• Controversy over Slow Release of Green Funding Loans by London Waste Board

    16 May 2012 - The latest balance sheet reporting on the flagship waste funding agency named London Waste and Recycling Board (LWaRB) has revealed that only a quarter of the loans it has pledged to UK companies since it was launched in 2008 have been issued.

    Securing funding for waste projects has repeatedly been named as one of the biggest obstacles to the UK hitting its ambitious waste management goals for the end of this decade. While LWaRB was set up to alleviate this, the agency seems to have faced major challenges in getting loans out the door.

  • Fife Council is Leading Example of Recycling Benefits

    15 July 2012 - Fife Council is setting a proud Green example by achieving a new record for the percentage of its domestic and business waste being recycled.

    They have announced that over 55% (140,000 tonnes) of their waste was recycled in the financial year 2011/12 – this means that the Council is one of the top performers in the UK.

  • Survey Finds UK Workers Failing to Implement Simple Green Practises in Offices

    14 May 2012 - A survey of 1,000 Britons by office supplier Avery has revealed that many UK workers are failing to bring the same recycling habits into the workplace as they practise at home.

    On average, four out of 10 of those surveyed admitted to not using the company recycling bin, compared to eight out of ten who regularly separate recyclable goods from non-recyclables in their homes.

  • Pendle Council Helps Local Businesses with Recycling Collection Service

    08 May 2012 - Pendle Council are setting an enviable precedent for business waste assistance – they are now offering an easy, reliable and economical service for local firms to recycle.

    The Council will collect waste paper, cardboard, cans, plastic bottles and glass generated by businesses, including each company being able to choose the size of bin that best suits their needs.

    In addition, waste management staff will visit any local business to discuss their recycling needs and how the new service can help them.

  • Latest Defra Figures Reveal Londoners as Worst Britons for Poor Recycling

    07 May 2012 - According to Defra’s quarterly report for the 12 months between October 2010 and September 2011, recycling rates in England have risen overall, however the capital is still lagging behind.

    Currently, only 33.4% of household waste in London is going for recycling, composting or reuse. In total, London remains at the bottom of the league table for household recycling, at more than 16% behind the Eastern region of England, which is rated top.

  • BPF Urges Government to Split Packaging Recycling Targets for Plastics

    07 May 2012 - The British Plastics Federation’s Recycling Group (BPF) is now calling on the Government to split the packaging recycling target for plastics, since the current system they say makes it more attractive to export waste material than to recycle it in the UK.

    Comprised of members such as Eco Plastics, CK Polymers and Jayplas, the Group is proposing the current material-specific target for plastics be split between UK reprocessing and export, with the export side decreasing over time. In this way, the competitive principles of the existing system will not be undermined.

  • Government Urges End to 'Shameful' Plastic Waste Sent to Landfill

    03 May 2012 - The government is to call on councils and businesses to ramp up their plastic recycling capacities and better realise the financial value to be had from the thousands of tonnes of waste plastics discarded every year in the UK.

    Defra Minister Lord Taylor is due to present a speech at the upcoming headquarters of charity and advisory committee Recoup, where he will stress that plastic waste represents one of the easiest and most cost-effective areas for the UK to meet its agreed recycling targets.

  • Winners Announced at Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management

    02 May 2012 - The Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management, now in their ninth year, announced the latest top performers during a champagne reception and three course gala luncheon at the Landmark Hotel in London yesterday.

    Organised by letsrecycle.com, the awards were assessed by a panel of eight industry judges and presented in ten categories.

  • European Countries Join Forces to Create Recycling Performance Standard

    30 April 2012 - The partnership project 'Regions 4 Recycling' (R4R) will see twelve EU regions joining forces to develop a common best-practise recycling framework.

    Aiming to improve the consistency of recycling and recovery rates across Europe, the partnership will run over three years to formulate a methodology for waste data observation, selective collection and recycling performance.

  • Bath's Royal United Hospital Highlights Cost Benefits of Recycling

    30 April 2012 - Staff at the Royal United Hospital in Bath have been undergoing a Green drive which has provided a shining example of the cost benefits of waste recycling for businesses and organisations.

    The Royal United Hospital has now increased the amount of rubbish they recycle by 50% in the past financial year, equating to 723 tonnes of waste recycled compared to 482 tonnes during 2010/11.

