News in Brief

Malcolm Wicks visiting Croydon ARC this month

Energy minister Malcolm Wicks has paid a visit to a community group in his Croydon constituency that specialises in the refurbishment of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

The visit came earlier this month, during the Department of Trade and Industry's current consultation on new WEEE Regulations. The Croydon Appliance Reuse Centre is part of the Furniture Reuse Network's national network of reuse facilities (see letsrecycle.com story).

Commenting on his visit, the minister said: “The Government is keen to see the involvement of the voluntary and community sector in electrical and electronic goods recycling maintained in the future. We would like to see producer compliance schemes developing and building relationships with re-use and refurbishment organisations.”

Bury-based Leyden Kirby Associates has called for councils to invest more in waste treatment to avoid the UK's “woeful” reliance on landfill.

Responding to the National Audit Office's report last month, which said there was a “significant” risk of the UK failing its landfill targets with its present facilties, (see letsrecycle.com story https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/archive/news.jsp?story=5877 ) Environmental specialists Leyden Kirby Associates said that more plants were needed to treat contaminated soils in particular.

Dr Scott Elliott, consultancy director, said: “Treatment and remediation plants are a far more sustainable alternative to landfill because they offer the potential for remediated materials to be re-used on future development sites.”

Over half of Yellow Pages directories are now recycled

Publishers Yell have revealed that householders now recycle 57% of their old Yellow Pages telephone directories.

The new figures, for 2005, show a fourth consecutive annual increase in Yellow Pages recycling. The latest annual environmental report from the company, published this month, revealed that nearly half of local authorities now accept Yellow Pages in their recycling schemes, with a growing use of kerbside collections.

Yell, which gave 50,000 to local authorities to support directory recycling initiatives in 2005, said: “The Yellow Pages Directory recycling scheme plays a significant role in increasing directory recycling across the UK. The YPDRS has dedicated environmental managers who consult daily with local authority recycling officers, offering advice and support.”

Peterborough council has expressed its support for Tesco's new scheme to cut the number of plastic bags going to landfill (see letsrecycle.com story), by offering cotton bags to shoppers.

Recycling officers, who helped give away 25,000 reusable cotton bags in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in 2005 under the RECAP waste partnership, set up a stall outside the Tesco store on Serpentine Green on Monday to show its solidarity.

Rebecca Jackson, waste minimisation officer, said: “It is estimated that 17.5 billion plastic bags are used in the UK every year. Research shows that plastic carrier bags are used on average for 20 minutes before being put in the bin. We will be supporting Tesco's “Green Clubcard” initiative by giving reusable cotton bags to shoppers.”

One of the posters in the Veolia campaign

Waste management company Veolia Environmental Services has begun a campaign to promote recycling in hospitals and universities.

The campaign will use posters, bin stickers, internal newsletters and intranets tailored to various audiences to press the recycling message. Briefings will also being offered to members of staff.

Veolia is also being allowed to use the national radio adverts from the Recycle Now campaign, which will be put to use on internal radio stations. The company said: “We aim to inspire and engage people into joining the recycling revolution.”