News in Brief

Swansea residents offered Council Tax free year

In an initiative sponsored by steel reprocessor Corus, households who take part in kerbside recycling schemes will be entered into a draw for prizes every month, with one lucky winner during the year having their Council Tax waived. Council Tax for Swansea in 2007/08 was up to £1,019 for band “D” properties.

Nicola Bennett, communications manager of Corus Steel Packaging Recycling, said: “We are working hard to increase awareness of the benefits of recycling steel packaging and the number of recycled steel cans has more than doubled over the last seven years. This initiative will serve to encourage even more households in Swansea to join in by putting everything from pet food and drinks cans to caps and lids from food and drink containers in their green bags.”

Focsa fleet overhaul for West Wiltshire

Serving 50,000 properties, seven of the new vehicles will operate on domestic rounds, while five will be dedicated to recycling operations. Two further vehicles will be used for trade waste collection. The fleet represents the first time a Ros Roca body has been featured with the Dennis Eagle chassis since both companies joined forces towards the end of last year (see letsrecycle.com story).

Focsa's national fleet manager, Alan Sherlock said: “This latest contract gain with West Wiltshire is of strategic importance to Focsa's future plans and we are now looking forward to working with the Dennis Eagle RCVs as a means of delivering a very effective and efficient waste management programme on behalf of the council and its residents.”

Strong start for Calderdale food waste trial

A trial scheme to recycle food waste in parts of Calderdale, West Yorkshire, is going from strength to strength.

A new 40-week pilot scheme, partially funded by WRAP, was launched in May for the two wards of Todmorden and Park. It has seen monthly collection tonnages reaching 49 tonnes in July, with collected material is sent to TEG Environmental's in-vessel composting facility at Sharneyford, Todmorden.

The scheme's participation rate among households in the pilot area currently stands at 63%, and the council is now urging more residents to get involved. Councillor Graham Reason, Calderdale council's portfolio holder for health and social care, said: “I would like to thank everyone who has joined in and say well done for what you have achieved so far. Please keep your efforts going over the summer. I would also like to take this opportunity to encourage even more people to take part. “

Composting campaign hits Worcestershire pubs

Worcestershire county council's waste minimisation team has stepped up its bid to get more young people involved in home composting.

The council is targeting 20 to 35-year-olds through a new beermat and poster campaign hitting pubs, leisure centres, colleges and universities this summer, after research suggested 93% of those purchasing 70,000 new home composting bins in Worcestershire were over 36 years of age. Malvern TV presenter James Strawbridge is endorsing the campaign and features on both the beermats and posters (pictured right).

Viktoria Salisbury, project development officer for composting, explained: “The campaign is aimed at raising awareness of home composting amongst the younger audience and uses snappy slogans to get people talking about composting over a beer or two. We have chosen James to endorse the campaign because he is a great example of a young man who really does have a passion for the environment.”

County Mulch heading for PAS 100 standard

Suffolk composting firm County Mulch is close to achieving the PAS 100 certification for compost producers, after gaining support from Remade East.

Based at Lackford, outside Ipswich, the company recycles over 70,000 tonnes of green waste each year into compost. Remade East funded a consultant from Enviros Consulting to advise on the final steps needed to achieve the standard.

Simon Watchorn, managing director of County Mulch, explained: “PAS 100 helps when you are selling compost because it shows that you reach an assured level that gives customers greater confidence and reassurance. It removes the time and cost of having to apply for a licence to sell a batch of compost – once you're certified, you can simply sell it as you do any other product. In fact, a lot of tenders that come up now expect bidders to have PAS 100 in place.”