News in brief

Ministers back EU waste shipping proposals

Environment secretary Owen Paterson and energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey were among ministers who debated the proposal to tighten restrictions on illegal waste shipments on October 14.

Under the proposals, uniform inspection planning requirements would be implemented across all EU Member States.

In a statement, the Council of Europe, which is made up of ministers from each of the EU Member States, said: Ministers welcomed the proposal and recognised the need to improve measures to address illegal shipments of waste.

While they broadly supported inspection planning, they also underlined the need to consider further the level of detail to be included in the plans to strike the right balance among the aim of the legislation, the national situations and the costs of implementation.

Advanced Plasma Power secures ISO accreditation

Energy specialist Advanced Plasma Power Ltd (APP) has been awarded ISO 14001:2004 environmental management accreditation following an independent assessment.

The achievement, which shows APP is promoting efficiency and waste reduction, follows two previous ISO accreditations in the last 18 months for high standard of client services and hazard reduction.

Commenting on the accreditation, Rolf Stein, chief executive officer of APP, said the gas-plasma process employed by APP was maximising the value from waste as a source of materials, energy and fuel.

He said: The environment is central to APPs ethos and we take our responsibilities very seriously, so receiving 14001 status is a significant achievement. These accreditations demonstrate to both our clients and project partners the commitment and standards that we will be applying to our projects as we move into commercial operation.

Hackney council alters waste collections

Hackney borough council is to roll out a new waste and recycling collection system for 45,000 households from next week.

Due to come into effect from November 4, the changes will see residents without communal bins able to put their black bin waste out on the same day as their recycling, removing the need for a second collection day.

Hackney council hopes the system will save it 500,000 for the financial year, as well as reducing the number of collection vehicles out on the roads.

Councillor Feryal Demirci, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: Three quarters of rubbish is recyclable and hopefully the new streamlined system will encourage people to recycle more.

Every year we spend 5 million on disposal charges for household waste. The more people recycle, the more we have to spend on other services such as cleaning streets, filling potholes and maintaining parks.

Estates or blocks with shared waste and recycling facilities are not to be affected by the changes.

Somerset recycler sets charity paper bank target

A Somerset-based recycling company has set a new target to increase its charity paper bank recycling tonnage by 50%.

Perrys Recycling, which hopes to achieve the target by March 2014, currently generates 10 for every tonne of paper recycled from the banks, which is donated to the Somerset Community Foundation.

And, having already raised over 6,000 for the independent local grant-distributing charity, the recycler has now launched an educational campaign promoting the use of charity paper banks via video and leaflet distributions across Taunton.

Chris Perry, managing director at Perrys Recycling, explained: In times of austerity having a clear recycling message and a programme that benefits the local community is definitely worth supporting.

That is why we decided to intensify the campaign to involve local families even further and provide them with an opportunity to give something back to the community at no additional expense to them – with local recycling supporting local needs.

Eco bids for glory as rugby team sponsor

Dorset-based organics recycler Eco Sustainable Solutions has become the business partner and shirt sponsor of Bournemouth rugby club Oakmeadians RFC.

Eco, which currently processes 250,000 tonnes of organic material each year across four facilities, cemented the partnership by offering the team a tour of its renewable energy park in Parley.

Club president Andy Walton, who also took part in the site visit, said: It’s brilliant to have Eco as a business partner and we look forward to working closely with the company in the weeks and years ahead.

Ecos commercial manager Peter Hardy added: Oakmeadians RFC is a thriving club which, like us, sees itself as a key member of the community. We’re very pleased to be playing our part in its continuing success.