Materials Recycling Week
2 April 2010
View all stories from this issue.
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41% of micro-SMEs 'illegally' dispose of recyclates in household waste route
A survey has found that 41% of small firms with four or fewer employees are 'illegally' using their household waste routes to dispose of recyclates. Commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Recycling Activities in SMEs: A Survey found that larger companies are less likely to do this. Around 20% of SMEs employing 10 to 19 people are adding commercial and industri -
Baselines for measuring construction waste revealed
Methods for establishing baselines for both construction waste to landfill and carbon emissions on construction sites have been revealed by the Strategic Forum for Construction. It is hoped that having these methods in place to establish baselines will provide a step forward for meeting the targ -
Call for future Government to monitor rejected MRF materials
The Campaign for Real Recycling has written an open letter to the major political parties calling on the next Government to ensure that the monitoring of materials rejected by material recycling facility operations is tightened to create a clearer record of recycling statistics.The CRR is also calling on the next Government to:* Submit a parliamentary bill to require the publishing of an end use register so that pe -
Call for Government to act faster to develop AD technology, say MPs
The Government must act faster to develop low carbon technologies such as anaerobic digestion to help the UK move towards a green economy, say MPs in a new report. The cross-party House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee, appointed by th -
Concern as Government car scrappage scheme ends UPDATE
The British Metals Recycling Association expressed its apprehension as the Governments car scrappage scheme officially ended today (31 March). BMRA director general Ian Hetherington said: Our concern is that the UK automotive sector may still be weak. The end of the scheme may well result in a sudden drop in new vehicle sales. This could have an obvious knock-on effect for our industry by bringing a corresponding decrease in end-of-life vehicle (ELV) supply. -
Concern in cardboard market as European demand is set to drop
Cardboard industry exporters are bracing themselves for significant price drops, which could lead to difficult conditions in the next few weeks.Experts have warned that the unsustainably high prices could soon plummet due to changing trading conditions in the export market. Currently, the cardboard price is £105-110 per tonne. According to Mark Lyndon Paper Enterprises (UK) commercial director Paul Briggs, the current price is so high as a result of Ge -
Defra launches Climate Change Plan
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published a Climate Change Plan which sets out how the Government will help to reduce emissions in the UK, including emissions from the waste sector, to help tackle climate change. The Government aims to reduce emissions from the waste s -
Engineering firm acquires environment consultancy Entec
Global engineering and project management company AMEC has announced its acquisition of a leading waste consulting firm based in Newcastle for £61 million.Entec Holdings Ltd - an environmental engineering consultancy that - was only bought by its management team five years ago for £30 million. The acquisition is a key part of AMECs strategy to enhance its consulting capabilities and will complement its existing environmental business in the UK, which employs over -
Ferrous Prices
At the time of going to press it is too early to say what home steel works prices for next month will be but there is a general consensus that they look set to rise in line with the increased export prices which have been seen over recent weeks. News that global -
First stage of carbon reduction scheme begins
UK waste management companies and local authorities will have to register their electricity consumption with the Environment Agency (EA) under the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme which begins tomorrow (1 April). Waste management firms Sita, Shanks and Veolia Environmental Services are among around 23 waste and water companies which will be obligated to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions each year from 2013. Those groups which will -
GMWDA "strikes-out" Sita's damages claim - UPDATE
The Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) has succeeded in its High Court attempt to strike-out Sita UKs attempt to secure more than £90 million in damages over the award of the Greater Manchester waste private finance initiative, claiming that the companys attempt was started too late.Handing down the judgement in the case, Mr Justice Mann said: I therefore conclude that Sitas claim has been brought out of time -
Hazardous waste firm fined £40,000 for breaching health and safety regs
Hazardous waste specialist BCB Environmental Management has been fined £40,000 for failing to properly store flammable liquid which was used in an arson attack on the business.After a former employee set fire to BCBs site at Marston Business Park, Tockwith, a joint investigation between the Health and Safety Executive and North Yorkshire Police found the firm had been illegally processing drums of volatile chemicals cl -
Household and manufacturing generate most waste in supply chain
Household and manufacturing generate the largest amounts of waste in the retail supply chain, according to a report published by the Waste & Resources Action Programme. The report, Waste Arisings in the Supply of Food and Drink to Households in the UK, published today, highlights the tota -
