SEPA revamps Scottish waste data digest
The Waste Data Digest, which has been published annually since 2001, has been revamped to offer information on waste arisings, recovery and disposal, including data on municipal and industrial & commercial waste in Scotland, in a new way. The 2008 format will see the information presented in two forms: as an A5 booklet of around 40 pages entitled ‘Waste Data Digest 8 – Key Facts and Trends' which will cover Excel tables, graphs and texts on facts and trends; and ‘Waste Data Digest 8: Data Tables', which will be filled with Excel tables with detailed information on municipal and commercial and industrial waste data, in a move intended to make the data more accessible.
Bill Proctor, Environmental Data Unit manager at SEPA, said: “It is time to review the existing format in order to make a publication that is meaningful and in keeping with customers' needs. This is in addition to providing the ‘Waste Data Digest 8: Data Tables', which are still vital as they provide a more in-depth look at waste data in Scotland.”
Organics recycling firm crowned Dorset Company of the Year
The Parley-based company, which has the contract to handle the county's food, wood and green waste, won the title at the 2008 Dorset Business Awards, after judges said Eco stood out for “its clear vision and constant determination to push the boundaries of recycling technology to grow the business even further”. Earlier this year the company landed an eight-year contract with Dorset county council to handle 60,000 tonnes of food, wood and green waste generated annually in the county (see letsrecycle.com story).
The judges said: “The future looks secure with a recent major contract win to process Dorset's organic waste through until 2016. Still looking for more, the directors are now exploring bio-mass and anaerobic digestion technologies together with ways of enhancing their existing revenue streams.” And, Trelawney Dampney, managing director at ECO, said: “It is a huge tribute to the team who work hard and always strive for the best results.”
Council expands office recycling scheme
Babergh district council in Suffolk has purchased over 100 60 litre ‘Slim Jim' containers from container manufacturer Straight, as part of an expansion of its office recycling scheme.
The council is putting the new containers in its offices to collect paper, plastic bottles, cans, card, brown envelopes and general waste, and claims to have seen recycling rates rise by more than 25% since installing the first round of Slim Jim containers. The council claimed to now recycle between 75% and 80% of the office waste it produces, as part of the it's drive to create a more sustainable workplace.
Jonas Grist, waste strategy officer for Babergh district council, said, “Although we did have an office recycling system previously, the introduction of the Slim Jims and interchangeable colour coded lids with material stream labelling has made office recycling much easier, more convenient and hence even more effective.”
Disposables firm to produce 100% recycled refuse sack
The company, which has its UK headquarters in Shropshire, has trialled the use of recovered HDPE bottles as a substitute for the 10% fraction of virgin polymer in the production of its EcoMin sacks, which it supplies to supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and Morrisons. The EcoMin polymer is currently made up of 60% post consumer recyclate (PCR), 30% calcium carbonate compound and 10% virgin polythene, which the recycled plastic bottle is set to replace. The bulk of CeDo's EcoMin PCR is sourced from CeDo's own recycling plant in Geleen, Netherlands, where around 40,000 tonnes of Europe's agricultural silage wrap is converted into second-life plastics.
David Brookes, processing manager at CeDo, said: “The relative purity and process-ability of the HDPE has exceeded our expectations. We have moved to secure sufficient future sources of bottle grade plastics recyclate and expect to be recommending a switch to 100% use of PCR for EcoMin over the next three months.”
Skip-tracking technology developed by software partnership
Web-based vehicle tracking service Masternaut Three X and waste and recycling software supplier ISYS Interactive Systems have produced a system to track skip deliveries and collections.
Based on Derbyshire firm ISYS's existing Skipman software package, the use of Masternaut's global positioning-enabled mobile computers will help track skip movements and use wireless technology to generate job lists, which can be sent to the driver's PDAs (personal digital assistants). When drivers deliver or collect skips, the PDA can be used to update job lists and that information is then transmitted back to a base to immediately update the system and also sends new jobs to the drivers. Fleet managers can also see vehicle movements in real time and monitor the time of arrival on a customer's site, as well as when the vehicle left to go to the next job.
Richard Bowers, managing director at ISYS, said: “By partnering with Masternaut Three X to develop the mobile front-end of this solution we have extended the service capability of Skipman, which enables waste collection companies to significantly boost their customer service levels. The Masternaut real-time communications and vehicle tracking adds a significant edge to our offering.”
Register for free to comment