News in Briefs

Application criteria for DEFRA's 32 million fund for new waste technology projects is now available.

The fund aims to determine the viability of biodegradable municipal waste treatment systems that have not yet found commercial success in the UK (see letsrecycle.com story).

Part of the Waste and Implementation Programme, the fund is to be split between projects that require the construction of a demonstrator plant and projects that are purely research and development.

The Demonstrator Programme will get the lion's share of the fund – 30m – for ten pilot waste treatment plants to be set up by 2006. Applications for this money will be accepted in two rounds, the first from March 1 to May 31, 2004, the second from September 1 to November 30, 2004.

The Technology Research & Innovation Fund will allocate around 2 million from now until the money runs out.

Details of the application process and the selection criteria can be found at the DEFRA website.

Newport Paper has won an extension to its existing 5-year contract to purchase household recycled newspapers and magazines from Worcester Community Recycling in Worcestershire.

The company, which supplies paper to Stora Enso's Langerbrugge mill in Belgium, won the extension by guaranteeing long-term pricing for WCR's paper.

Nik Spencer from WCR said: “We need to set budgets and forecasts for the collection of recyclables and Newport Paper’s long term pricing helps us win these local authority contracts.”

The WCR scheme, which started in April 2003, collects newspapers and magazines, glass, and cans each week from households in Worcestershire, Solihull and Herefordshire using vehicles that sort materials at the kerbside. The group recycled almost 8,000 tonnes of paper in Worcestershire during 2003.

Matthew Hoare of Newport Paper said: “This project has proved that the future for household recycling schemes will be when all interested parties come together to develop the best solution, share the initial investment and the subsequent rewards.”