Valpak launches recycling syndicate

The compliance scheme has brought four major materials reprocessors together with a kerbside project run by collection company Rag & Bone 2000.

Alcan, Corus, Severnside and Shotton Paper will help construct a publicity campaign and offer some financial support towards collection equipment over the next three years. And RMC Aggregates may also join the scheme to process glass.

Mary Corin, market development manager at Valpak, said: “This is a fairly unique group of end market players working together. Recycling markets have been quite competitive in the past, but because end markets now have to achieve targets, companies are realising that it is a good move to work together.

Participation

“By helping local authorities, companies can help themselves to achieve those targets. We are hoping the syndicate could have a serious impact on public participation.”

Valpak is keen to extend arrangements of this sort across the UK. A smaller collection company or local authority would only deal with one contract and one price, while Valpak would manage the final markets for materials, Ms Corin said.

Rag & Bone 2000 is celebrating five years of collections in the Carrick district of Cornwall today. In a joint venture with County Environmental Service, it offers weekly collections to over 2,500 households and 100 commercial customers and collects 70 tonnes of materials per month.

The company collects glass, plastic, steel and aluminium cans, textiles, tin foil, ink cartridges, mobile phones and accessories and domestic batteries in one bag and mixed paper and cardboard in another.

“Easy”

Luci Isaacson of Rag & Bone 2000 said: “It is easy for one person to produce two bags of recyclables every week when it is collected all together, and it is easy to remember weekly collection days. We can recycle more than 50% of a householder's waste every week.”

Under the contract, Rag & Bone will take all recyclables from Cornwall County Council's civic amenity sites, develop recycling centres throughout the county and launch more kerbside schemes in 2003.