News in Brief

Chesterfield borough council is deploying teams of doorknockers to take the recycling message to 10,500 households next month.

The four-week campaign will raise awareness of the need to recycle household waste, highlight the council recycling services available and collect data on residents' understanding of recycling. Starting July 17, the campaign is being funded by local waste collection firm Banks Group through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

Cllr Keith Morgan, the Borough's Lead Member for Sustainability and Environmental Services, said: “Last year we collected over 4,500 tonnes of material through our kerbside collection scheme. That is very commendable – but we still have a long way to go because if everyone recycled everything they possibly could, that figure would rise to 13,500 tonnes. We are aiming to make Chesterfield one of the top recycling towns in Britain.”

Shrewsbury environmental services officer Richard Johnson with the patriotic bins

Shrewsbury & Atcham borough council has added a touch of World Cup fever to its commercial glass recycling service – with collection containers bearing the St George cross.

Environmental & commercial services officer Richard Johnson has persuaded four popular pubs in the Shropshire town to host the limited edition “Recycle for England” containers, which have been given their new look by container refurbishment company UK Container Maintenance Ltd.

As well as raising awareness of glass recycling during the World Cup, the council is hoping the publicity will see more pubs joining the collection scheme after the tournament ends.

UK producer responsibility scheme Valpak is to stage an awards programme to recognise achievements in packaging waste recycling and minimisation.

The Valpak Awards 2006 are open to all Valpak members, reprocessors and local authorities. The Awards will include five different categories – Most Innovative Design for Packaging Minimisation; Best Investment of PRN Funds; Best Partnership; Best Local Authority Project; and Best Educational Project. The closing date for entries is July 21.

Valpak Chief Executive Steve Gough said: “We want to recognise the great examples of successful partnerships and initiatives which are helping to raise recycling levels as well as increase awareness of environmental responsibility across the country.”

Lloyd Gailey of easyWaste

Glasgow-based waste firm company easyWaste is encouraging businesses across the UK to save money on their waste management bills by recycling office paper.

As waste disposal costs rise, easyWaste is offering new paper waste collection containers that can be located around officers. When the containers are full, businesses can remove and replace the re-usable lining sack and store it for uplift by easyWaste.

The company said the service can also be guaranteed to keep data contents secure before paper is pulped. Collection fees are charged at 10 per waste container and a 10 uplift charge for a minimum of 20 bags.

Lloyd Gailey, director at easyWaste, said, “Whilst few offices have any recycling capability at all, our new paper waste dispensers mean that even the smallest office can recycle its waste.”

Residents in Bradford are to benefit from a new composting facility that has won 300,000 in funding from the Big Lottery Fund's Community Recycling and Economic Development (CRED) Programme.

One of the final grants paid out by the CRED lottery fund has gone to the Bradford Organics Collection Scheme to prepare a composting facility at a site in Shipley. A new collection service for both food waste and garden waste is expected to begin in November.

On receiving the grant Carlton Smith, BOCS Director and Company Secretary, said, “This is an exciting new development for Bradford, made possible with the unique support of the Big Lottery Fund’s CRED Programme. The environmental and social benefits are huge and we are very excited by the possibilities made available to the scheme by this funding.”