News in brief

Electrical Waste Group to recycle LCD panels

Previously, flat panel display such as LCD screens such as would have had to have been dismantled by hand which can take up to 15 minutes although Electrical Waste Recycling says its process can take as little as six seconds per unit.

The permit is granted for the firms Huddersfield site, which has been used over the past two years by DEFRA and the Environment Agency for training, and has gained Best Available Treatment Recycling and Recovery Technique (BATRRT) approval as well as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 18001 accreditations.

Group managing director Keith Patterson said: We have carried out substantial trials and considering the huge performance advantages this new and unique process offers to the market we are confident that the volume our partners will deliver will warrant the significant investment.

With one million units of waste flat panel display equipment entering the market per month it was an obvious route for the company.

EU carton recycling rate hits 40%

Beverage carton recycling across the European Union has reached 40%, according to figures released for 2012.

The statistics, which are collected by the carton recycling industry each year, show a rise of 3% on the 2011 figure of 37%, with a total recovery rate include both recycling and energy rates of 69%.

The Alliance for Beverage Cartons & the Environment (ACE) UK, which represents carton manufacturers Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc, has welcomed the statistics.

ACE UK chief executive Richard Hands said: We very much welcome this latest rise in carton recycling rates across the EU, which shows things are moving the right direction. As recently as 2009 the recycling rate was just over 30%, so to hit 40% in 2012 is very encouraging.

Over 50% of local authorities now collect cartons at kerbside for recycling, and we are confident that the opening earlier this year of the UKs only dedicated carton recycling facility, a partnership between ACE UK and Sonoco Alcore, will provide a further boost to carton recycling rates.

Scottish resource efficiency scheme praised

The Scottish governments resource efficiency support service – Resource Efficient Scotland – has helped identify over 2 million in savings for businesses since its inception in April this year, according to ministers.

Having achieved the milestone figure, the Zero Waste Scotland scheme was lauded by Fergus Ewing, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, when he visited lan Hair Design in Inverurie, a family-run business which has taken action to reduce its energy, water and raw material costs.

As one of 17,500 organisations to use the scheme, lan Hair Design has taken steps to ensure it is compliant with new waste regulations to be made compulsory for all Scottish businesses from January 1 2014.

It has also saved 5,300 on heat and electricity following the installation of PV panels, solar thermal panels and other green initiatives as part of the project.

Mr Ewing said: We launched Resource Efficient Scotland to help organisations benefit from expertise on energy, water and materials all from one service.

Resource Efficient Scotland is a new, innovative programme which has the potential to help every business and other organisations in Scotland and be a game-changer for resource efficiency in Scotland.

Public choose EfW over onshore wind

Energy from waste infrastructure is more widely accepted than onshore wind farms, research commissioned by communications consulting firm PPS Group suggests.

The survey, conducted by Atomik Research asked 2,000 respondents their feelings towards energy developments and the role of community benefit packages.

It found that 78% of people questioned considered EfW construction in local communities acceptable or very acceptable, compared to 73% for onshore wind.

The most favoured model of community benefit was subsidy towards household energy bills, with a share in the development also ranking highly.

Rebecca Eatwell from PPS Group said: This research supports what we already know from our grassroots experience that people favour individual benefits over wider community benefits. Is it interesting that EfW has ranked so highly when compared to other energy developments, which could suggest that the industrys attempts to rebrand incineration are working.

ECO Plastics featured in top SME report

The London Stock Exchange has named Lincolnshire-based plastics reprocessor ECO Plastics as one of its Companies to Inspire Britain in a report published last week.

The recycling business was featured in the list of 1000 small and medium sized businesses that are driving UK industry forward.

Jonathan Short, deputy chairman of ECO Plastics, said: We are delighted that ECO Plastics progress over the last few years has been recognised by the London Stock Exchange. This acknowledgement reflects the companys enduring hard work in creating the largest and most sophisticated plastics recycling plant in the world.

We aspire to be a role model for the UKs plastics recycling sector. ECO Plastics is exactly the model of business that the Governments waste policy should be encouraging, to ensure that the value of our waste is kept here in our shores, and not simply shipped off abroad.