Talent from Trash
October 2, 2007 at 11:03 am
A new initiative, entitled Talent from Trash, hopes to give young people a sporting chance as well as an incentive to recycle. The scheme, which has financial support from Coca-Cola, asks youngsters to make a pledge to recycle more – the reward is cash assistance for youth development programmes at their local Football League Club. Thirteen clubs are participating in the scheme – you can check the site to see if you live near one of them.
Players, family and friends – in fact, anyone – can log on to the Talent from Trash website to make a pledge. This involves filling in your name and email address and promising to “recycle more aluminium, steel, glass, plastic, paper and cardboard products to help my Club raise money for youth development”. The promotion is running for just under three months – from 5th September to 28th November 2007.
The amount of money which can be raised for each club is capped at £18,000 – a pretty generous sum which should provide a welcome boost for football youth development. Everyone who pledges will also be entered in to a free prize draw, with one entry for each pledge. The prize is an extra £10,000 for the club and a personal reward of £5,000 – yet more incentive to crush some cans in the name of football!
Coca-Cola hopes that the initiative will capture youngsters’ imagination, and that the educational element of the website will encourage junior footballers and their families to make recycling a long-term goal. This section of the site provides tips on how and where to recycle.
Coca-Cola sees recycling as a key element of its environmental responsibility charter. The majority of Coca-Cola’s cans, bottles and cardboard packaging can be recycled, and the company is committed to a comprehensive recycling programme. However, the multinational has previously been criticised for failing to live up to its environmental promises. In 1999, the US organisation, Grassroots Recycling Network, claimed that the company has spent millions of dollars blocking legislation which would make it incumbent upon manufacturers to recycle beverage containers. And more recently, Coke’s green credentials have taken a knock with evidence that it has exacerbated fresh-water scarcity in some areas of operation. As such, this move is an attempt to salvage their reputation and improve their credentials as a green company.
Welsh recycling plant to generate power and jobs
September 28, 2007 at 12:09 pm
EnviroParks Ltd, a company based in the Welsh valleys, is hoping to get planning permission for a recycling plant which will create renewable energy from waste. The plant could be operational by 2009 and would create 200 jobs as well as £50 million of investment in the former mining region.
The plant will occupy a 17-acre site at the Tower Colliery near Aberdare – a coal mine where extraction will soon cease. The new plant will perform two functions – breaking down waste and generating energy.
The waste treatment technology in question is known as plasma arc gasification. This works by using a high-energy electrical arc to superheat the waste material. As temperatures reach 13,000°C, the majority of waste is broken down into basic elemental gases and a solid by-product, or “ slag”.
The process generates electricity, while the slag can be used as an aggregate. Although organic waste could be gasified in the same way as mainstream waste, it is proposed that a separate, anaerobic digestion plant be built on the site. This is to help ensure Wales meets its national target for recycling compostable waste, which is set at 25%. The anaerobic digestion plant would produce biofuels, providing a further source of revenue for the company.
A major advantage of both plasma arc technology and anaerobic digestion is the diversion of waste from landfill. The plasma method also creates none of the hazardous emissions associated with incineration. Until recently, plasma arc facilities have only been built for small-scale or niche waste markets. The Welsh plant will be the first in the UK to handle mainstream waste and will process up to 250,000 tonnes a year. The material will be a mixture of “black bag waste,” compost from domestic gardens and commercial food waste.
David Williams of Enviroparks Ltd believes the plant would “deliver 100% diversion from landfill, making the park a key strategic recycling location for southeast Wales and the Heads of the Valleys region.”
EnviroParks Ltd has promised extensive public consultation (to begin this week) and an environmental impact assessment. The scheme has the backing of the Welsh Asssembly Government, but Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is the body which will ultimately have the power to give the go-ahead or not. If the project is a success, more large-scale plasmas facilities could be built in the UK to meet the need for green waste disposal and energy generation.
Smash and Grab – Not Just For Criminals!
September 24, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Disposing of used glass bottles has always been an expensive and problematical matter for pubs and restaurants. They account for a large percentage of a pub or restaurant’s waste, and the licensed trade as a whole generates 600,000 tonnes of glass or around two billion bottles each year, much of which has previously ended up in landfill sites.
Now, thanks to the innovative firm Smash and Grab, the problem may have been solved. Their Little Smasher machine, which they have been developing for two years, looks as if it will be the answer to the prayers of green minded restaurateurs and publicans alike.
This top-loading machine is smaller than a dishwasher, is easy to use and fits neatly besides the crates and bins. It will take between fifteen and twenty bottles at a time and smash them in less than six seconds, reducing the volume of glass by 80%. Smash and Grab’s own collection team then collects the crushed glass at a time to suit the licensee. A £50,000 grant has recently been awarded which will be used by Smash and Grab to purchase their own collection vehicle rather than using the two hired trucks currently in operation.
