1. Make Noise Recycling Tour

Following their Make Noise Electronic Recycling Tour last November, the European Recycling Platform (ERP) and Heavenly Recordings have announced that it has raised £7500.

The tour, which visited Belfast, Bristol, Leeds, Glasgow and London, offered a local music course, a series of ‘Recycled Version Workshops’ and a free concert for those who brought along an electronic item for recycling. For every item recycled Make Noise donated £5 for the purchase of new studio equipment.

The tour was so popular that another, The Valentine’s Day studio amnesty, took place in London in February.

Scott Butler, ERP UK’s Managing Director, said: “Make Noise is helping to raise the profile of electronics recycling whilst promoting the best of electronic music in the UK. Having to send out the Make Noise Tour Bus again really shows the impact of the November tour!”

2. LIA regional seminar programme schedule announced

The Lighting Industry Association (LIA) has revealed the schedule for its 2013 regional seminar programme, aimed at bring attendees up to date with the latest lighting technology, impending legislation and business standardization changes.

The ‘Travelling Light’ seminars, which will take place in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh from April 29 – May 2, are hosted in conjunction with the lighting industry producer compliance schemes, Recolight and Lumicom.

Also addressed will be changes to UK WEEE regulations, discussions which the LIA say will ‘form the industry’s response to the government consultation on this subject’.

Interested parties are advised to book places by visiting the LIA’s website, or by contacting Charlie May.

3. New ‘thinner gauge sack’ for Cromwell Polythene

Waste management product supplier, Cromwell Polythene, has announced the introduction of a ‘thinner gauge sack’ to its ‘clinical waste range’.

The orange, 40 micron bags which have a 90-litre capacity and 11 kilogramme design weight, are intended ‘for the collection and disposal of infectious and potentially infectious waste by a licensed or permitted facility’.

Compliant with The European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), the bags are lighter and bring ‘substantial savings in CO2’ when compared to their predecessors, as a result of the company’s LOWCO2T technology.

In addition to this, the new sack has ‘passed all the tests for bulk transport’, which include ‘dart impact and tear resistance’ testing. Other changes include the use of star seal technology which has ‘facilitated a less formed chape, maximizing carrying capacity and optimizing leak resistance.’

4. Primary school food waste

It has been announced that 50 primary schools across Croydon, London, are on course to recycle ‘over 150 tonnes of food waste’ following a successful pilot scheme.

Four primary schools, David Livingstone, Monks Orchard, Parish and Forestdale, collected almost three tonnes of food waste over a twelve-week trial period.

According to Croydon Council, the scheme is set to ‘save hundreds of tonnes of harmful C02 emissions,’ and reduce landfill costs, saving taxpayers in the region of £15,000 per annum. Additional savings could be made by individual schools, should they ‘reduce the size of the normal bins’ used for general waste.

Cabinet member for highways and environmental services, Councillor Phil Thomas, said: “It’s vital that we get people into the recycling habit from an early age, so this project won’t just save us money now, but for years into the future.”

5. Golley Slate awarded EA contract

The Environment Agency (EA) has awarded marketing agency, Golley Slater, a contract to promote to businesses a new European funded project aimed at improving ‘transfer and tracking of waste data in the UK’.

The project, Electronic Duty of Care (Edoc), aims at abolishing the current paper-based waste transfer notes (WTNs) system, replacing it with an internet-based system.

Edoc Programme Manager, Chris Deed, said: “Over 50 million waste transfer notes a year are currently being stored in offices up and down the country. That’s a lot of paper, taking up a lot of valuable space and costing UK businesses a lot of money.

“We are confident that a new internet-based system will transform the collection and tracking of waste transfer data and are very excited to be rolling out Edoc here in the UK.”

6. FEED support scheme approved

The European Commission (EC) has found that a UK support scheme aimed at funding front-end engineering design (FEED) studies on carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects is compliant with EU state aid rules.

Part of the UK CCS Commercialisation Programme, the scheme ‘aims to support practical experience in the design, construction and operation of commercial-scale CCS technology’.

The intention of FEED studies is to ‘reduce the technical, environmental and financial risks of the construction of commercial-scale CCS-equipped plants’, thereby improving final investment decisions.

According to the EC, the UK declared its intention to fund ‘FEED studies for pre-selected projects’ in January 2013, though they were found to be too immature for an immediate project contract award.