Recycling “core” priority for new ACE UK chief
Mr Hands has previously held two roles in the container beverage carton industry, having been environment manager for Tetra Pak UK & Ireland as well as the chair of ACE UK. In his new role, Mr Hands will work full-time for the Alliance, which represents beverage carton packaging manufacturers. Welcoming the appointment, Mr Hands highlighted that recycling would remain a “core area” under his stewardship of the trade body and called on the industry and its suppliers to work to deliver further progress on sustainability.
Commenting on his new role, Mr Hands said: “This new position reflects the carton industry’s commitment to building on its considerable environmental achievements. These include heavy investment to increase recycling, with the result that 87% of the UK now has access to carton collection. The industry is also continuing to work with local authorities to make it easier for people to recycle their cartons, with 30% of UK households now benefiting from collection at the kerbside.”
Lambeth approves plans to explore’ RecycleBank
The London borough of Lambeth has approved plans to introduce compulsory recycling and committed to exploring’ the introduction of the rewards-based recycling scheme RecycleBank for its estates.
At a meeting of the council cabinet last Monday (November 22), councillors approved a report outlining Lambeth’s municipal waste management policy for 2011 to 2031, which, alongside compulsory recycling and RecycleBank, includes plans for an opt-in, paid for green waste collection and charges for bulky waste collections. The council emerged as the first London council to seriously consider the US incentive scheme RecycleBank last week and is now set to “explore” plans for a trial of the scheme on its estates (see letsrecycle.com story).
A spokesman told letsrecycle.com that the confirmation did not mean that the council would definitely introduce the scheme. In the report issued to councillors, it states that the roll-out of the scheme is still predicated on successful negotiations with RecycleBank.
Cambridgeshire rolls-out media’ recycling banks
The large blue banks were delivered to recycling centres last week and will be emptied by West Midlands-based Wilcox Reprocessors – with the bookssent mainly to beusedin education in north east and north west African countries and the CDs, DVDs and games sold where possible. Wilcox worked with waste management firm Donarbon to mastermind the introduction of the banks as Donarbon manages the nine sites under its 28-year PFI-backed waste management contract with Cambridgeshire.
Commenting on the development, Julia Barrett, director of environment for Cambridgeshire county council said, “This is good news for local residents and the local environment. It adds to the very wide range of materials that are already collected at our recycling centres, which includes garden waste, metals, cardboard, paper and batteries , plus this contract makes these materials available for reuse, which is even better than recycling.”
Birmingham resident fined 21,000 over waste crime
Birmingham Magistrates’ Court has fined a local businessman 21,000 and ordered him to pay a further 19,296 in costs and damages over the operation of unpermitted waste sites across the city.
Ali Raza Baig of Handsworth Wood pleaded guilty to three offences relating to illegal waste sites in Handsworth, Winson Green and Smethwick between May and December 2009. The court heard how Mr Baig saved thousands of pounds by undermining legitimate businesses and avoided costs relating to waste disposal. In sentencing the defendant, the court took into account the large amounts of waste, the avoided cost of the Environmental Permits and the risk of pollution.
Speaking after the case Dave Thrussell, an Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation, said: “This is a great result for the Environment Agency and shows that the courts are taking this type of environmental crime seriously. As well as the risk to the environment, by storing waste without suitable infrastructure in place, Mr Baig was cheating those skip companies who are working with the Environment Agency and have obtained Environmental Permits and set their sites up correctly.”
Islington executive confirms compulsory recycling
Under the scheme, residents that persistently fail to recycle could stand to face a fine 110. The decision was taken as part of the local authority’s waste minimisation and recycling action plan for 2011/12, which outlines how Islington intends to meet the need for budgetary cuts without compromising its recycling performance (see letsrecycle.com story). The decision is still subject to a three day call-in from anyone opposing the plan, although a spokesman for the council said it “generally had broad support” from the councillors at the meeting on November 25. The scheme is expected to be rolled out from February 2011.
The spokesman told letsrecycle.com: “Kerbside recycling has always been very simple and people just fill their recycling boxes but the issue now is adapting the scheme for estates. There is going to have to be a different provision, so we are working through how that will work in practice. The plan is to try and adapt the kerbside system to be used in estates.”
European Parliament postpones vote on WEEE recast
The European Parliament has postponed a plenary vote on the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive and it is now likely to be heard in the next session of the Parliament in the middle of December 2010.
The vote had been due to take place last week (November 22), however, a spokeswoman for the European Parliament confirmed that it would now be pushed back. This marks the latest development of the the recast – which could potentially see the UK having to increase its recycling rate for WEEE – and confirms that it is unlikely to reach the European Commission in 2010.
It had been anticipated that the document would be delayed to 2011 after it emerged that the European environment council had not received the European Parliament’s position on the first reading of changes to the legislation in October (see letsrecycle.com story).
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