SITA lodges appeal over Cornwall EfW refusal
Proposals for the £100 million energy-from-waste facility were refused by the council in March 2009, with 20 out of 22 members voting against plans to develop the plant near St Dennis (see letsrecycle.com story). The 240,000 tonnes-a-year capacity CERC is seen as a cornerstone of SITA Cornwall's work under its 30-year waste management PFI contract with the county council. Lodging an appeal means that the final decision on whether or not the plans are given the go-ahead will now be made by the government's planning inspectorate through a public inquiry, which is expected to be held in the first half of 2010.
David Buckle, project director at SITA UK, said: “There is a pressing need for the CERC, which can avoid the looming waste problem, while putting non-recycled rubbish to good use to generate a reliable source of energy. A successful appeal provides the greatest chance of delivering this much needed facility.”
Premier launches eco-design project
Premier is working with students studying a national diploma in 3D design to construct sustainable design products out of recyclable materials. As part of their national diploma qualification, 28 students from the college's School of Art and Design will undertake the module, and will have their designs judged by Premier who will award the winning student with £500. The design project will culminate in early December with a public exhibition of the students' creations. As part of the module, students will also learn about the work of Premier's various recycling facilities, which the company claims handle over 200 thousand tonnes of waste each year.
Tony Hitchens, head of marketing at Premier, said: “Educating designers at the very start of their careers about sustainability is a vital part of ensuring that the products, structures and buildings they create are sustainable. In England alone we produce 335 million tons of waste each year, therefore designers of tomorrow must ensure that their products help to reduce, reuse and recycle waste in a closed loop.”
Environment secretary visits Peterborough MRF
Environment secretary Hilary Benn has praised the efforts of Peterborough city council on a visit to its materials recycling facility (MRF).
Mr Benn toured the 75,000 tonnes-a-year capacity facility at the Fengate Industrial estate, which is operated by waste management firm Viridor, earlier this month (September 10) and praised the city's attempts to boost its recycling and composting rate to over 65% by 2020. The Peterborough MRF was officially opened by Angela Eagle MP in October 1997 and underwent a £1 million modernisation to allow it to accept glass bottles and jars from May 2008. Peterborough plans to develop a new, 100,000-tonne capacity MRF to cope with the needs of the growing city and to introduce a separate weekly collection of kitchen food waste, which will be used to generate energy through an anaerobic digestion facility.
Mr Benn said: “Cities like Peterborough are a great example of what can be achieved by working together to really cut waste and boost recycling. Seeing how much recycling places like the MRF I visited are dealing with every single day, really brings home how much we can save from landfill and it's great to see such progress being made.”
Yorkshire glass recycling firm invests in magnets
With a £5,000 grant from Resource Efficiency Yorkshire (REY), a business support and market development delivery programme funded by Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), GB Cullet has bought a magnet that collects small particles of metal found in window glass. GB Cullet processes broken window glass to remove all traces of metal. The collected glass is then sold on to industrial glass manufacturers such as Saint Gobain and Guardian Industries where it is melted down and used to make new glass products such as windows, car windscreens and doors.
Gary Hopkins, director of GB Cullet said: “The new magnet has helped us to improve customer service, increase sorting speed and increase our processing capacity. The £5,000 funding we received from REY means we can offer a purer and more valuable recycled glass product. REY has helped us to improve glass and metal recycling.”
RE3 to open second HWRC under £610m PFI deal
RE3 – a partnership comprised of Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham councils – is set to open its latest waste management facility under its 25-year, £610 million PFI deal with the Waste Recycling Group.
The Longshot Lane waste management park in Bracknell Forest is set to include a household waste and recycling centre, as well as a waste transfer station. The opening of the Longshot plant, which is due to take place tomorrow (September 22), comes two months after the partnership opened a “key” part of its long term waste management plans with a 75,000 tonnes-a-year capacity MRF at Smallmead in Reading (see letsrecycle.com story). The two waste management parks cost a combined total of £28.4 million and the partnership hopes to recycle over 50% of its waste through these facilities by 2021.
Councillor Rob Stanton, chair of the re3 Board, said: “As well as being an excellent new facility for local residents, Longshot Lane is the latest big piece in the re3 jigsaw. We now have first-class facilities in place to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill in the three boroughs for the next 25 years.”
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