News in brief

Sackers named East Anglian Business of the Year 2013

Based on a seven-acre site in Great Blakenham, Sackers trades in the metals recycling market and provide waste collection, recycling and disposal solutions for large and small businesses.

Sackers Recycling chief executive David Dodds said: We are absolutely thrilled to have been recognised as best in class for this years EADT Business of the year award and will use this as a benchmark to take the business to the next level. It is in recognition of all the hard work and effort put in day in day out by our team of dedicated and loyal staff that has enabled us to get to this level and be recognised by all our peers.

Gloucestershire launches recycling pilot scheme

A 71,000 trial recycling rewards scheme has been launched for 5,702 households Cheltenham by Gloucestershire county council.

The county was awarded central Government funding for the Gloucestershire Green Points Cheltenham scheme after securing funding from Defras Household Waste Reward and Recognition Fund.

The county council and Cheltenham borough council initiative will incentivise residents to reduce food waste sent for disposal via recycling and reuse.

Households that have signed up will be rewarded Green Points, which can be saved and spent on a range of products, days out or donated to local schools. Performance is measured quarterly on a community level.

Year 5 pupils from St Marks Church of England Junior School joined Councillor Ray Theodoulou, county council cabinet member for Finance and Change, for a series of recycling challenges to mark the schemes launch.

Cllr Theodoulou said: I am delighted that we have the opportunity to see if rewards like Green Points make a difference in our communities, and if they can help us reach our aim of 70% recycling rates in Gloucestershire. This project is an excellent example of Gloucestershire leading the way. If the trial proves successful we would hope that it could be rolled out across the county and perhaps nation-wide.

BIU Group awarded ISO certification

Halifax-based textile recycling company Bag It Up (BIU) Group has been awarded ISO certification for its environmental and quality management systems, it has announced.

BIU said the certification demonstrated its commitment to sustainability and reduction of environmental impact, as well as quality, customer satisfaction and continuous improvement. It has attained ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 9001:2008 certificates.

The achievement follows BIUs rollout of what it considers to be the UKs first electronic, no-key textile recycling bank, which contains a new chute and locking system.

BIUs Wendy Yarney said: We have a dedicated team that has worked hard to become recognised as industry leaders. Securing the certifications further demonstrate our commitment. We are already planning to pursue further ISO certifications.

FCC Environment hits milestone for hospice services

FCC Environment has recovered 45,000 household items for reuse in a joint partnership with South Bucks Hospice.

FCC, which manages 10 household waste recycling centres (HRWCs) on behalf of Buckinghamshire county council as part of a seven-year contract, reached the milestone after 10 months.

Items retrieved are sent to shops at High Wycombe and Aston Clinton HWRCs run by South Bucks Hospice, where they are sold to help fund running costs of current services totalling more than 1 million a year.

Bicycles which are left at recycling centres are sent to HMP The Mount, near Bovingdon, where prisoners work to restore them as part of their tasks to earn a qualification.
The bicycle refurbishment scheme is working towards the 500,000 cost needed for an updated, larger hospice planned for 2014.

Steve Bell, FCCs development manager for reuse, said: The bike reuse scheme is a great project benefiting people from all walks of society. The project also helps prisoners who are getting the opportunity to learn and develop new skills which will help them to gain employment when they leave prison.

Serco 15,000 fund launched

Canterbury city councils environmental contractor Serco is committing 15,000 a year to its Waste Collection Guarantee (WCG) Fund launched this month for the charity, community and voluntary sector.

Once signed up to the WCG scheme, residents will be able to report missed bin collections on the day they occur. If Serco fail to return the next day, they will donate the cost of the collection to the WCG Fund.

Serco will share the money with three good causes benefiting local communities in Canterbury.

Each selected group is guaranteed to receive 5,000 a year for the next two years to deliver community projects and charitable activities.