At the moment, the glass collected is used for road fill and aggregate (none is sent to landfill) but the company hopes to interest glass reprocessors in recycling the material into new bottles, bringing great savings in the quarrying of raw materials. For each tonne of recycled glass used, 1.2 tonnes of silica and lime is saved. For this to be possible, the company will have to collect at least 2500 tonnes a year. Currently 800 tonnes a year is collected, which is in itself an encouraging fourfold increase in just twelve months.
The development of the Little Smasher has been made possible by advice on franchising, legal matters and marketing through the Enhance programme, in conjunction with the London Development Agency, London Remade and the London Community Recycling Network. Kate Nelson, the Senior Project Manager for London Remade, said: “Smash & Grab is an innovative company making a big impact on recycling within the hospitality sector… The Little Smasher is sure to be welcomed with open arms into many more licensed retail establishments. This will stop huge amounts of glass from being sent to landfill.”
Milton Keynes leads the way on street recycling
September 21, 2007 at 2:58 am
Better known for its “New Town” status and plethora of roundabouts, Milton Keynes is also leading the way when it comes to recycling. The local authority is one of the UK’s most successful in this area, recycling over 35% of all household waste.
Elsewhere in Britain recycling rates are much lower, due in part to the lack of public recycling facilities. Milton Keynes Council is tackling the issue by placing recycling bins in public areas to allow residents to recycle litter when they are on the move, and providing street cleaners with the facility to sort rubbish as it is collected. These measures have already diverted 12 tonnes of waste from landfill.
DEFRA (the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) is hoping to encourage other local authorities to follow suit, through a scheme called Recycle on the Go, which is being run in conjunction with ENCAMS. The environmental charity believes public spaces – high streets, parks and entertainment venues – could be transformed into cleaner, greener areas through the introduction of recycling bins for paper, glass and cans as well as other rubbish.
The Voluntary Code of Practice on Recycle on the Go has not been given the go ahead just yet. A consultation is happening before Ministers make a decision. There certainly seems to be demand for improved street recycling facilities:
“92% of people recycle to some extent already,” said Ian Clayton, Deputy Chief Executive, ENCAMS. “It makes sense to make it easy to do so when people are out shopping or going to the cinema.”
Whether the public will use the recycling bins properly remains an issue, however. Some kerbside collection schemes have recently run into problems, as the proportion of recyclate which is contaminated with other waste has risen.
Although public recycling bins have been in place for years on the continent, particularly in Germany, they function well because the public is well-educated about recycling and how to sort rubbish. With widespread confusion about what can and cannot be recycled, it is likely that an awareness campaign would be needed to accompany roll-out of the bins. And with anti-social behaviour seemingly on the rise in the UK, will good recycling behaviour triumph, or will the bins simply become an easy target for vandalism?
Wales to host the largest mobile phone recycling plant in Europe
September 19, 2007 at 9:27 am
The future is coming to Wales in the shape of mobile phone recycling. A company called Excel Fortune Holdings have recently announced their plans to build the largest mobile phone recycling plant in Europe in the valleys of South Wales. The site is 120,000 square feet of former furniture factory space and the region will drastically be affected by the building, creating at least 250 new jobs and putting them on the map in terms of recycling across Europe.
An estimated £6 million has already been put forward towards the venture and it is hoped the facility will be able to recycle up to 500,000 mobile handsets each month and generate turnover of £15 million. Excel is fronted by Chief Executive Mike Bandeira, formally of BT and ntl, and he commented: “We will offer a complete end-to-end solution for the collection, recycle, re-use and distribution of phones… With Europe currently contributing around 125 million phones per year to a growing stockpile of unused goods, the need to convert them into reusable stock has become increasingly urgent.”
The project has also been part-funded by the Welsh Assembly and is certainly a very good indicator to the rest of Europe that Britain, and particularly Wales, is more than doing its bit for recycling. It is estimated that, in recent years, 110 million handsets were in circulation as more and more users demand the latest model.However, from an estimated 20 million newly used handsets per year, only 5 million are being recycled.
Excel hopes to improve on that statistic, with up to 95% of handsets being recycled when the facility is fully operational. The handsets are collected and then sold to developing countries such as India, Pakistan, Dubai, Bolivia and even China, where they were probably originally assembled. The condition, age and model type will measure how much money people could receive for donating their old handsets but often the money from the return will be given to charity.
