Materials Recycling Week
6 May 2005
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Basel Convention rules on pollutants
Rulers in charge of implementing the Basel Convention have insisted that wastes including persistent organic pollutants (POPs) must not be used for recycling or re-use. The secretariat of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal has released technical manuals on the subject. The detailed booklet advises waste management bodies to ensure that POPs are destroyed or irreversibly transformed. It notes national laws such as G -
British plastic recyclers go Dutch
They don't eat spotted dick and we don't wear clogs, but plastic recyclers from Britain and Holland united last week for an international first. Members of the British Plastics Federation (BPF) Recycling Council combined their usual quarterly meeting with visits to two Dutch recycling plants and an informal meeting with VKR, the Dutch plastic recycling organisation. It was the first time that two national plastics recycling organisations had met to exchange views and ideas. Reflec -
Champagne start to key week
MPs and key waste industry figures have celebrated the launch of an important charter as the nation marks Compost Awareness Week. The Composting Industry Code of Practice was published to clearly summarise the legal and practical requirements for undertaking the activity. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs head of waste strategy Lindsay Cornish said: "As the composting industry grows in stature, and with the introduction of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme in Apri -
Comment: An urgent need for reprocessing facilities
As the focus turns towards composting this week, a code of practice has been launched to promote good practice throughout the industry. This is essential, particularly with the introduction of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme and as the composting industry develops. There has clearly been a growth in collection of organic waste at kerbside over the past few years, with a number of councils receiving funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Despite -
Feature: A cultivated argument
An innovative additional kerbside recycling collection scheme has been introduced in Nottinghamshire which gives residents the option of using an existing bin for dual-purpose or purchasing a third bin. Following three successful bids, Broxtowe Borough Council has been awarded money from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to introduce the green garden waste collection in addition to its existing twin-bin recycling schedule. The new scheme will involve a collection of g -
Feature: Collective bargaining
The days when residents took recyclable goods to a central point are fast disappearing. Legislation due to be introduced by the Government in 2010 will require all local authorities in the UK to provide two waste disposal streams per household. Doorstep collections are one of the most effective ways of encouraging people to recycle, so providing a separate waste collection scheme for such goods could help many local authorities meet tough European Union recycling targets. However, mak -
Feature: Confusion continues over commingled exports
The UK enjoyed a spectacular 2004 in terms of recovered paper exports, latest figures from the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) have confirmed. A total of 2.587 million tonnes were exported last year compared with 1.861 million tonnes in the previous year; as recently as 2001, the annual export figure had been below one million tonnes. Shipments to China more than doubled last year to over 720,000 tonnes - equivalent to 28% of all UK recovered paper exports. In receiving almost 390 -
Feature: Paper consumption dips in February
Following a positive start to the year, the January gains in UK consumption of recovered paper were virtually wiped out in February, according to latest statistics from the Confederation of Paper Industries. The figures also told of a dip in UK paper and board production to 477,382 tonnes in February, down 5.3% on the same month last year. Recovered paper consumption had been 2.6% higher in January than in the first month of 2004, but comparative February totals revealed a decline of 2.3% -
Feature: Polished performance
As the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) gears up for its World Recycling Convention and Exhibition towards the end of this month, the release of the BIR Annual Report 2004 means that it is also a time to look back at the driving forces and market trends for ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Unsurprisingly, the report's references to China were prolific as the country's "economic dynamism" proved to be a main catalyst for world demand. However, according to Francis Veys, BIR direc -
Feature: Robotic resource
In 1988, having bought a small skip-building business from an advertisement in the local newspaper, husband and wife team Mark and Gill Edwards formed GJF Fabrications. Along with one employee they set out on a journey which, 16 years later, has seen the company grow to 70 employees with an annual turnover of £5 million. In the beginning, Gill already worked full-time. But in order to help the fledgling company's cash flow, at the end of each working day she then worked for GJF, car -
Feature: Trading places
The UK's chosen vehicle for delivering the EU Landfill Directive targets to divert biodegradable municipal waste - the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) - came into effect on April 1 this year. Every English local authority has been set decreasing limits on the amount of waste it can send to landfill until 2020. The allowances for the first year have been based on landfilled amounts in 2001/02. But subsequent limits are based on waste arisings in 2001/02, resulting in an increased -
News Analysis: An insider's verdict on LATS one month on
The key system in the UK's drive towards meeting Landfill Directive targets during the next 15 years kicked off last month. With so much riding on the Landfill Allowing Trading Scheme (LATS), it was inevitable that strong opinions were voiced on it right up to its launch day. Reaction to the scheme - which gives councils tradable limits of household waste they can put in the ground - has been mixed. Critics claim it will lead to a rise in incineration or cost councils heavily in fines, wh -
Pay-by-weight only a matter of time
The controversial method of charging people for how much waste they produce will come to the UK, according to Plastic Omnium marketing manager Simon Dutta. The waste containment firm has this week launched an all-in-one weighing system, Ecosourcing, which provides both software and hardware, including chipped bins and weighing technology. Dutta said: "We believe quite strongly that if the Government wants to get serious about recycling and get the UK near other European countries' rec -
Recycling facilities for every London home
All new properties in London must have recycling facilities under plans launched by Ken Livingstone. The London Mayor has issued a blueprint for a sustainable capital, setting environmental standards for construction firms. Under the proposals, builders would have to provide facilities for residents to recycle or compost at least 25% of household waste, rising to 35% by 2010. The facilities should be as easy to access as waste facilities. Any development proposal in the capita -
The scary scale of WEEE
It was once an infamous red-light district, has since hosted some bizarre works of art and theatre and recently had David Blaine dangling in a glass box above it for 44 days. But even these weird and wonderful sights could not have prepared London's South Bank for the giant waste-metal humanoid prowling it this month. The RSA WEEE Man has been created to raise awareness of the need to recycle waste electrical products. The Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive is -
Waste crime to rocket, says CIWM
Following the BBC expose Dumping On Britain , the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) has warned that the problem of illegal waste dumping will get worse. The programme, which aired May 4 on BBC One, featured large-scale fly-tipping rackets including a golf course used as an illegal dump for construction waste ( -
Wilde in Tesco plea
She once asked when there would be a harvest for the world, now she wants to know when there will be a recycling centre at Tesco in Hatfield. Eighties pop singer Kim Wilde, who sung the Isley Brothers hit with Jason Donovan for Amnesty International, opened a state-of-the-art facility in Portsmouth this week. The machine's compression of materials means it can store 10,000 plastic bottles, 35,000 aluminium cans and 3,100 glass bottles. It also has a computer system that sends an a
