vehicles and articles in borough magazines for residents.

Callers to a special hotline number – 020 3142 8506 – can arrange collection of unwanted household items from inside their own homes to prevent them getting damaged by the weather. Items which can be collected include beds, sofas, tables and chairs, washing machines, cookers, fridges, and bicycles.

LRN managing director, Charles Craft, said: “We want residents in these five boroughs to really get involved in the re-use revolution through this campaign.

Imperial Tobacco reduces waste to landfill

Imperial tobacco, one of the worlds largest cigarette companies, has teamed up with waste management firm FCC Environment to reduce waste sent from landfill at its Nottingham site.

The three-year, 750,000 contract, which started in November 2013, is centred on Imperial Tobaccos manufacturing plant in Nottingham which produces nearly 5,000 tonnes of waste per year. This includes a variety of materials such as paper and cardboard, metal, wood as well as tobacco and general waste.

Imperial Tobacco aims to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill to less than 5% during the first year of working with FCC Environment. FCC Environment will also offset Imperial Tobaccos carbon emissions by planting around 900 trees in the Nottingham area.

FCC Environment collects waste from Imperial Tobacco and it either goes to a materials recycling facility (MRF) in Derbyshire for reprocessing or an energy from waste (EfW) plant in Nottingham to generate electricity and heat; both sites are operated by FCC Environment. The company also guarantees the secure and confidential management of waste materials from the manufacture of tobacco products.

Andrea Dudley, Safety Health and Environmental Advisor at Imperial Tobacco Nottingham, said: FCC Environment provides a perfect waste management package for our Nottingham facility as it is tailored to our needs. FCC Environments account team know the site inside out and have worked with us from the tender process through to delivering the contract as a partner. The level of service we receive is fantastic; it really does make my job as waste manager easier.

MP tours VEKA Recycling site

Kent-based VEKA Recycling hosted a visit from local MP Gareth Johnson who praised the PVC recyclers progress in expanding its services and products, while providing growing employment opportunities for local people.

He toured the Swanscombe processing site, which has grown from employing 10 to 40 people since it was established seven years ago.

Mr Johnson, the Conservative MP for Dartford, said: We can be proud in Dartford that we have companies like VEKA Recycling leading the way with these techniques.

The environmental benefits from recycling are well known, but the procedures used by VEKA Recycling are also providing great employment opportunities locally too, he added.

Last years significant investment by VEKA in extrusion equipment to produce 100% recycled PVC-U pellet and micronised PVC-U (pulver) from end-of-life PVC-U windows for use in new goods also created extra jobs. VEKA Recycling is part of the VEKA Recycling Group.

Simon Scholes, business administration manager for VEKA Recycling, said: In welcoming Gareth to our facility, his visit also provided the perfect opportunity to highlight the issues facing our industry, such as changes to REACH legislation and their impact on plastics recycling in particular.

Business grows for Wastesavers training arm

The training arm of Welsh third sector recycling group Wastesavers is celebrating handing over its 150th successful qualification for the year.

WS Training says that demand for its training in recycling and environmental awareness has more than doubled from 60 qualifications completed last year.

WS Training is part of the Wastesavers group. Wastesavers are a community, Third Sector recycling group who run a range of services in SE Wales. Primarily we run the kerbside collection of recyclables in partnership with Newport city council as well as operating recycling services for businesses in Newport, Monmouthshire and Cardiff.

The 150th qualification, a Foundation Apprenticeship in Sustainable Recycling Activities, was presented to Cardiff city council employee Dan Parker. Dan works at the Wedal Road Civic Amenity site, helping the public recycle their waste and ensuring the site is run efficiently and safely.

After receiving his award Mr Parker said: I really enjoyed the course; great company and a great assessor! Im really looking forward to Level 3 and I can now start to think about applying for supervisor positions within the council.

Dan will be starting a full Waste Supervisor apprenticeship this autumn.

Phil Dale, who tutored Dan added: Dans been great to work with. He really pushed himself with this award and Ive seen a real boost in his ambition and confidence over the last 12 months. Its also helped that Cardiff city council and Dans work colleagues have also been very supportive.