The facility has been officially announced to the press, and to the local area around south Wales, but an official national TV advertising campaign will go out later in 2007 encouraging people to consider recycling their mobiles. Excel also plan to position collection points in stores of various leading supermarkets and high street shops by the end of 2007.
UK Ministry of Defence promises to recycle more
September 5, 2007 at 11:04 am
The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has published a challenging set of environmental targets in its latest Sustainable Development Action Plan, including a promise to recover and recycle more waste than they send to landfill by 2012. Defence Secretary Des Brown said that Environment and Defence were “by no means separate issues” and that the MOD must work to understand and limit the environmental impact of all defence operations and activities.
With an annual procurement budget of around £16 million and an estimated £19 million spent each year on waste, the MOD is well aware of its environmental ‘footprint’. Key targets included in the plan include:
- ’Waste Management – Some MOD sites already recycle up to 70% of waste. Following a recent MOD waste study, they will now aim to recover and recycle more waste than they send to landfill by 2012 and work towards become a zero-waste to landfill organisation by 2020.
- Climate Change – The MOD aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from buildings by 15% by 2012 through higher energy efficiency, reduced energy consumption, and investment in sustainable technologies.
- Water – The MOD claims to have saved over three million cubic metres in annual water consumption in 2006 through leakage reduction. They now aim to reduce their annual water consumption of 24 million cubic metres by a further 25% by 2020.
- Biodiversity– Owning vast amounts of land in the UK, the MOD is responsible for 174 Sites of Special Scientific Interest. 81% of these are already in good condition according to targets set by the government. The MOD aim to increase this to 95% by 2010.
Expressing an ambition to become a national leader in sustainable development by 2012, the MOD said this was particularly important as an organisation operating in places where access to scarce resources contributes to conflict and communities are directly affected by environmental problems. They said there was now an established link between climate change and instability and that this would have implications for future operations.
Recycling gets risqué
August 30, 2007 at 11:46 am
Online retailer, LoveHoney.co.uk, which describes itself as the largest UK “adult” toys shop, is now offering a different sort of “feel good factor.” Customers are being urged to go green between the sheets, thanks to a collection system for their old, unwanted products. The eco-friendly Rabbit Amnesty, a reference to the best-selling Jessica Rabbit love toy, allows customers to send outdated or broken adult toys to LoveHoney.co.uk for recycling. To encourage customers, LoveHoney.co.uk is also offering a 50% discount on purchases of new vibrators to replace the worn out model being returned.
Despite the introduction of the WEEE Directive earlier this year, which makes producers and consumers more responsible for recycling, many remain unaware of their obligations. Currently, most “adult” toys are thrown in the bin – many consumers being too embarrassed to take them to a recycling centre! Lack of awareness is also a problem. Collection schemes are often complicated, so consumers just aren’t aware that some products, including adult toys, can be recycled. However, with the ever-increasing popularity of sex toys in the UK, the volume of waste being produced is a real concern:
Bonny Hall, head buyer at LoveHoney.co.uk, says:
“Although some people might think it’s strange to recycle sex toys, rabbit sales are growing every year and we don’t want old ones dumped in landfill sites across the country.”
As well as recyclable plastic and metal, many sex toys incorporate electrical circuits, which may contain heavy metals like lead, chromium, cadmium and mercury. Dumping these hazardous substances in landfill damages the environment, and is therefore far from ideal.
And if hassle-free recycling of your old “rabbit” isn’t incentive enough, LoveHoney.co.uk is going one step further by donating £1 to the World Land Trust (WLT) for each vibrator salvaged by the scheme. The WLT, with David Attenborough as patron, is a conservation charity which saves acres of rainforest from destruction every year.
Pay as you throw proposals
August 28, 2007 at 2:18 pm
With Britain being one of the worst countries in Europe for recycling, proposals have been put forward by local authorities for three schemes which would aim to increase our recycling rate and decrease our council tax bills.
Microchipped wheelie bins
Our rubbish would be identified by a microchip fitted to the bin and the weight of the rubbish ascertained by a machine on the dustcart enabling us to be charged according to the amount of waste generated. This would cost the average family around £10 a month.
Unchipped wheelie bins
In areas where bins are not microchipped, we would be able to choose the size of bin required with an 80 litre bin costing £85 per year and a 240 litre one costing £130 per year.
Pre-paid sacks
In areas where wheelie bins are impractical, we would have to buy pre-paid rubbish sacks costing about 60p for a 50 litre sack.
Reaction to these proposals
It is estimated by local authorities that these measures would result in a reduction of £30 a year in council tax. This may not seem much but, of the 1028 people polled by the Local Government Association, 64% of us were in favour of measures being introduced to reward those who recycle most and penalise those who don’t.
