News in Brief

Green light for 40m Lancashire EfW

The combined heat and power (CHP) plant, described as the first of its kind in the UK, is set to use high efficiency combustion technology with a steam generator and turbine and a filter system to help reduce emissions. The plant will generate up to 10 megawatts of electricity using around 80,000 tonnes of recovered commercial waste.

Commenting on the facility, Chris Nelson from Reform Energy, said: Two issues dominate the green agenda: reducing waste going to landfill and delivering more energy generation from sustainable resources. This plan uniquely meets both those requirements.

Kirkby waste transfer station given green light

SITA UK has received planning permission from local councillors to develop a rail-loading waste transfer station at Knowsley Industrial Park, Kirkby, which would handle up to 500,000 tonnes of residual waste a year.

The proposed facility will allow the waste to be bulked-up and transported by rail to an energy-from-waste facility in Teesside. The facility forms part of SITA UKs bid to secure Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authoritys (MRWA) resource recovery contract which saw SITA UK and Covanta Energy shortlisted two years ago (see letsrecycle.com). The preferred bidder for the PFI-funded contract is expected to be announced in April/May 2012.

Commenting on the proposed facility Corrina Scott-Roy, planning manager at SITA UK, said: Our proposal would utilise an existing rail transfer facility and with some minor alterations provide an efficient and sustainable method of transporting waste to an energy-from-waste plant which would generate heat and electricity in Teesside. This would mean that 500,000 tonnes of waste is put to good use rather than being sent to landfill.

Coca Cola partners with metalmatters

Coca Cola Enterprises Ltd has become the first filler/ packer company to partner with metalmatters, the metal packaging industrys kerbside recycling improvement programme.
The programme was originally developed by the Beverage Can Makers Europe in partnership with Novelis and Tata Steel. Supported by the Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP) it has piloted the programme with two local authorities to improve the kerbside capture rates for metal packaging.

Commenting on its partnership with metalmatters Nick Brown, commercial recycling manager at Coca Cola Enterprises, said: As a company committed to transforming recycling by educating and inspiring consumers, championing improvements to existing collection systems and by investing in strategic recycling infrastructure projects metalmatters is a perfect fit for us and we look forward to contributing to its future success.

Metalmatters will also see Alupro now leading the programme, focusing initially on developing campaigns in strategic partnerships with local authorities and developing a funding base to allow the programme to become a showcase for extended producer responsibility across the metal packaging industry.

Scottish AfOR presents two awards

The Scottish branch of the Association for Organics Recycling (AfOR) saw the presentation of two awards at its annual conference dinner in November.

The first award given was the Douglas Boyle Proximity Principle Pot, an award for the closed loop management of organic resources. This was awarded to Kibble Community Garden, based in Paisley, which sees the project use food waste generated on site to produce compost which is then used to grow the food used in the kitchen.

The second was the Alistair Lamont Innovation in Organics Recycling award which was presented to Forth Resource Management (FRM). The committee felt that FRM led the way by continually developing its product ranges and innovative products for sustainable growing markets.

SWR win contract for accident repair group

Waste management company SWR, which specialise in automotive recycling, has won the contract to supply waste services to accident repair group Solus.

Under the contract SWR will manage all of Solus waste streams and will offer a one stop shop to the company for billing and enquiries. Solus has seen an improvement in its recycling performance and a reduction in waste costs since the implementation of the contract.

Commenting on the contract, Mike Burt environmental manager at Solus, said: Managing our waste is no longer a hassle. We have one contract, one point of contact and one monthly bill which is significantly less than what we were previously paying. SWR also provide us with regular reports which helps us demonstrate our green credentials.