Use It Again

SITA UK recycle with UBM

Alan — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:12:46 +0000

The Facilities Show by UBM is going to be working with the waste management partner this year the first time and they are hoping that this will bring the idea of waste management to their increasingly diverse and large audience. The partnership is going to be with a leading resource management and recycling company, SITA UK.

The partnership will see SITA provide 15 recycling points all around the event where those attending the show will be able to dispose of waste. The director of sales for the company is Adrian Clarke who has mentioned the importance of waste management companies remaining in touch with facilities management companies so that they are aware of the changes that are occurring in the industry, both technological and legislative.

Mr Clarke commented, “We are very pleased to be involved with the show this year and we understand that facilities management companies are playing an increasingly important role in the waste management and recycling in large organisations. We are already working with many large companies to deliver effective solutions.

“Waste management is a very complex process and it requires all organisations to keep up with ever-changing legal requirements. There are also new technologies constantly being introduced into the sector which all firms have to be aware of. We are one of the leading waste management companies in the UK and we are proud to showcase our many solutions at this event.”

The Facilities Show is a trade event for many companies who are involved with facilities management, it is run through a partnership with the British Institute of Facilities Managers. This year it is due to take place in the middle of May in Birmingham and is going to showcase the latest services and products available in the industry as well as offering an opportunity to share best practice techniques.

Recycling plants refused permission to expand

Alan — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:07:04 +0000

A planning committee has recently withdrawn approval of the expansion of recycling plants which was due to create nearly 60 jobs. The plant had previously been approved but the committee went back on its decision after further consideration. The application was by Bowmans Waste and was going to be an expansion to help the plant deal with commercial waste at its site in Lincolnshire.

After the decision was made in its favour it spent £250,000 and hired nearly 30 people. After it had already done this, the council reversed the decision saying that they were unsure whether the plant would be able to remove the odour it produced to a high enough standard.

Kenneth Ellis is the developer behind the project and he was unaware that the application had been revoked. He commented, “We were granted permission and we hired people and spent a lot of money on equipment, and now we have been told we are unable to proceed.

This is disappointing for the company, as well as the people who are going to have to lose their jobs. The objection they have come up with was something we dealt with at the previous meetings and now it has been brought up again without grounds.”

The waste that was going to be disposed of at the plant is now going to have to travel a long distance to be disposed of and many people are concerned that the roads are going to remain clogged. Instead of being dealt with at the facility, the waste is going to be sent to landfill in North Hykeham.

Others have been pleased that the application was refused as they were concerned that the facility would pollute the local area. One of their concerns was about the smell that facility would create.

Less household waste in Northern Ireland

Alan — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:17:17 +0000

The amount of municipal and household waste that is being collected by councils in Northern Ireland has fallen by nearly 5% within a year. Alex Atwood, the Minister for the Environment, has welcomed the news that the amount of waste that was collected between July and September of 2011 had dropped compared with the same period of 2010.

This in turn helped the recycling rates for both household and municipal climb to nearly 43%, an increase of almost 1% and 42%, a rise of nearly 2% respectively, as compared with the same period in 2010. The amounts of both municipal and household waste sent to the landfill sites also dropped by around 10% for the same period, meaning that between July and September 2011 54% of household and 56% of municipal waste went to landfill.

Mr Attwood has said that it is not just common sense to minimise the volume of waste we produce allowing the councils to spend money on where its needed most, but is also a boon to the environment as less waste equals less of an impact. While the phrase ‘reduce reuse recycle’ has been around for quite some time now, it is the foundation of Mr Attwood’s departments campaign ‘Rethink Waste’.

He also said that he was pleased to see a continuing rise in the rates of recycling while at the same time seeing a decrease in the amount of waste sent to landfill, and wanted to pass on his thanks to those who were doing their bit to help.

He added that by working together we can all make a difference and the challenges now for Northern Ireland were to see if we can become world leaders in carbon reduction and take their clean and green reputation to a higher level, as this is where he wants to go, and where he believes the country can go.

Householders to recycle used light bulbs

Alan — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:12:17 +0000

A new invention is set to make it easier than ever before for householders to recycle used light bulbs – and all while they carry out their weekly shop.

Revend Recycling Limited has invented what it says is the first reverse vending machine which can be used for recycling spent light bulbs and also old batteries. The machines themselves were created by Revend and Norwegian company, Repant ASA, and are set to start appearing in shops like Ikea throughout theUKsoon.

As well as being able to safely collect and store light bulbs until they can be taken to a dedicated recycling centre, the units also have an additional storage space for recyclable batteries. Bosses at Revend hope their invention will help theUKmeets its recycling targets as well as cutting down the number of light bulbs which end up, unnecessarily, in landfill sites.