The Conservatives are highly sceptical, warning that the schemes would be far too hard to administer efficiently, would not result in lower council tax and would end up making people far more likely to fly-tip or burn their rubbish. In Ireland, where such schemes exist already, the unscrupulous have been ingenious in avoiding paying. So long as there is nothing in their rubbish to identify them, they think nothing of dumping it on the street or in skips, infuriating the law abiding majority of Irish citizens. With this in mind, who knows what the future has in store for these proposals?
UK food recycling program taking shape
August 17, 2007 at 11:05 am
A number of Welsh county councils have begun food recycling programs. Rhondda Cynon Taf county borough council in South Wales is encouraging residents to recycle waste food by disposing of it in designated collection bins which have been provided by the local government.
Authorities were motivated to undertake this initiative following a successful pilot program at a local primary school. Food recycling programs have already been introduced elsewhere in Wales, namely in Llwydcoed in the Cynon Valley and Trealaw in the Rhondda region. Indeed, Rhondda council is currently leading the way when it comes to recycling in Wales, collecting nearly 600 tonnes of recyclable waste during the second week of July.
The food recycling scheme is to operate as follows. Residents can choose between two different types of collection bins. The first has a caddy design and can hold up to 10 cubic litres of garbage. Alternatively, homeowners can leave waste for collection in a 55 litre outdoor bin. Under the scheme, local authorities are able to collect almost any type of kitchen waste, from food wrappings and kitchen towels to teabags, bones and potato skins. Food waste is to be gathered separately from other commonly recyclable materials. This waste will then be converted into compost by a reprocessing firm in Gelligaer.
Food recycling programs have taken off in other parts of the United Kingdom as well. The London borough of Richmond has taken a number of steps to collect food waste for composting. London authorities also advise residents to compost refuse themselves. Residents are encouraged to create their own compost bins. Instructions on how to make one are available from the Richmond borough website.
A number of councils have also encouraged local schools to set up their own food recycling schemes. If you too would like to do so, then councils suggest that you stick to the following set of guidelines.
- First, calculate how many scrap bins you will require. Where will you place these bins? Ideally, they should be positioned in an area that is frequented by many people.
- Order the appropriate compostable bin liners. A number of borough councils provide these free of charge.
- Collect scraps/food waste and deposit such refuse in the designated bins. These bins should be lined with the aforementioned bin liners. On the collection day, tie up the rubbish bags and ensure that the bin or skip is at the food waste collection point by 7 am.
- Publicity is key. Inform staff, students and/or local residents about the program.
By following these simple steps, your community can do its bit to protect the environment.
British towns struggle to keep up with recycling following floods
August 14, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Reports suggest that a number of British towns hit badly by the recent floods are finding it difficult to maintain recycling rates. With many water-purification plants damaged by the flood waters, local councils were compelled to step in and provide stranded residents with bottled water. Government analysts have suggested that some 40 million plastic bottles were distributed across the affected areas.
In Tewkesbury, one of the towns worst damaged by flooding, authorities were, until recently, distributing bottled water at a rate of 100,000 bottles each day.
Now, as people attempt to clear up the waste left behind by the floods, most have sought to recycle the plastic bottles. However, local collection facilities are unable to cope with the influx of waste, having suffered damage to their infrastructure during the floods. This situation has hit recycling services in Gloucester and Tewkesbury particularly badly. Local authorities have taken a number of steps to alleviate the current situation. The collection firm, Recresco has set up 40 additional collection banks across other parts of the county.
By consequence, authorities estimate that bottles are now entering collection banks at an average rate of 3 million per day. Eric Gent, county director for the recycling firm, has highlighted the important role played by his organization in the post-flood recycling programs: “Staff got into the spirit and (we are) out (collecting) until 11 at night and then back again in the morning… It’s a good sign that even in a crisis so many tonnes (of plastic) were saved from landfill.”
Indeed, almost 8 tonnes of recyclable plastic have been collected from flood-hit parts of the county alone. High pressure vacuums compress the plastic bottles, allowing Recresco lorries to carry almost five times as many bottles compared to those used by other collection agencies. Final reprocessing of waste plastic is then undertaken by J & A Young Ltd. in Leicestershire.
Gloucester city council has praised the efforts of local residents who have remained environmentally conscious despite the disaster. The Environmental Agency has urged flood-hit residents to take the following steps to help local recycling authorities:
- Members of the public are advised to flatten cylindrical bottles. This allows for more bottles to be squeezed into a single collection bin.
- Households should store used bottles at home for as long as possible. Once collection services are up and running again, these bottles can be deposited in the designated collection areas.
If you have plastic bottles left over from the floods and would like to have them recycled, you can find your nearest collection facility by using the Recresco collection bank locator.
