Recycling participation rises in Brent
In the four weeks before the compulsory measure came into effect on August 4, 6,400 people signed up to the green box recycling scheme compared to 10,000 people doing so during the whole of 2007. The move comes after the council announced that it would fine residents up to £1,000 for failing to do their bit (see letsrecycle.com story), and the council claims to already being seeing results, having collected 240 tonnes of recycling in the first week of August compared to an average of 150 tonnes a week in July.
Brent council leader, Cllr Paul Lorber, said: “The response has been fantastic. Anyone who is not already doing it should jump on the bandwagon. You can recycle two thirds of what you throw away, and it's easy using your green box.”
Edinburgh Festival to trial on-street recycling
The Services for the Communities Division is hoping to cater for visitors and residents alike, at a time when the population of the Scottish capital almost doubles, with on-street recycling facilities in the city's High Street and at The Mound. The new bins will have four compartments and be able to recycle paper, cans, plastic bottles and dispose of non-recyclable litter, with the intention of increasing access to recycling facilities.
Environment leader Cllr Robert Aldridge, said: “The festival is a great time to trial these bins as we have to put more resources in place to support the swell in population.”
Carpet recycling firm expands capacity
Britain's first recycler of carpets from local authority civic amenity sites has extended its capacity with new equipment.
Wiltshire-based company Greenback Recycling, which is owned by the managing director of household and commercial waste recycling firm Green Recycling Group Ltd, has installed shredding and baling facilities in order to be able to handle different carpet types. The company, which recently moved to a new site in Melksham, is now capable of treating carpets taken to civic amenity sites by domestic consumers and commercial customers such as retailers and flooring contractors.
Jerry Green, Greenback managing director, said: “Our new shredding machine will bring our capacity up to 300 tonnes per month of carpets and allow us to take in commercial carpets as well as domestic carpets.”
Fareham centre celebrates second anniversary
Since opening in 2006 the centre, which is managed by Hippowaste, has enabled trades people no longer able to use the local Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) to dispose of and recycle significant volumes and types of waste. Last year 16,000 tonnes of waste was collected at the site, with 80% being recycled, while some materials from the site have been rescued for reuse, such as garden furniture now being used for staff breaks.
James Bennett, chief executive of Hippowaste, said: “The Recycling Centre has proved an invaluable service for this sector and we are also open to the domestic user who needs to dispose of excessive household and/or garden waste.”
Recycling boxes to be recycled in Warwickshire
Warwickshire county council is offering residents in the Stratford area the opportunity to recycle their recycling boxes as they are phased out for the introduction of a new collection service.
The black recycling boxes are due to be replaced with a three-wheeled bin system and so Warwickshire, in partnership with Stratford-on-Avon district council and waste management recycler H.W Martin, is offering residents the chance to recycle them at household recycling centres in Burton Farm, Wellesbourne, Shipston and Stockon. The reclaimed boxes are then sent to plastics recycler JFC Plastics in nearby Ettington where they are washed, granulated and recycled into drainage pipes.
Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire's portfolio holder for the environment, said: “The recycling boxes are a valuable resource and it is essential that we treat our waste responsibly and divert as much as we can from landfill.”
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