Kier secures East Sussex contract
The East Sussex Joint Waste Partnership is formed of Eastbourne borough council, Hastings borough council, Rother district council and Wealden district council. East Sussex county council, as the waste disposal authority, has also agreed to the scheme.
The contract win, anticipated by letsrecycle.com earlier this month (see letsrecycle.com story) requires Kier to manage and market collected dry recycling, enabling the partnership to realise the value of material as a resource.
The 12 million per year contract, which has the option of a ten year extension, will cover nearly 200,000 properties over a 550sqm area, is expected to save the partnership an estimated 30million over the next decade.
There will be a phased start to the four councils’ services, with Eastbourne and Wealden beginning on 1 April 2013, followed by Hastings in July 2013 and Rother in April 2014.
Nicola Peake, managing director of Kiers environmental business, said: “We are delighted to have been selected by the partnership in what was a very competitive bidding process. Our first priority will be to immediately mobilise our expertise to ensure we can start providing the very best service from day one.”
A formal contract signing will take place in early December.
Over 100 companies sign up to Hospitality Agreement
Over 100 companies, which represents 19% of the hospitality and food service sector, have now signed up to the recently launched Hospitality and Food Service voluntary agreement to cut food and associated packaging waste and increase recycling initiated by the four UK governments and WRAP.
In three months since the launch of the agreement the numbers of leading companies, signatories and supporters signed up has grown from 70 to well over 100, according to WRAP. Recent signatories represent the breadth of the sector and include Raymond Blancs Le Manoir Aux QuatSaisons restaurant, Marstons, the independent pub and retailing business, Accor UK & Ireland, hotel chain, the Institute of Hospitality, professional body and contract caterers ISS, Mitie and Vacherin.
This UK-wide voluntary agreement was launched by WRAP in June on behalf of UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland governments. It aims to cut food and associated packaging waste by 5% and increase the overall rate of food and packaging waste that is being recycled, sent to anaerobic digestion or composted to 70% by 2015.
The Agreement aims to help all size of businesses across the sector, including schools, hospitals, staff canteens, restaurants, pubs and hotels.
Richard Swannell, director of design and waste prevention at WRAP, said: I am delighted that over 100 organisations have signed up to the agreement already. These organisations are demonstrating real leadership in waste prevention and waste management that will help them realise both financial and environmental benefits. It is about having a joined up approach across the sector and we encourage more to sign up, whatever your size, and be part of this driving force for change.
Change of name for IFAT ENTSORGA exhibition
After two events held under the name of IFAT ENTSORGA, Europes leading trade fair for environmental technologies, held in Germany, is returning to its original name of IFAT.
Eugen Egetenmeir, managing director of organisers Messe Mnchen GmbH, explains: “The name ENTSORGA was included in the shows title in 2010, to communicate to the sector the fact that this event was moving from Cologne to Munich. That message has now been understood, and so we are going back to our original, succinct name of IFAT.”
As well as the name change, IFAT is also adopting a new claim “resources. innovations.solutions.” This sums up the spectrum covered by the fair and its orientation.
The areas of water/waste water and waste/secondary raw materials now come under the overarching term of “resources”. IFATs brand identity is alsoconveyed with a new icon.
The Federation of the German Waste, Water and Raw Materials Management Industry (BDE – Bundesverband der Deutschen Entsorgungs-, Wasser- und Rohstoffwirtschaft e.V.), owner of the name ENTSORGA, continues to be a conceptual sponsor of IFAT.
Peter Kurth, President of the BDE: “It was a logical step to concentrate on the name IFAT, in combination with the new claim, and we fully support this move. The terms used in the claim reflect the changes happening in the sector, as the business of “rubbish collection” turns into an innovative and dynamic sector of the economy, supplying industry reliably with the high-value secondary raw materials it needs.”
50m landmark for Veolia Environmental Trust
The Veolia Environmental Trust, which award grants to community and environmental projects through the Landfill Communities Fund, yesterday (29 October 2012) passed an important funding milestone.
At its Autumn Board meeting, trustees awarded grants totalling 1.2 million to 50 projects, meaning that it has now awarded over 50m since it was established 15 years ago.
The meeting also represented the next stage of our Boards development. Unfortunately, Martin Spray, the chief executive of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, had to resign recently due to other work commitments.
Under the stewardship of the new Board Chairman, Mr Oswald Dodds MBE, four new members were welcomed onto the Board of Trustees at this meeting. The four Mike Smith, Paul Taylor, Derek Goodenough and Malcolm Marshall – have sat on our regional advisory panels for many years, some since they were first established.
As well as being Board members, they will now also chair our Southern, London and East, Midlands and Northern panels respectively.
Mr Dodds said: The 50m in grants is an important achievement and we are pleased to have been able to help so many important projects across the UK. This said we need to be aware of complacency times are hard and there is still a lot more to be done.
New Aldridge recycling facility wins approval
Construction company Interserve Site Services new 2 million waste recycling facility at Aldridge has been given the thumbs up by the West Midlands Resource Technical Advisory Body (RTAB).
The RTAB is a cross-sector body which provides objective and authoritative technical advice to local authorities, industry and other stakeholders concerning sustainable waste management.
Visiting the new facility, which is capable of processing approximately 250,000 tonnes of waste material per year, members of the RTAB were given a thorough tour of the three acre site.
Adrian Cooper, RTAB chair, said of the new facility: This is an excellent example of good practice in waste management, and were particularly impressed with the sites current level of 93% recycling of all materials. The new facility is clearly set to play a key role in assisting the regions councils, commercial and construction sectors in meeting their landfill reduction targets.
Enhanced mechanisation means bosses at the new plant hope that within twelve months the facility will be able to recycle a highly impressive 98% of all the material it processes.
With every UK construction project valued at over 300,000 now being required to include a waste management contract as part of its scope of works, and with waste management accounting for a high proportion of councils annual expenditure, Interserve said that an efficient service is becoming increasingly important.
The new plant, built by Interserve itself, takes the form of a large waste reception building containing the main elements of the waste handling plant that have been built on brownfield land. It also encompasses the material handling line, material storage and processing areas and a brick built administration and welfare building.
Valpak helps manufacturer achieve zero waste to landfill
Printer and projector manufacturer Epson Telford Limited has achieved zero waste to landfill with assistance from Valpak.
Valpak assisted Epson with the management and delivery of a large element of its zero waste achievement and has tackled materials such as metal scrap, waste electrical items and parts, pallets and office waste. Key to the process has been:
a full audit of all materials entering and exiting the site
a clear plan to reduce, reuse and recycle materials wherever practical and cost effective
waste management targets
a communications strategy with staff and suppliers
close working relationship with contractors to deliver an effective and efficient service
Valpak carried out a full site audit to review waste management practices on site and then confirmed that the zero waste to landfill objective had been achieved. The work means that Epson becomes one of the first groups of companies to be awarded the new accreditation, setting the benchmark for other companies in the industry.
Justin Pike, environmental supervisor for Epson Telford, said: We are delighted to have achieved zero waste to landfill. This is just one very practical example of what Epson can do to reduce our impact on the environment. Valpaks services have contributed to the project and have audited and approved our achievement of zero waste to landfill.
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