Swadlincote selected for Sainsbury’s food waste pilot
A south Derbyshire market town has been awarded £1 million by supermarket chain Sainsbury’s to trial a food waste reduction initiative as part of the brand’s ‘Waste less save more’ initiative.
Swadlincote was awarded the money to carry out a year-long project with the aim of cutting household food waste by 50%, starting in January 2016.
Residents in the town will be given a range of information about how to cut food waste, while some will be helped to create ‘pop-up’ restaurants to demonstrate how families can slash their annual food waste bill from £700 to £350.
The funding is part of the Sainsbury’s ‘Waste less save more’ initiative. Launched in September 2015, the supermarket giant has committed £10 million worth of investment over the next five years to tackle household food waste.
South Derbyshire district council business and recycling manager Gillian Coates, who helped to head up Swadlincote’s bid, said: “We have a whole host of vibrant community and enthusiastic organisations keen to start delivering ‘Waste less, save more projects’. It’s such a brilliant opportunity for the area and, as well as the end benefit of reducing waste, it’s going to be a lot of fun for the community.”
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Helistrat secures ‘My Local’ waste contract
Waste management consultants Helistrat has been appointed by retailer My Local to help improve its environmental performance.
The contract, which covers 140 UK stores, will see Helistrat manage a range of services including waste and recycling, washroom services, consumables, window cleaning and pest control.
In addition, the company will also develop a recycling and resource management strategy to ensure that wherever possible material is recovered and made available for use in sustainable supply chains.
Helistrat’s chief executive, Harvey Laud, said: “We are confident that through improved contract management and the implementation of a bespoke resource management strategy that we can both improve their environmental performance and control future costs.”
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Mick George opens facility for contaminated soils
Waste management service provider, Mick George Ltd, has opened a new disposal facility for asbestos and contaminated soils.
The facility, which is based in Cambridgeshire, has access to major trunk roads for collection and disposal services. It treats a range of contaminated soils from brownfield remediation and other sources using technologies including soil washing to produce WRAP approved recycled aggregates for reuse in construction.
Commercial manager Abigail Johnson, said: “Our new facility at Mepal positions the company as a one-stop solution for asbestos collection, carriage and disposal; something many companies claim to be but very few genuinely are”.
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Andigestion awarded Safe Contractor accreditation
Anaerobic digestion operator, Andigestion Ltd, has been awarded the Safe Contractor accreditation.
The scheme reviews and audits the health, safety and environmental policies, procedures and operations of organisations such as Andigestion and gives third party accreditation to these procedures.
To achieve the accreditation, Andigestion had to undergo an audit of its workplace procedures and records, risk assessments and method statements to ensure it is operating with the correct health, safety and environmental procedures and policies in place.
Tom Brown, environmental compliance officer, Andigestion, said: “The accreditation confirms Andigestion’s commitment to responsible and ethical action in all areas of our business and providing a great working environment, while assuring our customers and suppliers of our high standards”.
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Wales sees recycling boost, latest figures suggest
Wales’ recycling rate increased to 57% for the 12 months to the end of June, up from 55% for the same period a year earlier, data published by the Welsh Government has suggested.
In addition the total amount of local authority municipal waste generated in Wales decreased, with the tonnage falling by 2% compared to 2014 and the residual household waste generated per person continued to decrease, falling to 51kg per person between April and June 2015.
The data also suggests that the residual household waste generated per person continued to decrease, falling to 51 kilograms per person in April to June 2015, from 53 kilograms per person during the same quarter of 2014.
Elsewhere, the figures also suggest that the total amount of local authority municipal waste generated in Wales decreased, with the tonnage falling by 2%, from 422.1 to 412.0 thousand tonnes, compared to the same quarter of 2014.
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