Welsh Assembly launches bag campaign
The bi-lingual ‘Get carried away' campaign is set to be delivered through radio adverts and a website aimed at consumers and retailers, with the first 1,000 people who register with the site set to receive a re-usable bag. The WAG said that hundreds of people have already registered their support for the campaign in the first week and claimed that there were more coming in each day. The campaign comes ahead of MPs considering new powers over waste in Wales, which could see the introduction of a tax for single-use carrier bags (see letsrecycle.com story).
Environment, sustainability & housing minister, Jane Davidson, said: “By taking this simple step we can make a huge difference to the environmental damage we are inflicting on our planet. Customers have come to expect free plastic bags at checkouts, but the tide appears to be turning as shoppers look for more environmentally-friendly options.”
Premier Waste champions gypsum recycling
Premier Waste claims that it is managing to recycle 100% of gypsum waste it handles, including 25 tonnes since the Environment Agency introduced new regulations controlling the disposal of waste with a gypsum content on April 1 this year. And, the waste company claims that it has responded to the new regulations by implementing new systems across its household waste and recycling sites, including a skip at each recycling facility, to collect all gypsum-based waste for recycling.
Kevin Hawkes, commercial operations manager at Premier, said: “Our commercial customers are also being provided with means for collecting this waste stream separately, with a range of containers available dependent on their needs.”
Lambeth launches garden waste scheme
Lambeth council has started trialling a fortnightly garden waste collection scheme for homes in Streatham and Norwood.
The introduction of the system by the London council replaces an existing system which meant that residents wishing to recycle green waste would have to telephone the council and request a collection once their garden waste bags became full. However, under the new scheme residents can put out their green bag every fortnight on the same day as their normal rubbish collection. The scheme is to be piloted in parts of Streatham and Norwood and, if successful, could be introduced across the borough.
Councillor Sally Prentice, Lambeth council cabinet member for environment, said: “The council is working hard to make recycling easier and extend the range of recycling services available to residents, but it is down to all of us in Lambeth to think about how we can reduce the amount of waste we throw away, because ultimately we all pay if we don't.”
Telford & Wrekin adopts Recycle Now branding
The council's Rubbish and Recycling team has teamed up with the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to use its nationally recognised brand to promote the council's household waste collection service. Telford & Wrekin will now focus on the message ‘Recycle for Telford and Wrekin' and residents will already have received their new collection calendars, which are branded with the new logo, and will start to see newly branded refuse vehicles carrying out the collection service.
Dave Hanley, head of service for mobility & development at Telford & Wrekin, said: “By launching the ‘Recycle for Telford and Wrekin' campaign, we hope to encourage even more residents to recycle and to make recycling services instantly recognisable. We also wanted to use this as an opportunity to say thank you to residents for working so hard to recycle.”
Cory submits plans to extend St Helens landfill
Waste management company Cory Environmental has submitted a planning application to St Helens council in a bid to extend landfilling operations at its Lyme & Wood landfill site for three years to June 2012.
The London-based company hopes the application will enable the Lyme & Wood landfill site to be restored to the approved scheme for a country park. Cory said a comprehensive programme of public consultation has been undertaken with over 200 people attending exhibitions and also said it had modified its proposals to take account of the views expressed by the local community. The company has been operating the landfill site since 2003 and the current permission allows operations until June 2009.
Joanna Holland, planning manager at Cory Environmental, said: “Cory is continuing its work towards achieving the vision of a country park for all of the community's enjoyment and is progressing the restoration of the site, having already planted 95,000 trees to restore parts of the site to woodland and wildlife habitats.”
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