West Sussex objects to London waste plans
At present, none of the operators of landfill sites in West Sussex have contracts to receive rubbish from London. However, a draft South East plan drawn up by the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) to provide a planning framework for the region over the next 20 years recommends that West Sussex take 2.6 million tonnes of the capital's waste on top of the 460,000 it itself generates- a move which has been endorsed by the Independent Panel which examined the plan.
Cllr de Mierre explained: “If the Government accepts the Panel's findings, we would need to establish whether this county has sufficient capacity to deal with the amount of London's waste allocated to use, as well as the waste we generate ourselves. The onus should be on London to seek effective ways of managing its own waste – a point that is accepted by Ken Livingston, London's mayor.”
“Green Halloween” promoted in Sheffield
The firm has teamed up with the Waste and Resources Action Programme's Recycle Now Campaign and TV presenter Phillippa Forrester to help tackle the waste mountain created by the 1 million pumpkins sold throughout the UK each year. Tips include turning pumpkins into planters, serving the pumkins up as a delicious snack or home composting them.
Judith Turner, Veolia director of operations for waste collection and recycling in Sheffield, said: “Our aim is to encourage everyone in the city to do their bit for the environment and avoid the ‘waste monster' this Halloween by recycling as much of their waste as possible.”
Rag recycler wins environmental accreditation
Staffordshire-based firm European Textile Recycling has become one of the first textile recycling businesses to achieve both the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards for environmental management.
The company, which used to be called Staffordshire Textile UK Ltd, collects unwanted clothing and shoes and exports them to Eastern European countries, with a proportion of profits being donated to the contributors chosen charity.
Darren Coggins, European Textile Recyling managing director, said: “Year on year we have continued to develop and expand our operations, which is why we are such a success story today and to be one of the firs textile recyclers to achieve both standards is testament to this success. Our recent ISO announcement, our previous recognition from Stafford borough council in the Green Awards and our ongoing staff training and learning programmes are further proof that we are a conscientious organisation, dedicated to giving something back, both to our committed staff and the environment.”
Recycling success on the M25
Working on behalf of the Highways Agency, Tarmac and Tarmac-owned planning company NRP removed 270 tonnes of existing surfacing per night for 12 nights, before taking it for special processing including screening at Tarmac's asphalt plant at Hayes. Recycled material was then laid on junction seven on the M25 near Redhill in Surrey – forming a quarter of the 3,255 tonnes of aggregates required.
Tim Smith, Tarmac's technical manager for London and the South East, said: “After extensive lab tests and practical trials we demonstrated that the new surface would meet the high performace standards needed – for Polished Stone Value (PSV), texture depth, deformation resistance and durability. This innovative approach has helped is to cut the volume of virgin material required for the resurfacing work and put the existing material to the best possible use.”
First Asian president for BIR paper division
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has appointed London-based waste paper exporter Ranjit Baxi as the first Asian president of its paper division.
Mr Baxi runs J&H sales, which exports various grades of recovered paper from the UK, Europe and the USA to markets in the Far East from its head office in Wanstead.
Mr Baxi said that he was “honoured” to have been asked to become president of the BIR paper division and praised the dynamic leadership of former president Dominique Maguin. He said that, around the world there was now a greater understanding of the benefits of recycling, adding that he hoped to take the BIR message to as many people as possible, particularly in Asia.
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