News in Brief

Four projects receive share of MWDA community funding

The Community Resource Action Fund is intended to help foster voluntary schemes in the region, with successful bids for funding including waste awareness events, educational workshops and reuse swap shops. The projects to receive funding were: Black Box Creative Communities, Faiths4Change, Local Area Partnerships for Creative Play St. Helens, and, Love and Joy Ministries Limited. The funding was made available to community sector and not-for-profit organisations who wish to undertake projects that demonstrate new and innovative approaches to sustainable waste management. The projects will run from now and throughout 2011.

Carl Beer, director of MWDA, said: “These bids were really well put together. You could see a lot of thought had gone into what they were looking for, what they could achieve, and the effects they're hoping to have on the community around them.”

Recycling campaign Every Can Counts targets Corby

Beverage can recycling campaign Every Can Counts has launched a trial of its away-from-home can recycling scheme at the Willow Place and Corby Town Centre in Northamptonshire.

The initiative – which aims to raise awareness about the need to recycle cans away from home – is the first time that a pilot scheme for this campaign has been launched at a shopping centre. Every Can Counts was launched in 2008 by the trade organisation for aluminium Alupro, with backing from the Waste & Resources Action Programme, Beverage Can Makers Europe and the UK Canmakers. The project also has funding from Corus and Novelis. Willow Place and Corby Town Centre was one of the first sites owned by Land Securities to achieve zero waste to landfill.

Outlining the reasoning behind the campaign, a spokeswoman said: “Of the eight billion drink cans sold in the UK each year around 30% are consumed ‘on the go'. That's equivalent to over 40,000 tonnes of aluminium and steel drinks cans, which might otherwise be lost to landfill. As every part of a drinks can is infinitely recyclable it's important that it is easy for people to recycle whenever they are out and about.”

SEPA consults on better environmental regulation

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has launched a public consultation setting out its proposals for what it calls a new, simpler and stronger model for environmental regulation.

The proposals, launched last week (December 1) aim to reduce duplication and bureaucracy from within Scotland's environmental regulation regime. SEPA intends to model the revised system on rewarding good behaviour while also ensuring that those that fail to meet standards face tougher action. The consultation is set to close on February 14 2011 and is available here.

Campbell Gemmell, chief executive of SEPA, said: “This is essentially about simpler and more effective regulation that reduces bureaucracy, simplifies processes and gives us the regulatory powers and organisational capabilities we need to tackle robustly both poor environmental practice and environmental crime.”

Partnership funds hospital recycling bins

The Partnership – which is formed of Stockport council, other public bodies, local businesses and community groups – hopes the bins will increase the volume of newspapers, magazines, plastic bottles, glass and cans recycled by visitors. The bins are being trialled at the hospital's public entrance points and will soon be rolled out in other areas across the borough including Stockport College and come as part of the wider ‘Greener Stockport' initiative.

Cllr Stuart Bodsworth, executive member for environment at Stockport council and chair of the Stockport Environment Partnership said: “These new litter bins are a first for the borough and give residents and visitors to Stockport even more opportunity to help keep the borough clean and tidy and to recycle at the same time.”

EA charges two over storing hazardous waste

A man and a woman from North West England have been charged with illegally storing and disposing of hazardous waste at various locations across Northern England.

In total, the pair – who have not been named – were charged with a total of 26 environmental offences at Leyland Police Station in Lancashire and bailed to appear before Leyland Magistrates' Court on Thursday January 27 2011. In addition, five other men, all from the North of England, remain on police bail pending further enquiries. The Environment Agency stressed that the disposal of hazardous waste is “strictly regulated” in order to protect communities and the environment, with the government body stating that breaches in regulation could pose a risk to people, habitats and wildlife.

The Environment Agency's national environmental crime team officer Brian Hopkins – who is co-ordinating 'Operation Pandora' – said: “These charges are the result of an on-going, complex and nationwide investigation into the alleged illegal storage and disposal of hazardous waste across Lancashire, Shropshire and the North East.”