News in Brief

A fresh drive to increase recycling in Yorkshire and the Humber by as much 580,000 tonnes per year has been launched, under a new strategy from Recycling Action Yorkshire. (RAY)

The recycling development organisation run by Yorkshire Forward has set targets for reducing greenhouse emissions and creating 100 new recycling jobs by March 2007 in its first regional market development strategy.

Andrew Hartley, RAY programme director, said: “The report outlines the opportunity the recycling sector in the region presents for real economic growth and development. The report also highlights the need for more recycling to ensure that the region's growing number of successful businesses which rely on recycled materials can continue to expand.”

Jody Tableporter, chief executive of Opportunity Peterborough with Lord Oxborough, who addressed the summit on friday

More than 100 members of Peterborough's local businesses and agencies met on Friday to discuss the development of an “environmental cluster” of companies involved in environmental products and technologies.

Organised by publicly-funded company Opportunity Peterborough, the “summit” heard that even small companies in Peterborough's environment cluster are in a good position to exploit growing markets for environmental goods and technologies which will help to tackle climate change.

Jonathan Selwyn, chief executive of the Centre for Economic and Environmental Development (UK CEED), said: “Peterborough has the biggest concentration of environmental goods and services companies and organisations in the UK. We have recently carried out a new study of the cluster here in Peterborough and found that there are almost 300 companies and organisations which together employ more than
5,000 people. We believe the future is bright.”

Logistics firm DHL has been approved to run its producer compliance scheme for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

The company said it had met the Environment Agency's criteria for reporting systems, quality assurance, logistics infrastructure and financial stability – and is now able to offer brand owners and importers membership of its compliance scheme. Companies affected by the new WEEE Regulations have until March 15 to register with an approved scheme, with full recycling and collection requirements beginning in July.

Paul James, head of WEEE services at DHL, said: “We are obviously delighted to have gained EA approval for our compliance scheme that now enables us to work with clients to ensure they are on track for full compliance before July 1, 2007. After delays in the introduction of this significant piece of legislation, it is important now for businesses to act quickly to register with an approved scheme and ensure they are ready for the new regulations.”

Armoury Demolition is expanding its screening capacity with a new Powerscreen machine

West Midlands firm Armoury Demolition has ordered a new Powerscreen Chieftain 2100 Triple Deck dry screener machine from distributors Blue Machinery, due for delivery this month.

The company, which processes over 250,000 tonnes of material each year, reclaims around 90% of the material in some form. The company produces a range of recycled aggregates and topsoils from its material.

Armoury Demolition’s Tony McLean said of the new machine: “This model has a newly designed and highly aggressive screen box, a larger screening area and longer side conveyors, which will be more than capable of handling the growing volumes being processed by Armoury Demolition.”

Exeter wood recycling group Otter Rotters is joining forces with the British Trust for Ornithology to promote National Next Box Week 2007, starting on February 14.

The not-for-profit group, which specialises in saving waste wood from landfill, will see some of its timber used by volunteers to make bird boxes to donate to local schools' wildlife gardens.

Dion Battersby of Otter Rotters said: “We are very happy to be supporting NNBW in this way. It is great to think that wood we have saved from the rubbish dump can then help save our wildlife. The BTO have supplied us with the designs: it is important that you provide the right box for the species you are trying to attract – many commercially available bird boxes are actually harmful to birds’ breeding prospects.”