1. Palm Recycling awarded paper bank contract

Palm Recycling has announced that it has been awarded a five-year contract with East Cambridgeshire Council to coordinate its paper bank scheme, managing collections from over 20 bring-bank sites across the borough.

Having commenced on 1 April 2013, the partnership agreement has a potential two-year extension and will see Palm install ‘fully galvanised steel container banks’ throughout sites in East Cambridgeshire.

Operations Regional Manager at Palm, Rachel Chadwick, said: “Bring banks remain a popular form of recycling with the general public - in fact we are seeing a year-on-year increase in the number of banks we manage throughout the UK.

“Palm Recycling has over 6,000 recycling banks nationwide and East Cambridgeshire Council will benefit from our 25+ years’ experience in managing bank schemes such as this one.”

2. DECC releases new Green Deal statistics

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) yesterday (11 April), released the second monthly statistics for energy-efficiency scheme, the Green Deal.

Officially launched in January 2013, the scheme allows householders and businesses to take out loans to make up to 45 different types of energy-efficient improvements to their property.

The newest statistics show that 9,268 assessments have been lodged to date, with 7,465 of those coming in March alone (up from the 1,729 in February). However, it is not been made public how many of the assessments have turned to actual take-up.

Speaking of the improved statistics, Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker, said: “It is clearly very early days but the latest figures on the Green Deal show that this new market is gathering real momentum.”

Read more about the Green Deal statistics

3. Susteco announces launch of new Big Hanna model

Food waste composting specialist Susteco, has announced the launch of a new Big Hanna model, the T480 composter.

An upgrade from the model T240, the new composter has a capacity of 800-2400kg of food waste per week. According to the company, when used in conjunction with an ‘AD waterer’ its capacity increases to 1600-3800kg wet food waste or 800-1900kg of ‘dewatered’ food waste per week.

The T480 sports an 80-litre hopper with infeed auger, similar to that found on the model T240. According to Susteco, by using the new model to compost food waste on site, customers could save up to 223 tonnes of CO2 (equivalent) per year (352 with dewaterer).

4. Recolight unveils rare earth redistribution system

WEEE compliance scheme for the lighting industry, Recolight, has unveiled a new system dedicated to the redistribution of residue phosphor powders extracted from gas discharge lamps.

The system prevents the landfilling of phosphors, which contain rare earths, instead making them available to producer members following a recovery process.

It is hoped that this new scheme will make it easier for lamp producers to access rare earths, which are needed for the manufacture of lamps.

Recolight’s Operations Manager , Alex Hawkins, said: “This is a real step forward for Recolight and its members. The scarcity of rare earths has been a real concern to the lighting industry.

“Implementing this new system will benefit our members and help to ensure a sustainable future for the industry. We are proud that our industry is at the vanguard of the circular economy.”

5. Mechanical Biological Treatment plant for Wrexham

Recycling and renewable energy company, FCC Environment, has announced the formal agreement of a ‘significant contract variation’ with Wrexham Council, which will see the construction of a Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant.

Located at Wrexham’s Eco Recycling Park on Bryn Lane, the facility will recover recyclate for the production of a refuse derived fuel (RDF), to be supplied to Scottish and Southern Energy’s Ferrybridge power station in West Yorkshire, from 2015.

It is hoped that the plant, which already has planning permission and is expected to come on stream in summer 2014, will enable the council to meet the Welsh Government’s ‘stringent statutory recycling targets’.

This is the second phase in the council’s waste strategy, following the construction of the Eco Recycling Park in 2009, which enabled Wrexham to reach Wales’s original recycling target of 40 per cent.

Strategic Director for Wrexham Council, Phil Walton, said: “This second phase is the culmination of over four years partnership working with FCC Environment in order to deliver a strategic solution to enable the Council to meet the Welsh Government’s new statutory recycling targets.”