  • World’s largest hotel business to recycle soap across North America

    26 April 2012 - InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) – the world’s largest hotel group when measured by number of rooms - has announced that it will significantly increase the scale of its soap-recycling scheme within its North American hotel operations.

    Considering the size of IHG’s business, any announcement on their recycling policy is big news – the business operates over 650,000 rooms in over 4,000 hotels worldwide. Brands such as Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and InterContinental all fall under the business’ umbrella.

  • Wales will encourage businesses to recycle through waste collection charges

    23 April 2012 - In the UK, Local Councils now have the right to impose charges on businesses for the collection and disposal of waste. This has been seen by many as a way in which Local Councils can encourage businesses to recycle as much waste as possible.

    In England, many small businesses have been exempted from these waste disposal charges. The Welsh Government has not, however, shown any indication of following a similar path. It has instead insisted that waste disposal charges are a key element in helping Wales achieve its targets of 70% recycling by 2025 and zero waste by 2050.

  • BIS Set to Provide Investment Funding for Organisations to Carry Out Green Projects

    19 April 2012 - The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has confirmed it is starting the process of making direct investments in Green infrastructure projects from this month.

  • Cornwall Council Under Fire for Issues with Waste Collection Changes

    18 April 2012 - Following one of the largest changes to refuse and recycling collection in the country, Cornwall Council has admitted "initial teething problems".

    This response comes after it was revealed that the council has received 8,000 calls from the public per day since the beginning of April regarding rubbish, recycling and garden waste.

    The calls cover a range of issues, from general questions and requesting additional recycling containers, to asking for assisted collection, reporting missed rubbish or recycling collections and registering for the new garden waste service.

  • European Commission Highlights Need for UK to Further Reduce Landfill Rates

    17 April 2012 - According to a new report by the European Commission, the UK has significantly reduced the amount of waste sent to landfill, but it continues to lag behind Europe’s best performers.

    The continent’s top nations include Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands - they all sent less than 3% of their total waste to landfill in 2010, compared to 48% in the UK.

  • Hertfordshire Makes Shortlist for National Recycling Awards 2012

    16 April 2012 - The campaigning arm of Hertfordshire's Waste Partnership (HWP), called WasteAware, has achieved the National Recycling Awards shortlist this year.

    HWP is in the running for the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Recycler of the Year category. Winners of the Awards will be announced on July 3.

    Hertfordshire's nomination recognises the fact that their WasteAware project effectively encourages local businesses, residents, schools and students to recycle more electrical goods.

  • Sims Moving Forward with £9m Plastics Recycling Facility in Billingham

    13 April 2012 - Recycling company Sims says their world-leading facility, currently under construction at Teesside as a £9m scheme, will go a long way in helping the UK to reach Green targets.

    The Billingham plant will utilise innovative technology developed in-house to strip a range of plastics back to single polymers (which are nearly as high quality as virgin material) then sell them back into the marketplace.

    Sims' facility is one of the biggest of its kind in the world - four times bigger than any in Europe - and is expected to boost UK recycling targets.

  • Bristol Becomes First UK City to Make Shortlist for European Green Award

    12 April 2012 - The city of Bristol has been shortlisted by Copenhagen and Frankfurt to become European Green Capital in 2014 – not only does this represent the only UK city to have reached this stage, if they win the title in the June announcement it will mean a boon to the whole nation in addition to boosting the local economy.

  • First UK Automated Battery Sorter to Help Britain Reach Recycling Targets

    11 April 2012 - Waste batteries collector and sorter G&P Batteries is to install the UK’s first automated battery sorter at their Darlaston facility in the West Midlands.

    The bespoke sorting machine for waste portable batteries was designed by Swedish recycling technology firm Optisort and will effectively double G&P Batteries capacity at the Darlaston plant - around 5 batteries will be processed per second, and if running at full capacity the machine will sort up to a tonne of batteries per hour.

  • Skanska Preferred Bidder for Construction of £170m Waste Complex in Bradford

    April 10 2012 - Construction contractor Skanska UK has now been appointed preferred bidder to build a £170m waste processing facility in Bradford and Calderdale.

    Once planning permission is finalised, the new Waste Treatment PFI project will take three years to complete. As a joint venture with consultant AECOM, Skanska UK is set to carry out the engineering, procurement and construction.
    Skanska’s contribution to the design, build, finance and operation will be made public when the project secures financial closure later this year.