News in Brief

A cheese producer in Abergavenny has been stung by a 16,000 fine for failing to comply with the packaging producer responsibility regulations.

Abergavenny Fine Foods Ltd pleaded guilty to six charges under the regulations, which require firms using a significant amount of packaging to sell their products to pay for the recycling of an equivalent amount of packaging. The breaches of the regulations took place in 2003 and 2004.

Paul Molloy, team leader for the Environment Agency's Waste Data Compliance team, warned: “We will actively seek to find and prosecute companies which are found to be in breach of these regulations.”

Samantha Martin, service manager of Fiveways Hire and Dennis Eagle regional sales manager Melvyn Davies signing the two-year deal

Warwick-based refuse collection vehicle supplier Dennis Eagle has signed a two-year, multi-million pound deal to supply RCVs to Fiveways Municipal Vehicle Hire.

Fiveways, based at Basildon in Essex, is to take on 100 complete new RCVs – almost doubling the company's fleet to around 250 in total. Built and delivered to a pre-planned production schedule, about 50 new vehicles will enter service each year under the deal, including a variety of combined body, chassis and bin lift configurations.

Barry Abbott of Fiveways Hire said: “As a UK leader in the supply of municipal vehicles to both the private and public sector, we remain committed to growing and revitalising our RCV fleet, and this latest agreement will help us achieve this.”

Autoclaving technology company Sterecycle has appointed ex-WRG director Alistair Shotcliff as its new development director.

Mr Shotcliff led WRG's recent negotiation of the Central Berkshire PFI project with Reading, Bracknell Forest and Wokingham councils (see letsrecycle.com story), and before that worked for Thames Waste Management and Biffa.

Sterecycle is backed by 10 million investment from firms including Goldman Sachs, Impax and Ailsa3 in its attempts to market the new waste treatment technology to local authorities. It is developing an 80,000 tonne-per-annum demonstration plant that could be commissioned this summer.

Commenting on the new appointment, Sterecycle's chief executive Duncan Grierson said: “We are very pleased to welcome Alistair on board. He brings over 20 years of waste management experience and is joining at a time of exciting developments for Sterecycle. Our first plant in the UK is nearly complete and we have been short-listed for several local authority contracts.”

Mid UK's Chris Mountain says his company can save 30% costs compared to other plasterboard options

Lincolnshire company Mid UK Recycling is claiming to have developed a process that recycle 100% of used plasterboard.

It says the service is the first such commercial scheme that can recycle all of the material, which requires the separation of paper from gypsum, and with cost savings of up to 30% compared to other recycling processes.

Mid UK managing director Chris Mountain said: “The whole process has been developed by Mid UK Recycling and includes bespoke machines designed and produced especially for us. To commission such a system is also very time consuming – it has taken almost a year from the installation of the plant for us to launch the full commercial service.”

A series of seminars to help businesses get to grips with the new Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations is being held next month.

DHL Environmental Compliance Solutions is running the seminars around the country before the March 15 deadline for companies to register as WEEE producers under the legislation that came into force this month (see letsrecycle.com story).

The seminars will look at the scope of the regulations, the timetable for action and both business and consumer obligations under the new laws. It will also take in registering, calculating charges and logistics issues involved.

Paul James, head of WEEE services at DHL Exel Supply Chain said: “Businesses that brand, import or sell electrical products are likely to be affected by WEEE and will need to register with an approved compliance scheme before 15th March. Our seminars have been organized to help businesses quickly gain an understanding of this potentially complex issue.”