GMWDA and SITA UK legal proceedings delayed
The GMWDA is seeking to strike-out legal proceedings being brought against it by the French-owned waste and recycling firm over the award of the £3.8 billion Greater Manchester waste PFI contract, which it awarded to Viridor in April 2009. SITA had remained “confident” that the plans to have the legal action struck-out would be refused and the court hearing had been expected to take place in a two-day hearing this week (see letsrecycle.com story). However, it has emerged that the proceedings have been postponed, with the GWMDA claiming this action was taken at the request of SITA.
A statement released by the GMWDA said: “Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) can confirm that the Courts have delayed legal proceedings between GMWDA and SITA UK Limited (SITA), at the request of SITA, until the 4th and 5th February 2010.”
Wales considers boiler scrappage scheme
The scheme was officially launched in England earlier this month (see letsrecycle.com story) and such a move could potentially lead to a further increase in the scrap metal available for metals recyclers in the UK. Wales will receive £4.074 million from the UK Government following the announcement of the England-only scheme by the Chancellor in his Pre-Budget Report on December 9. The England-only programme will offer up to 125,000 households £400 each towards replacing inefficient boilers, as well as additional investment in Warm Front, the English equivalent of the Welsh Home Energy Efficiency Scheme.
Ms Davidson said: “There has been a substantial amount of interest in this scheme since it was announced and I want to update people in Wales on proposals to introduce a similar scheme in Wales.”
EA unveils underground weapon in war on crime
The Environment Agency yesterday (January 20) unveiled a new device which will help it locate waste which has been illegally buried underground.
The equipment, known as resistive tomography, is also used on the Channel 4 archaeology programme ‘Time Team' and works by inserting electrodes, which emit an electric current, into the ground at intervals. Due to different materials having different resistance to electrical current, a picture of the make-up of material under the surface can be determined and potentially locate illegal waste deposits. On its first outing for the agency, the technology uncovered a large area of buried waste in the New Forest National Park, which is estimated to cost over £500,000 to clean up – a cost which will be passed on to the landowner who dumped the waste.
The chief executive of the Environment Agency, Dr Paul Leinster, said: “This is just one of the many state of the art technologies that the Environment Agency uses to make sure that waste criminals are caught, prosecuted and made to pay for the clean-up of the land they have polluted.”
Wandsworth records fall in waste arisings
The figures mark a continued decline in the waste produced by the South London borough and the council claimed that the decline had led to savings of £238,000. Furthermore, the figures represent a 4% decline in the amount of municipal waste collected, compared to the same period in 2008. The council has now targeted further reductions and claimed that, if each resident produced one kilogram less of waste each week, then it would save £600,000 annually in disposal costs. In June 2009, the council reported that in the overall 2008/09 financial year waste arisings in Wandsworth fell 5,302 tonnes compared to 2007/08 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Executive member for environment and leisure, councillor Sarah McDermott, said: “Cutting down on the amount of rubbish we produce is not only good for the environment, but also saves the council money, as these figures show. These savings help us keep council tax low.”
Hills lands waste deal with Bristol universities
Wiltshire-based Hills Waste Solutions has signed waste collection contracts with both the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England.
The three-year contracts are set to see the waste management firm handle more than 1,000 tonnes of waste-per-year from nine sites in and around Bristol. The waste management firm, which also operates a materials recycling facility at Calne in Wiltshire among other facilities, was awarded the deals for the two institutes following a competitive tender process.
Alex Marland, business development manager for Hills Waste Solutions, said: “In the past few months we have concentrated on establishing our company in this area and it is encouraging to be successful despite the difficult economic climate. Our services are competitive and customers respond to the fact that we tailor our service to suit their requirements.”
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