News in Brief

Resource Recovery Forum ceases operations

For many years the Resource Recovery Forum (RRF) has provided an independent platform for research, information exchange, conferences and a daily news service to members on waste.

The organisation was run by the Late Kit Strange, an environmental journalist and pioneer in thinking about waste as a resource. Following his death in August 2011, the RRF Trustees have been working closely with his daughter, Kathie Tiffany, and the staff of Residua Ltd to continue to provide the service to members (see letsrecycle.com story).

RRF chairman Steve Read said: RRF has always enjoyed a hardcore of active members but over the last five years, particularly since economic times have become tougher, the number of RRF subscribers has decreased; a trend which started well before Kits death. At the same time, many of the services we have traditionally offered such as regular daily and weekly news items, interesting conferences and access to reports are now being provided by commercial organisations and publishers on a free or low cost basis.

He added: The Trustees have therefore, with great regret, concluded that the RRF is no longer viable and this view was reluctantly endorsed by members of the RRFs Advisory Committee who met for the last time on 11th October 2012. Activities have now ceased and actions are in hand to close the company down.

The Trustees intend to refund as much of the remaining term of subscription fees to the members as possible. Several members have expressed interest in inaugurating an annual Kit Strange Memorial Lecture to continue his legacy.

Four arrested in dawn raids on waste sites

Four people have been arrested by police in Somerset in the latest crackdown on waste crime.

Environment Agency officers and police swooped on a site at Weston Zoyland near Bridgwater and targeted properties near Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet in two separate operations codenamed Iris and Centurion.

One person was arrested following a search of a site on the old airfield at Weston Zoyland. The raid was led by Agency environmental crime officers supported by the Police. They were joined by several other agencies including the Devon & Somerset Fire Service, Sedgemoor cistrict council, Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), Western Power and Wessex Water who checked the site for other possible offences.

The second raid, near Glastonbury, was part of Operation Tornado, a national crackdown on metal theft targeting high priority scrap metal sites and the result of months of investigation and intelligence gathering. This local raid was called Operation Iris.

Three people were arrested after police and Environment Agency officers searched the sites and found evidence of waste crime. They were accompanied by enforcement officers from Mendip District Council, British Transport Police and Network Rail.

The raid was co-ordinated by the SW Environmental Crime Team and involved more than a dozen Agency officers with support from approximately 30 Avon & Somerset police officers. A police helicopter was used to monitor the operation and take aerial photos.

All four suspects arrested during the two raids have been bailed until February 2013.

MVV lodges appeal against MRF planning refusal

MVV Environment Devonport has decided to lodge an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate againsta decision of Devon county council to refuse planning permission for a materials recycling facility (MRF) and an incinerator bottom ash (IBA) processing plant at Whitecleave Quarry in Buckfastleigh.

The original planning application by MVV included plans for facilities to recycle the bottom ash from the Energy from Waste plant currently being built in Plymouth and for a MRF to process construction and demolition waste. MVV claims the development proposals are in line with the Devon Waste Plan and meet the policies in the new National Planning Policy Framework.

In April this year the planning application was recommended for approval by the officers at Devon county council and none of the technical and statutory consultees objected to the application.

Paul Carey, managing director of MVV Environment Devonport Limited said: We have considered our options over the past five months and remain convinced that the Whitecleave Quarry site is the best available. Our lawyers have been in contact with Devon county council to seek clarification of the Reasons for Refusal prior to making the formal appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

Recycling firm issues waste wood warning

A Shropshire-based waste and recycling company is warning that swift action needs to be taken to deal with the large stockpiles of waste wood currently being generated by industry across the UK following the closure last month of the countrys largest waste wood recycler.

Shropshire-based Pink Group Waste and Recycling has raised its concerns regarding the capabilities of the UKs wood recycling infrastructure in light of the announcement that Knowsley-based Sonae UK would close with immediate effect (see letsrecycle.com story story).

Prior to its closure and to a fire in June 2011, Sonae had processed over 400,000 tonnes of waste wood every year at its recycled chipboard factory, which Pink Group said was almost an eighth of all waste wood generated per annum from construction and demolition, commercial and industrial and household sources combined.

Will Wellings, managing director of Pink Group, which operates a dedicated waste wood recycling service, said: The reduction of 400,000 tonnes per annum of waste wood recycling capacity is therefore a double blow for Shropshire businesses that may now see reduced recycling levels and increased costs. Whilst there are alternatives to chipboard manufacturing for waste wood, including animal bedding and, more recently, the growing biomass market, these are often regionalised and can require greater processing of the waste wood than more traditional chipboard markets.

While Mr Wellings said he welcomed the governments offer of incentives to encourage the production of electricity from renewable resources, such as its support for the creation of additional biomass plants across the UK, he warns that in order for such initiatives to succeed in the long-term, the countrys infrastructure needs to be able to cope with the additional demand.

Shopping centres achieves zero waste to landfill

Property management company MJMapp, , with the support of its client The Freshwater Group, is celebrating diverting 100% of waste from landfill at The Orchards Shopping Centre, in Dartford, Kent.

Working with waste and recycling management partner, the green house, MJ Mapp have achieved this with just two months planning prior to the roll out of new services in September 2012.

Removal of unnecessary capital equipment and the installation of separation systems at the site has resulted in significant cost savings and an increased source recycling rate of almost 80%. Any residual waste will be sorted further and the non-recyclable waste used as a fuel for waste to energy at a plant close by.

Robert Twiselton, managing director of the green house, added: When we first visited this site, it was obvious that the compactor was pretty much redundant, costing money and hindering source separation. Replacing this with a less expensive separation system was obvious and we created a simpler infrastructure with signage and education to make it easy for people to recycle.We always celebrate when a site achieves Zero Waste to Landfill, but the speed of this one made it stand out from the many we have taken through this journey.

The collaboration of MJMapp and the green house has already diverted 92% of waste from landfill across their entire managed portfolio in all sectors and is well on target to reach 100% diversion within the next 12 months.