1. South London strike ‘on hold’ for talks

Refuse collection workers in Bromley and Croydon that were due to strike from 2-4 July over ‘a paltry pay offer’ announced that they have put their action ‘on hold’ for 21 days, while talks are held with their employer, Veolia Environmental Services UK plc, under the auspices of Acas, the conciliation service.

The strikes were announced following disagreements over pay increases, with workers saying Veolia’s offer of a two per cent rise was a ‘paltry pay offer’, considering that the current retail price index is 3.1 per cent, and that the company made £121 million of profits in the year ending December 2011

Unite regional officer Onay Kasab commented:“We are prepared to negotiate in good faith and use this window of opportunity constructively. But if no settlement is reached, strike action will happen very quickly - the strike is only put on hold for 21 days.”

2. Eriez releases new rotor design

Manufacturers of magnetic separation machinery, Eriez, has announced that it is releasing a new rotor design for its eddy current separator (ECS), the RevX-E®.

The design features a smaller diameter magnetic rotor offset at the top of a larger outer shell, which allows the rotor’s repelling force to focus in the area closest to the outer shell. Although the eccentric rotor radiates a more focused surface area for separation, this new design reduces ferrous build-up by releasing it from the belt after it has passed through the field.

According to Eriez, the new design will bring ‘greater recovery of valuable nonferrous metals in ASR, cullet, plastics, secondary metals and incineration ash applications’. Other improvements include easier access panels, eccentric and compact design, and adjustable rotor position for optimum separation.

3. Live grenade found in recycling centre

On Sunday (23 June), a live hand grenade was discovered by an Essex council staff member at the recycling centre in Pitsea Hall Lane, Basildon.

The grenade was found dumped in a waste metal container at the site in south Essex.

Police were called and the centre was evacuated. A bomb disposal unit arrived at the scene and removed the grenade before destroying it in a controlled explosion.

The council said in recent years its staff had found ammunition, firearms, distress flares and mortar shells taken to its recycling centres.

Roger Walters, Essex County Council's cabinet member for waste and recycling, said: "We encourage residents to recycle as much as they can, however it appears someone was bit too keen on this occasion.

"There are lots of different items you can bring to our recycling centres, but if you are ever unsure please check with us before setting out."

Read more about some of the weird and wonderful things found in recycling.

4. Cambridge Council urges resdidents to recycle card and paper

Cambridge City Council and its waste contractor, Viridor, is calling on residents to recycle more paper and card after it was found that 2,000 tonnes of the material, worth around £80,000 if recycled, was sent to landfill last year.

The Mayor of Cambridge, Councillor Paul Saunders, said: “Paper and card are some of the easiest things to recycle – you can just stick them in your blue bin with no rinsing out like other items. We’ve been able to recycle paper at the kerbside in Cambridge since 1995 so I think people tend to forget how important it is, and focus instead on ‘newer’ materials like plastics.”

Communications Manager for Viridor, Victor Perez-Mares, added: “We have customers who can transform [paper and cardboard] into useful new products, from newspapers to coffee cups, so it needn’t go to waste.”

Cambridge City Council will be taking the paper and card recycling campaign into neighbourhoods with a pop-up roadshow.

Read more about the campaign.

5. WEEE under-reported

A recent survey of businesses in France, Germany and the UK has revealed that some waste and electronic equipment (WEEE) is not reported under the EU’s WEEE Directive, because it is often disposed of informally or by contractors rather than manufacturers who are responsible for the whole life cycle of the products.

The WEEE Directive was set up to ensure that EU member states prevent or minimise the amount of WEEE sent to landfill, and reduce its environmental impact at its end-of-life stage.

The survey, published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, asked IT managers from 455 businesses, about what they did with their end-of-life IT equipment. Most of the companies reported that they do send end-of-life EEE for recycling or reuse, but the least common route chosen was through the equipment supplier. In addition, the survey found that once the equipment left the business, most companies in all three countries had little information about the fate of the WEEE.

Read more about the survey.

6. Recolight celebrates six years of growth

Lighting compliance scheme, Recolight, has celebrated six years of growth since the WEEE Regulations were introduced in 2007.

Recolight has said that since 2007 they have funded the recycling of ‘over 175 million’ lamps, and helped see lamp recycling rates increase from 27.2 per cent in 2008 to 39.5 per cent in 2012. In addition, membership increased by 16 per cent from 56 to over 127 members in the last 12 months.

Recolight Chief Executive Nigel Harvey said: “Recolight’s passion for and dedication to lamp recycling is clear from the figures.

“Including our consumer collection points, in total we now have over 2300 collection points right across the UK – up by 17 per cent over the last 12 months.”

Read more about Recolight.

7. Energos appointed technology partner for waste recovery park

Artist's impression of the Milton Keynes Waste Recovery Park, courtesy of Race Cottam Associates Ltd

Energos has been appointed technology provider for an advanced thermal conversion facility as part of AmeyCespa's proposed Milton Keynes Waste Recovery Park.

The proposed site, comprising a three-stage waste treatment process to treat residual household waste, is currently being considered by planners and, if approved, will become operational in 2016.

Energos will be responsible for the gasification technology used in the advanced thermal treatment part of the facility. Other technologies used at the park to treat the residual waste will include mechanical treatment and anaerobic digestion.

Nick Dawber, Managing Director of Energos said: "We look forward to working with AmeyCespa to build a best practice advanced thermal treatment facility. This would provide the community with an environmentally responsible, small-scale energy from waste solution that will ensure the diversion of biodegradable material from landfill. It will also generate a valuable supply of renewable energy that can provide an income stream since it is eligible for double Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs).”

Read more about Energos.