The Merseyside board mill invested the packaging waste recovery note (PRN) funding as part of a 6.5 million programme of improvements to upgrade the Knowsley plant last year (see letsrecycle.com story).
 Valpak chairman John Gummer (left), ex-BBC correspondent John Sergeant and Valpak chief executive Steve Gough (right) recognised achievements in the packaging recovery field |
The award was announced by the former BBC political correspondent John Sergeant at a ceremony held on the River Thames on Thursday night.
Other awards handed out by Valpak included recognition for the efforts of councils including Stockport, Ellesmere Port & Neston as well as the London borough of Islington.
The full awards roster was as follows:
Best Investment of PRN Funds
Winner – Sonae UK Ltd
Runner up – Avon Metals Ltd
Best Innovative Initiative from a Local Authority
Winner – Stockport Council
Best Local Authority Project
Winner – Ellesmere Port & Neston Borough Council
Runner up – Cardiff County Council
Best Educational Project
Winner – Islington Council
Runner up – Novelis Recycling and Rockware Glass Ltd
Best Investment
Sonae UK won the Valpak award for investing PRN revenue to install a new sorting and cleaning system to improve the quality of the company's recycled wood products. The Knowsley-based mill has also installed new emissions-cleaning equipment. Gloucester firm Avon Metals was recognised as runner-up for using PRN revenue to upgrade its furnace, increasing the quantities of material it could take and improving its environmental credentials.
Local authorities
The Best Innovative Initiative from a Local Authority was won by Stockport council for its efforts to set up and improve recycling, while the Best Local Authority Award went to Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council.
Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council won its award for collecting the most packaging waste per household and exceeding its 24% statutory recycling target with a 36% rate during 2005/06. The council achieved its success with an alternate weekly collection scheme for recyclables and residual waste and a communications campaign.
Cardiff council was also recognised within the Best Local Authority Award category for its new commingled materials recycling facility (see letsrecycle.com story).
Education
The London borough of Islington picked up the Best Education Award for its “i-recycle” centre, an interactive teaching facility aiming to change the way visitors think about waste and recycling. The centre was developed with the Science Museum and is the first of its kind in the country (see letsrecycle.com story).
Valpak also named two runners up in the education category, Novelis Recycling for its free-of-charge schools education packs and Rockware Glass Ltd for its “Glass Forever” education programme
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