Implementation plan to make England AD "world leaders"
Local authorities, businesses and farmers will be given more Government advice and shown more demonstration projects to communicate how anaerobic digestion can best be used in England.Accelerating the Uptake of Anaerobic Digestion in England: an Implementation Plan has been published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in response to recommendations made -
Industry expert calls on Government to set 6% target for electricity from EfW
The UK government must set a target to generate at least 6% of its electricity by recovering energy from waste by 2015, waste management giant Viridor chief executive Colin Drummond said this week. He added that reform of the UKs planning system was also vital to help kick-start investment in technologies such as landfill gas capture, anaerobic digestion and particularly for energy from waste plants and so unlock this low co -
London Metal Exchange
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London Metal Exchange Table
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More Non-Ferrous Prices
ALUMINIUM INGOTS -
Motion against Project Transform's future is defeated
Project Transform is to continue progressing as normal after a motion submitted to Warwickshire County Council to halt the scheme, delay proceedings or develop an alternative strategy was defeated today (30 March). Tabled by Warwickshire County Council Liberal Democrat spokesman for the environment Cllr John Whitehouse, the motion was supported by all Liberal Democrat members present with 12 votes. But councillors from other parties voted against the motion, defeatin -
Non-Ferrous Prices
COPPER -
Non-Ferrous Report
Prices have moved up and down throughout the week, in quite significant swings, but have now returned to a level that makes it look as though nothing has really altered all that much. This demonstrates the current volatility of the markets, with prices affected almost daily, but with no real overall impact seen as yet. -
Olympics waste on target but some concerns remain
The London 2012 Olympics is on target to meet its waste reduction targets although there are concerns over some elements of the process, according to a new report. The report, No time to waste, published by the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 an independent body established to as -
REA reveals proposals to be included in DECC consultation on biomass financing
The proposals set to be included in the Department for Energy and Climate Change consultation on the financing of renewables plants have been revealed by the Renewable Energy Association. The REA has said the proposals will be as follows: -
Rewards for recycling scheme announces first borough-wide roll out
The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead has given the go-ahead for a borough-wide rollout of RecycleBank, the rewards for recycling scheme. From July, 60,000 households in the area will be eligible to join the initiative on a voluntary basis. Residents who took part in a trial scheme with Recy -
Sainsbury's has least recyclable Easter Egg packaging
Supermarket Sainsburys has the least recyclable Easter egg packaging this year, a new report suggests. The report was carried out by Environmental Audit Select Committee MP for East Dunbartonshire Jo Swinson and is entitled Easter Egg Packaging: Annual Progres -
Sita UK to appeal High Court decision on Greater Manchester waste PFI legal claim
Waste firm Sita UK is to launch an appeal following Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authoritys (GMWDA) successful application in the High Court to strike out the companys legal claim. Sita is appealing the decision in the interests of fair competition and equal -
UK meets packaging recycling and recovery targets
The UK has met its packaging recycling and recovery targets, new figures show.The Environment Agency has published the targets on the National Packaging Waste Database for quarter four of 2009. More than 1.86 million tonnes of packaging were recovered and recycled in Q4, meaning that the UK has met its targets.Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) trading platform Environment Exchange managing director Angus Macpherson said that, contrary to initial expectatio -
Veolia drops all legal proceedings against Thurrock
Veolia Environmental Services has dropped all legal proceedings against Thurrock Council. A VES spokesperson said: "We can confirm that we have withdrawn our potential legal proceedings against Thurrock Council relating to the award of its waste collection and recycling services contract. The company looks forward to continuing to operate both Thurrock's household waste recycling centres (HWRCs), manage the c -
Veolia waste truck crashes with car in Essex
A woman had to be cut out of her car after colliding with a Veolia Environmental Services refuse truck in Stanford-Le-Hope, Essex.The vehicles crashed at 9.20 on 25 March on Waltons Hall Road. The 27-year-old woman driver, who was driving a silver VW Polo, was on her way to Stanford-Le-Hope with a 13-year-old boy passenger. The green and white rubbish truck was driving in the opposite direction towards Linford.According to Essex Police, the woman was t -
WRAP trials bring banks to encourage SME recycling
A bring bank scheme to encourage small- and medium- sized businesses to recycle their waste is being piloted by the Waste & Resources Action Programme.Funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as part of its Commercial and Industrial Waste programme, two projects will trial the bring bank system for six months.A WRAP spokesperson comment
