SITA UK employees cycle for cancer support

(L-R): SITA employees Clare Rees, HR Manager; Nick Walther, Senior Procurement Manager; and Steven Melia-Chamberlain, an operative at SITA's timber recycling plant.

Nearly 300 employees of waste management firm SITA UK will take part in a cycle relay across the country next week in a bid to raise £50,000 for charity Macmillan Cancer Support.

‘The Big Ride’, a 2,400 mile, cross-country cycle tour organised by SITA UK, will leave the company’s northern-most site near Aberdeen on Monday (12 May), visiting as many as SITA’s UK facilities as possible (including those on the Isle of Man) before finishing at the company’s most southerly facility in St Erth, Cornwall, on 20 June.

Employees will complete the cycle in ‘relay’ legs (ranging from three to 100 miles), and have been encouraged to raise at least £50 in sponsorship for the charity.

Chief Executive Officer of SITA UK, David Palmer-Jones, will be riding a 27-mile leg from Aylesbury to the company’s head office in Maidenhead on 5 June.

He said: “Unfortunately, cancer is something that affects us all, which is why, as a company, we have chosen to give something back by attempting to raise enough money to fund a Macmillan nurse for a whole year.”

SITA chose Macmillan as its national charity in 2013 and, to date, has raised nearly £20,000 for it.

Find out more about, or donate to, The Big Ride.

Envirosol runs hazardous waste exercise

Hazardous waste management company Envirosol,part of the Environmental Resource Group (ERG), has undertaken an environmental training exercise with West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) at Chasewater Country Park.

The company worked with the fire service last month to help stage a controlled exercise and simulate illegal dumping of chemicals into the park’s reservoir as part of the fire service’s ‘in-depth training [to] protect people, life and the environment’.

Station Commander at WNFS David Hilton commented: “We needed an organisation that could not only stage and host our exercises, but also provide the appropriate level of bespoke training needed in such situations.

“We were delighted to find Envirosol with their full-scale facilities at the ERG national headquarters. Their specialist expert knowledge of the hazardous waste industry enables us to perform a variety of mock exercises in a realistic environment backed up with training aids and information.”

Find out more about the Environmental Resource Group.

Premier Sustain launches Renew Centre

Premier Sustain, part of the refurbishment services company the Premier Group, has officially opened its newly-refurbished reuse and remanufacturing centre at its head office in North London.

The Renew Centre, which houses ‘high-specification machinery’, allows Premier Sustain to reuse, refurbish and remanufacture office furniture to be sold on.

The company expects to remodel and refurbish at least 5,000 items per annum at the new centre, diverting over 200 tonnes of office furniture back into use, which reportedly represents a 400-tonne saving in carbon emissions and an estimated financial saving for clients in excess of £200,000 each year.

The Renew Centre was opened by Guy Stallard, Director of Facilities at professional services firm KPMG LLP, one of Premier Sustain’s clients.

He said: “Giving chairs, desks and other items a new lease of life means that previously tired and unwanted furniture can now be reused by organisations to improve their office environment. This is great for the sustainability profile of our industry as it saves costs as well as reducing our environmental impacts.”

Phil Oram, Director of Premier Sustain, added: “Our clients are [increasingly] looking to make the most of the assets they already own whilst providing a modern working environment for their staff. We are delighted to open this new centre to meet this growing demand for sustainable furniture solutions”.

Find out more about Premier Sustain’s Renew Centre.

Andrew Swainston joins W.R. Fibers UK

Andrew Swainston, the former Head of Purchasing at ECO Plastics Ltd, has been appointed Commercial Director of plastic and metal exporting company W.R. Fibers UK.The organisation is the sister company of exporters Cycle Link UK and part of the Chinese packaging company, Shangying Group.

Swainston’s new role is to lead the strategic direction of the plastics business, developing integrated offerings to existing and new clients.

Commenting on his new position, Swainston said: “This is a very exciting time to be joining W.R. Fibers UK, and I'm looking forward to making the business a leader in the plastics market. By utilising the shared strength and resources across the group, we aim to bring added value to our clients through multi-material sourcing opportunities.”

Find out more about W.R. Fibers

QV Foods AD plant

(L-R): Andy Clarke, Presdient and CEO of ASDA; and Duncan Worth, Chairman of QV Foods and Managing Director of parent company A.H. Worth; with Alan Lovell, Chairman and Willie Heller, Chief Executive of Tamar Energy.

Vegetable and potato producer QV Foods has officially opened its new 1.5-megawatt (MW) anaerobic digestion (AD) facility at its food-processing site in Holbeach, Lincolnshire.

The facility ­­– a joint venture between QV Foods’ parent company A.H. Worth and AD developer Tamar Energy (which built and operates the facility) – was opened by Andy Clarke (pictured above), President and CEO of supermarket chain Asda, which uses QV Foods as a supplier.

It will annually process up to 30,000 tonnes of organic material from QV Foods operations and convert it into energy that will supply the site's electricity requirements (with the surplus being exported to the National Grid), as well as producing fertiliser for its crops.

Duncan Worth, Chairman of QV Foods and Managing Director of parent company A.H. Worth, said: “Working with Tamar Energy to develop an AD operation at our site made perfect sense. Not only does it provide real financial benefits by putting us in control of our electricity supply and fertiliser production, but it’s also a tangible demonstration of our sustainability commitment, with benefits we can pass on to our customers.”

The plant is Tamar Energy’s third operational AD facility in its planned UK network of AD facilities.