WEEE Europe beings operational business with REPIC

European compliance scheme WEEE Europe AG (WEEE Europe) has officially begun operational business, it has been announced.

Set up to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for those producing waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), the non-profit company, which has its headquarters in Munich, involves nine separate European take-back systems joining together to help companies achieve compliance.

It is hoped that the new company will simplify the process and make WEEE recycling registration and reporting more efficient.

Christian Ludwig, CEO of WEEE Europe AG, commented: “Small and medium-sized companies often feel overwhelmed by the complex and individual requirements in the various European countries regarding WEEE and batteries disposal.

“With our European service, we are offering the best take-back solutions in a one-stop-shop approach… [and] are streamlining the way in which our producer partners can contract for their WEEE and battery requirements throughout Europe.”

Dr Philip Morton, CEO of REPIC and WEEE Europe board member, added: "We are proud to be a founding member of WEEE Europe AG covering the UK market. Through WEEE Europe we are in an excellent position to add value to producers beyond our national borders and to offer companies a truly European approach for WEEE and waste batteries."

Find out more about WEEE Europe.

Hertfordshire’s first AD plant opens

Anaerobic digestion (AD) specialist Biogen has opened a new £12-million energy-from-waste facility in Hertfordshire.

Billed as the county’s first AD plant, the Bygrave Lodge facility, situated off the A505 near Baldock, has the capability of processing 45,000 tonnes of food waste each year from supermarkets, food processors, households and the hospitality industry to generate renewable electricity for up to 4,500 homes in Hertfordshire.

The AD process also results in the production of an organic byproduct that can be used by nearby farmers as fertiliser.

Speaking of the official launch of the facility, Simon Musther, Head of Commercial Operations for Biogen, said: “The Bygrave plant was developed to serve Hertfordshire and the surrounding regions, and although it’s only been up and running a short while, it is already making a positive contribution to local businesses using it.”

In addition to the Bygrave Lodge facility, Biogen has four other operational AD plants in the UK, including Wales’s ‘largest anaerobic digestion plant’ in Denbighshire. Biogen expects two other AD plants, in Warwickshire and Rhondda Cynon Taf, to come online during 2015.

Find out more about Biogen’s Bygrave Lodge AD plant.

Reconomy acquires Countrywide Waste Management Limited

Waste management company Reconomy has acquired Countrywide Waste Management Limited and its wholly owned subsidiary MT Waste Solutions for an undisclosed sum.

The enlarged Reconomy group of companies will have a combined turnover in excess of £80 million. In the short term, each business will continue to be run separately to avoid any disruption to clients.

Paul Cox, Managing Director of Reconomy, said: “We are delighted to have acquired Countrywide Waste Management Limited to further establish ourselves as the leading provider of waste services to the construction (and related) industries.

“The synergies between the two businesses, both in terms of culture and customer base, means Reconomy will quickly benefit from an increased supply chain that can deliver enhanced customer requirements, satisfaction and competitive prices.”

Find out more about Reconomy.

Shanks begins construction of new sorting line in the Netherlands

Waste management firm Shanks Group plc, has begun constructing a new, ‘advanced sorting line’ at its Van Vliet Contrans site in Wateringen, Netherlands.

Shanks is investing €4.6 million (£3.4 million) in the new line, which will process almost 135,000 tonnes of waste each year for the Van Vliet Contrans site and provide processing capacity for Shanks’ Vliko operations (following a fire last year which destroyed its sorting line).

It Is expected that the new sorting line will be accepting waste ‘before the summer’.

Michael van Hulst, Managing Director of Shanks’s Benelux Solid Waste Division, commented: “Installing the new advanced sorting line is consistent with our strategy to be the lowest cost operator and also increases our ability to make more from waste. We are actively increasing efficiency and utilisation throughout the Solid Waste Division to capture more share as the construction market recovers. I am confident that this new investment will generate returns in Shanks’s target range.”

Find out more about Shanks’s Benelux Solid Waste Division.

Tom Speth joins CDEnviro

Waste recovery and recycling equipment firm CDEnviro has appointed environmental engineer Tom Speth as its new Business Development Manager for Germany.

Speth will be responsible for developing the CDEnviro project portfolio in the municipal wastewater market in Germany.

Commenting on his appointment, Speth said: “The CDEnviro products are proven to deliver highly-efficient screening and rag removal for a range of wastewater processes within the UK market and we know there is excellent potential and appetite for these systems within the German market following our appearance at IFAT 2014.”

The company is currently recruiting for a range of other positions as it expands its team across the UK and Europe.

Find out more about the current vacancies at CDEnviro and CDE Global.