News in Brief

WRAP is making more information available on re-usable nappies

Two best practice guides have been produced to provide advice on washable nappies to hospitals and laundry companies.

WRAP – the Waste and Resources Action Programme – has launched the Hospital Best Practice Guide to help healthcare professionals and local authorities promote the use of nappies on maternity wards and awareness among parents.

It has also produced a publicly available standard – PAS106 – that gives laundering companies a code of practice on the most appropriate way to clean re-usable nappies. WRAP believes encouraging smaller laundries to use the guidelines will see parents given a consistently high level of service using washable nappies, and could save money.

The guides are available via the real nappy campaign website – www.realnappycampaign.com

Worcestershire county council has revealed that more than one in 10 of the county's population now owns a home composting bin, with 62,000 sold since 2004.

The council operates a Master Composters scheme, where householders that have become experts in home composting can share their knowledge with like-minded residents in their local community. Help for home composters is also available through a website – www.wastemissionimpossible.org.uk – or telephone hotline 01905 766883.

The council also runs regular composting clinics, where residents can drop in for a quick chat. The last sessions attracted 1,500 people in October and November.

Viktoria Salisbury, waste management project development officer for composting at the council, said: “It is fantastic that so far, so many people have risen to the challenge and have taken up home composting. We now want to ensure that these people continue to use their compost bins effectively.”

Alupro executive director Rick Hindley

Alupro – the aluminium packaging recycling organisation – gained a new head this month, with Rick Hindley taking up his appointment as executive director.

Mr Hindley, 43, returns to the aluminium sector following a year working for the producer responsibility compliance scheme Valpak on encouraging local authority packaging waste collections.

Prior to his work for Valpak, Mr Hindley was well-known as the national manager of Alcan and its offshoot Novelis in the UK. He started his career in the aluminium sector at the industry-sponsored Aluminium Can Recycling Organisation in 1989, moving to Alcan 10 years later.

Alupro chairman Derek Peden said: “We are delighted that Rick is joining us, because his knowledge of the industry has been gained from several different viewpoints, and he is therefore well placed to serve the very best interests of our membership.”

Polkacrest, the clinical waste arm of LondonWaste Ltd, has stepped in to acquire three incinerators from the UK's largest clinical waste firm at the behest of competition authorities.

It has acquired Salford-based North West Energy Ltd, Redditch-based Medical Energy Ltd and Wrexham-based Attero Services Ltd from Sterecycle International. The acquisitions follow recommendations from the Competition Commission on Sterecycle's merger with Sterile Technologies Group (See letsrecycle.com story).

Polkacrest said the acquisition involved around 90 staff, and that the three companies would be integrated into the Polkacrest group. It said: “Polkacrest and Stericycle will be working together, through a Transitional Services Agreement, to ensure that this integration process runs as smoothly as possible.”

Partners: (Left to Right): Straight operations manager Paul Crayton with Greg Faulkner, contract manager at DHL and members of the DHL/Straight delivery team

Waste and recycling container firm Straight plc has agreed a partnership with logistics firm DHL to strengthen the company's product deliveries.

The partnership will allow Leeds-based Straight to move away from its single warehouse location, the company said, improving the efficiency and services offered. The company, which has worked with DHL on the WRAP-funded home composting scheme, said record sales last year proved “a great challenge for Straight and the management team recognised that a change in operational procedures was required”.

“The record sales achieved in 2006 highlighted the need to build more flexibility into our business model to facilitate future growth. Our partnership with DHL will enable us to do this,” said Mark Halford, operations director at Straight.