1. European Environment Agency opens Waste SmART

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has launched a competition for artistic depictions relating to the problem of waste.

Waste SmART, launched to raise awareness of utilising waste as a resource, calls on members of the public to highlight the need for better waste prevention, management and recycling in one of three mediums: photography, cartoon or film.

The best entry in each category will win €500 (£425), and there will be a further €500 ‘youth prize’, given to the best entry from someone born between 1989 and 1995. All the finalists will be put forward for a People's Choice Award and may also feature in future digital and print material from the EEA and its European partners.

Submissions must be accompanied by a short explanation and be entered before 30 September 2013 at 12pm Central European Time.

The competition is open to citizens of the all EEA member and cooperating countries. All participants must be 18 or older.

Read more about the Waste SmART competition.

2. Resource-efficient architect award nominees

Five architecture projects have been shortlisted for the ‘Resource Efficiency’ category (sponsored by Zero Waste Scotland) in the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) annual awards.

The shortlisted projects are:

• Dunfermline High School, Dunfermline by Fife Council Property Services;
• Malin House, Dunstaffnage by ADF Architects;
• Sugarhouse Close, Edinburgh by Oberlanders Architects LLP;
• The Chapel of Saint Albert the Great, Edinburgh by Simpson & Brown Architects; and
• University of Aberdeen New Library, Aberdeen by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects.

The nominees were all recognised for showing a ‘strong commitment to having practices in the design and construction process that are efficient in the way resources are used and the products selected’.

The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in Edinburgh on Wednesday (12 June).

Iain Connelly, RIAS President, said: “New buildings should be resource and energy efficient – this award recognises and celebrates that. Zero Waste Scotland must be commended for their excellent work in ensuring a more sustainable future for all Scots.”

Read more about the RIAS awards.

3. Axion launches MRF manager training course

Resource recovery specialist Axion Consulting has launched new training packages for managers of materials recovery facilities.

The company said that the packages were produced following a ‘number of requests’ to deliver process operator and technical management training for both new and existing MRFs.

Axion Director Keith Freegard added that recent growth in building new waste facilities had fuelled demand for training in the ‘technical, practical and people-management’ aspects of operating large-scale sorting plants.

He said: “Very often, a fresh group of people are recruited to run a newly-built MRF and this creates two big training needs: firstly how all the equipment works and secondly, getting all the employees to work as a team. So in line with high-quality technical training, we’ve developed methods of encouraging people to work in teams and groups by applying the knowledge they’ve learned to solve hypothetical problems. This then helps them to identify and plug any knowledge gaps.”

Read more about Axion’s MRF training scheme.

4. Zero Waste Scotland supports ‘Happiness Recycled’

Zero Waste Scotland volunteers will be supporting Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) recycling initiatives at RockNess festival this weekend (7-9 June) and the Royal Highland Show (20-23 June) as part of the Coca-Cola’s ‘Happiness Recycled’ campaign features interactive bins that are designed to ‘bring fun and excitement to the recycling process’. Visitors will engage with the bins by using them either as a basketball net through which to shoot their recycling or as a giant ‘flower pot’ bin in which to deposit their recycling.drive to encourage more recycling in Scotland.

‘Flash mob’ style CCE performers will also be on hand to congratulate participants on their recycling success.

Iain Gulland, Director of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “We’re delighted to be involved in this initiative which aims to make recycling fun, while at the same time highlighting the value of items like drinks bottles and cans. This is another welcome opportunity to encourage people to recycle not just at home, but also when they’re out and about enjoying themselves.”

Read more about Happiness Recycled.

5. SITA launches commercial food waste service in Birmingham

Waste management company SITA UK has launched a new commercial food waste recycling service in Birmingham.

The weekly service, funded by a £52,000 WRAP grant (matched by SITA UK), will mean that businesses can separate out their food waste from their general rubbish bin, into biodegradable sacks (known as ‘biobags’) so it can be turned into compost and energy.

It is hoped that the service could help prevent over 1,000 tonnes of waste from going to landfill every year.

Commenting on the introduction of the service, Andy Hill, Head of Organics and Alternative Fuels at SITA UK, said: “As the UK’s second city, Birmingham is full of businesses that are looking for ways to improve their environmental performance and reduce their carbon footprint. Recycling food waste is an easy way to achieve this aim and to ensure that a significant proportion of your waste is diverted from landfill.”

Read more about SITA UK’s food waste service.

6. Broxbourne recycling changes

The Borough of Broxbourne has announced that from ‘autumn 2013’, it will change the way it operates its waste collection service in an effort to increase its recycling rate – which currently sits around 39 per cent.

Under the new service, marketed as ‘ABC’ (Alternate Bin Collection), garden and food waste will be collected on one week, with dry recyclables and residual waste (collected in purple refuse sacks) on the other.

Further, all dry recyclables will be collected in a new 240-litre wheeled bin, replacing the current system which sees residents separate plastic bottles and cans into a 55-litre black kerbside box and paper and glass into a 55-litre green kerbside box. The green bin service for food and garden waste will continue service as usual, though cardboard will have to be placed in the wheelie bin instead.

Residents will also be able to recycle drinks cartons and a ‘greater range’ of plastics under the new system.

Speaking of the changes, Councillor Ray Hannam, Cabinet Member for Public and Environmental Protection, said: “Broxbourne has one of the lowest recycling rates in Hertfordshire, which is not good for the environment and costs taxpayers a lot of money. The new scheme is designed to increase recycling rates by making it easier for residents to recycle and to enable them to recycle a wider range of items. It’s as easy as ABC!”

Read more about Broxbourne’s recycling changes.