The lighting industry has always struggled to meet its own green targets, as many people did not even know that light bulbs could be recycled or recycling facilities would not accept the small numbers produced each year by domestic residences as opposed to office blocks.

UKshoppers will be among the first to benefit from the unique reverse vending units, though Revend aims to sell their invention in Europe and theUStoo, starting in Ikea furniture stores. Ikea customers using the machines to recycle their light bulbs or batteries from home will be given vouchers to use in-store as an incentive to continue with their environmentally friendly activities, or they can convert the value of their recycling into a donation to the Woodland Trust, Save the Children, UNICEF or the WWF.

A pilot successful pilot scheme was launched at the Lakeside branch of Ikea, with Revend machines now set to be installed in the stores at Wednesbury, in the West Midlands, and Wembley,London.

More than just recycling – steps towards a healthier planet

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:13:34 +0000

Everyone knows that if you want to do something good for the planet, you should probably start with recycling. Reducing, reusing and recycling are all excellent mantras for helping to restore our planet, but it’s time to add another term — renew.

The next step in going green is switching to renewable, sustainable energy, which does less harm to the planet. Traditionally, modern society has depended on the burning of fossil fuels to meet our energy needs, but these methods are harmful to the earth because they produce pollution that can lead to serious issues such as global warming. In addition, fossil fuels are a finite resource that won’t last forever and whose prices and availability are often subject to high-pressure political and economic situations.

These challenges are leading forward thinkers to turn to green energy, which produces little to no pollution and is infinitely available. Renewable systems, such as home-installed solar panels that collect energy from the sun and convert it into electricity are quiet, require little maintenance and last for decades. Wind turbines are also used by both homeowners and energy providers to produce electricity from a sustainable source.

Because renewable energy use is still growing, many homeowners have yet to catch on. Part of the reason some people shy away from renewable energy is because they don’t know enough about it or they can’t afford the upfront costs of purchasing and installing a solar or wind system. However, even if you can’t afford to go off the grid, you can still make your home a centre for renewable energy. Many energy companies use a variety of sources to get their electricity, and many more specialise in renewable energy. If you’re not sure where your electricity is coming from, you can find out easily by contacting your energy company, and new proposals from Ofgem aim to make switching companies easier for consumers.

Even with the new catchphrase — renew– you should also keep in mind the traditional recycling principles to reduce your consumption of energy. Even if part of your plan is renewable energy, you can still cut down on the amount that you have to pay for from an energy company with a few simple tricks. For example, insulating your home’s doors and windows can help stop leakage of warm air in the winter and cool air in the summer. Likewise, installing compact fluorescent bulbs can significantly reduce the amount of electricity you use for lighting.

The key to living a sustainable lifestyle all around is to think green all the time. Remember, it’s more than just recycling, and you can take the next step by renewing your home’s energy plan today.

Article for Good Energy

Carpet Recycling

Alan — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:50:14 +0000

Carpet Recycling UK is an organisation with seven members based in the UK that are responsible for stopping carpet from going into landfill. Last year, it was estimated that these seven members of the group stopped about 6000 tonnes from entering landfill. This is a particularly impressive figure when you look at the numbers for the previous years and shows a growth of about 50 percent since 2010.

Laurance Bird is the director of Carpet Recycling and he has commented, “This is a great step forward for everything that the group wants to achieve and we hope that in the future we will be able to stop any carpet from being sent to landfill.”

The group is run by Axion Consulting and was set up to find a way to reduce the amount of carpet that going to landfill. Before the group was established around half a million tonnes of carpet was not being recycled. It is expected that by 2015 around 25 percent of all carpet will be diverted from landfill.

Mr Bird commented, “Carpet is a very bulky waste and we are looking for more sustainable ways to dispose of it other than landfill. There are many ways that carpet can be recycled and it can be made into plastic, various textiles and equestrian surfaces.”

A member of the group is Cormar Carpets and finance director of the company as Robert Barker. He has said, “Since becoming a member of Carpet Recycling we have been focusing on how to divert our waste streams from landfill.

What we originally thought was a simple waste material we are now seeing is a useful product that we can use in a manufacturing process. Through our membership of Carpet Recycling we are going to be able to bring greater value to our customers and their businesses.”

Recycling old PVC windows

Alan — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:23:59 +0000

Merritt Plastics is a subsidiary of Eurocell and it has recently opened a new recycling facility located in Derbyshire. The recycling facility is to handle old PVC windows and it is expected that once open the facility is going to be able to recycle over 10,000 window frames every week.

The director of plastic conversion for the group is Albert Vasseur who said, “This is just another way in which the company is showing that it is dedicated to creating a sustainable business. We are creating a way for waste products to be turned into something valuable and by recycling PVC we are helping to create products that are highly energy-efficient.”

