WEEE Advisory Body hunts for new members
The recruitment process for the vacancies comes as two existing members of the board – Phil Conran, who previously ran Biffa's WEEE compliance scheme and John Morrell, of consultancy Oakdene Hollins – leave their posts and the body looks to increase the size of its membership from 12 to 14.
A spokeswoman for BIS told letsrecycle.com that it was recruiting for the posts, which are set to begin in January 2010 and will last for between two and four years, in a bid to “broaden the experience” on the Body. The department said it was looking for people with knowledge in areas such as local authority waste management, electrical equipment manufacturing and product reuse and recycling. Interested parties are advised to contact Robert.Freeman@bis.gsi.gov.uk, ahead of an October 5 closing date for applications.
Global Renewables appoints new chief executive
After receiving qualifications at both the University of Newcastle and Sheffield University, Mr Hopkins worked for a number of companies across Europe, including Esso, ICI and MAN, before returning to the UK to eventually head up Cleanaway's UK business. He then left the waste sector to run his own food manufacturing firm before returning to take up the helm at Advanced Plasma Power.
Commenting on his expectations for the new role, Mr Hopkins said: “To be CEO of one of the largest waste PFI contracts in the UK has to be an exciting attraction to anyone in the industry. The waste sector has many appeals to me; it is a diverse and fast moving business which has many technical, financial and broader political challenges. It is an industry where I can use my skill sets to improve not only the business but also feel that I am making a difference to the environment.”
TRA welcomes I&G Cohen door-to-door collection landmark
The Textile Recycling Association (TRA) has welcomed the news that a door-to-door collection scheme run by Salford-based textile recycling company I&G Cohen has raised £1 million for its charity partner.
The 'care2collect' scheme is operated nationwide by I&G Cohen on behalf of the National Blind Children's Society, in a partnership that is now generating £50,000 a month for the charity, which represents over 40% of its total income. The TRA claimed that the milestone showed just how important door-to-door collections could be for charities, noting that: “The vast majority of charities do not operate shops, door to door collections in partnership with TRA members are an obvious and viable option.”
And, commenting on the success, I&G Cohen's finance director, Philip Geller, said: “It's a very easy and risk free way for charities to raise substantial funds. We run and pay for the entire scheme. The charity also benefits from being associated with an environmentally friendly scheme. We collect all the textiles, from the doorstep, providing a clear audit trail and then sort grade and prepare for resale into our end markets in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. We provide all the logistics and customer support. It really is that simple.”
Kent WEEE re-processor chosen by BBC to showcase best practise
The company's Sittingbourne facility was visited earlier this month (September 3) by a team from the broadcaster including World Service presenter David Cuen to film for a programme investigating how WEEE recycling works and the benefits it could offer for Latin American countries, where little WEEE recycling currently takes place.
Explaining the BBC's reasons for choosing SWEEEP, Mr Cuen said: “We selected SWEEEP for filming because among other things we want to show a positive example of what can be achieved through recycling. We have been very impressed with what we have seen at SWEEEP from the quality of the raw materials generated, recycling technology investment and even the use of renewable energy to power the process. An inspirational achievement in such a short time and this is the main reason for the production of the TV show – to inspire recycling.”
Cartakeback targets £10m payout to dealers by end of scrappage scheme
End-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling service provider Cartakeback has said that it expects its network of authorised treatment facilities (ATFs) to have paid out £10 million to car dealerships in exchange for scrap cars by the time the government's scrappage scheme ends.
The company, which has a network of 300 ATFs nationwide, revealed that it had already paid dealers more than £5 million for ELVs since the scheme – which offers motorists a £2,000 discount off the cost of a new, lower emissions vehicle if they scrap their old car and van – was launched in May 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Graham Price, manager of Cartakeback, commented: “Even though the government's funding is likely to come to an end very soon, we still expect to be collecting scrappage scheme vehicles from dealerships early next year due to the manufacturers' lead time for providing new vehicles which can be as long as three or four months”.
Register for free to comment