London waste board unveils £37m business plan
At a meeting held this morning (February 12), the Board – which was formed to provide a strategic steer on waste in the capital – explained that it intends to allocate £37 million to campaigns, infrastructure development, administration and a European fund matching scheme to support sustainable projects in urban areas. The Board expects to allocate funds to five projects over the next twelve months and will be inviting expressions of interest between February 23 and April 1 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Paul de Rivas, chief operating officer of the Board, said: “We have allocated £37 million for 2009/10; what we are looking for at the moment is expressions of interest for projects. The deadline will be April 1 for review at May Board meeting. Throughout the year we will be reviewing further expressions of interest to develop a portfolio of proposed projects.”
WEEE recycling points introduced in Swale
The facilities, which have been installed at Sainsbury's and ASDA, will enable Swale residents to bring small electronic and electrical items, such as hairdryers, toasters, clocks, drills and video cameras, to the 1,100 litre recycling bank at either of the stores. SWEEEP – which operates a WEEE recycling facility in Sittingbourne – said that it would upgrade the containers to include a separate collection point for batteries upon greater clarification for the Batteries Directive being unveiled. The partnership arrangement is a three-month trial, and if it is successful the council intends to expand it to other parts of Swale.
Councillor Cindy Davis, Swale borough council's executive portfolio holder for the environment, said, “We are delighted to be working in partnership with an innovative business like SWEEEP to make Swale cleaner and greener for everyone. Swale Borough Council cares passionately about the environment and is proud to be the first council to bring this collection method to Kent.”
Perrys Recycling depot hit by blaze
Somerset-based paper recycling specialist Perrys Recycling was hit by a fire at its Yeovil depot on Tuesday evening (February 10).
Firefighters from both Somerset and Dorset tackled the blaze at the paper recycling company's Marston Magna depot after a fire broke out at around 9.30pm in a paper storage bay. The fire was contained within one storage bay and did not affect other parts of the depot and a spokeswoman for Perrys claimed that there was not believed to be any suspicious circumstances leading up to the fire and the company is reviewing the machinery and baling equipment in the affected storage bay.
The company explained that other recycling areas and the company offices are operating normally, and reassured customers that all three of the firm's facilities in the South West are currently up and running.
Veolia to host breakfast briefings on waste
The waste management firm is set to hold nine Breakfast Briefings to talk about existing and future legislation, local perspectives, impact on the environment and financial implications, as well as discussing landfill diversion, carbon footprints and recycling. The first of nine planned briefings is set to take place on February 17 in Sheffield from 8.30am to 10.30am with expert speakers presenting on the day.
Kevin Hurst, marketing and communications director at Veolia, said: ‘'Waste management is one of the most highly regulated sectors in the UK and with a further increase in landfill tax from April this year it is becoming increasingly important to understand how waste costs can be minimised, particularly in these ‘credit crunch times.''
Reusable bag scheme to target Camden businesses
Camden council has introduced a reusable bag service to encourage businesses in the London borough to recycle more paper.
Having started the scheme at the beginning of this month, the council intends to use the reusable blue bags service to target businesses in the south of the borough which currently lack space for bin storage to recycle paper and card. The scheme, which costs £1.01 per bag collection, acts an extension of the council's existing commercial recycling service and the council has said that it would consider rolling out borough-wide, should it prove popular.
Councillor Chris Knight, executive member for environment, said: “Camden council is committed to increasing the amount of rubbish that is recycled and this excellent scheme will help us achieve that. This is a simple and easy solution which will help businesses who told us they wanted to recycle but didn't have the space for bin storage.”
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