The chief executive of Eurocell is Patrick Bateman who has said, “This is a new beginning for green solutions at Eurocell and we are very pleased to be offering this new sustainable manufacturing facility. We are a company that is dedicated to using recycled materials and manufacturing process and our products will always continue to meet the most stringent demands of our customers.”

Eurocell creates conservatory, window and roofline PVC for the construction industry and has over one hundred branches in its network across the United Kingdom.

Barnardos says recycle your Christmas presents

Alan — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 09:45:38 +0000

Barnardos is urging people in the UK to give away any Christmas presents that they don’t want to the charity. They are saying that people should give their gifts to the charity shop so that funds that are needed by the charity can be raised through the presents’ sale.

Recent estimates by the charity said that around one in every three gifts given are unwanted by the recipient. Another estimate by eBay suggests that over £650 million was spent this Christmas on gifts that are not wanted, the company has a boom every year as people sell gifts they have received online.

A business manager of Barnardos is Marie Williams and she has said, “Every year we all will probably receive at least one gift that we don’t really want, it might be something unsuitable or just clothing in the wrong size.

If you have a gift that you don’t want by giving it a Barnardos you are helping some of the most disadvantaged children in the country. Each year Barnardos in Scotland helps around 10,000 children and every penny we raise goes towards supporting more children in the future.”

There are nearly 70 Barnardos stores in Scotland alone and there is a special donation centre which can be found in Edinburgh. Barnardos are also urging people to come to their stores to see if there are gifts there at a great price that they did not receive from friends or family.

Barnardos has said that some of the most unwanted Christmas presents this year include toiletry sets and digital photo frames. The latter of these has had significant decline in popularity over the last few years but it can still make a great gift for yourself or a friend. Barnardos also receives a lot of DVDs from people who already had a copy.

Recycling laptops

Alan — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:34:25 +0000

By now, most people in the UK are used to recycling their paper and plastics on a daily basis, thus doing their bit for the environment. How many of us though consider recycling larger household items when they come to the end of their usefulness? Technological gadgets are almost out-of-date as soon as you take them out of the shop these days, and laptops are no exceptions.

Most people keep their laptops for an average of around three years before they decide they need some new functionality, better features or just a computer that runs at a decent speed. The problem is that laptops cannot just be thrown away in the bin; they are full of chemicals that will leak out of the casing if they are dumped in a landfill site, creating many problems for the local environment.

These chemicals can soak deep into the ground, affecting the water supply in the surrounding area and even killing birds and small mammals that find themselves exposed to the harmful materials. Most laptops that are no longer needed find themselves buried in landfill sites, despite the fact that it can take centuries for the durable plastic casing to break down to the point that it no longer poses a risk to the environment.

Luckily, there is now an alternative. Just because you don’t need your laptop any more doesn’t mean that it’s useless to everyone. Some charities will happily take unwanted laptops and PCs off your hands, while other companies are more interested in the parts inside which can be removed from the casing and used in repairs. Check out the Internet to see if there are any recycling opportunities near you or, failing that, find a company that will pay you to post them your old and unwanted laptop and give it a new lease of life.

End of Life Vehicle Directive

Alan — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:44:24 +0000

With a steadily increasing fund of information, suggestions and solutions in the field of environmental protection and specifically the proper disposal of waste, there is virtually no community in the UK, no matter how small or isolated, that does not have access to recycling and refuse disposal facilities. Items that are easily portable, which includes most ordinary household waste, can be recycled, composted or at least compacted for final disposal.

Big items like the family car are another story. The Environment Agency estimates that around two million UK vehicles ‘die’ every year – either totaled in accidents or too old to get up and go anymore. Some can be sold for scrap, but many end up rusting away in the side yard or other inappropriate spots because getting rid of them is just too much trouble.

In an effort to resolve the problem of waste and environmental hazards associated with defunct vehicles, in 2005 the UK passed legislation called the ELV (End of Life Vehicle) Directive. It is meant to insure that all recyclable parts of a vehicle are actually recycled, and includes the proviso that all hazardous materials such as oil, brake fluid, batteries etc are first removed and dealt with in an environmentally acceptable manner.

The government licensed Authorized Treatment Facilities (ATFs) all over the country, where any used vehicle that cannot be re-sold, donated to a charity or otherwise reaches the end of its life on the road can be taken at no cost to the owner. An ATF will ‘decontaminate’ the vehicle and issue a Certificate of Destruction that relieves its owner of any further legal responsibility and takes the vehicle out of the DVLA database.

Recycling your vehicle makes good sense for the environment; by 2015 up to 95% of the materials in every recycled vehicle will be re-used if the ELV Directive’s target is met. In addition there are financial incentives for the owners. They can recoup some money on scrap metal and used parts and/or qualify for a tax deduction. Go to the Waste Online website for additional information.