WEEE recycling campaigns gets own stage at OnBlackheath festival

Make Noise, ‘the UK’s only electronic recycling club night’, will have its first-ever festival stage at this year’s OnBlackheath Festival in London (12-13 September).

The event, a partnership between waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycler the European Recycling Platform (ERP) and independent record label Heavenly Recordings, allows club goers to see big-name DJs for free, as long as they bring a small item of broken or unwanted electronics for recycling.

The line-up for the Make Noise stage across both days of the festival includes Tom Findlay of Groove Armada, Erol Alkan, and Justin Robertson, while Elbow, Madness, the Manic Street Preachers, and Ana Calvi headline the festival.

Make Noise was founded in 2010 and claims to have recycled tonnes of electronic waste through events held across the UK.

Nick Purser, Communications Manager at ERP UK, said: “We are delighted that Make Noise will be hosting a stage at OnBlackheath. It is a great festival and a wonderful opportunity to spread the message that electronic waste can and should be recycled.”

Carl Gosling, from Heavenly Recordings, added: “Two days gives us the scope to put on so many more great artists than we have before. I think OnBlackheath festival-goers will really enjoy the amazing music in the Make Noise tent.

“I also hope they take home the recycling message and know what to do when their gadgets give up the ghost!”

Find out more about the OnBlackheath festival.

Oxfordshire recycling rate to get boost from road sweepings

Road sweepings from Oxfordshire are to be processed at a new £1.3-million treatment and recovery facility in Ewelme.

Around 5,000 tonnes of sweepings are collected from the county’s roads, all of which will now be processed and recycled at the new plant, built by Grundon Waste Management.

When fully operational, the plant will be able to process around 25,000 tonnes of road sweepings a year, with Grundon planning to increase capacity and work with other local authorities across the region.

Sweepings will be transformed into sand, aggregates and a ‘filter cake’ for sale to the building and land restoration industries.

Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) has said it expects the new facility to boost recycling rates by nearly two per cent, while also avoiding costs from sending the sweepings to landfill.

The Environment Agency (EA) banned the composting of street leaf sweepings in 2012 due to concerns about contaminating the stream with nickel, copper and zinc. The move compelled local authorities to find alternative disposal of the waste.

Rebecca Harwood, Service Delivery Manager at OCC’s Waste Management Group, said: “After the legislation changed, we had to send some road sweeper waste to landfill, while the remainder went to an alternative facility outside the county.

“Obviously we were very keen to look for alternatives which would be closer to home and more environmentally friendly. Grundon’s new facility is not only very impressive, but it offers the capability to handle all of the county’s road sweeper waste in one central place.”

Owen George, Tender Manager at Grundon, stated: “Our decision to invest in the new facility was born out of finding a sustainable and suitable solution to the problems local authorities had in recycling their road sweeper waste.”

Find out more about Grundon.

Scottish Resource Sector Commitment gets 20th signatory

Recycling firm Scotwaste has become the 20th group to sign Scotland’s Resource Sector Commitment.

The company, which provides an integrated skip hire and waste management service throughout central Scotland, has committed to ‘demonstrate consistent standards for business waste collections and excellent customer service, including promoting benefits of resource efficiency to customers’.

The commitment, devised by Zero Waste Scotland, is for any organisation involved in providing waste or resource management services to commercial customers in Scotland. It aims to promote zero waste ambitions and best practice in the sector.

Charlie Devine, Head of Resource Management at Zero Waste Scotland, said: “[Scotwaste] is a great example of how service and sustainability can go hand in hand with success, and I look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.

“Signing up to the commitment is a great way to show customers that they’re striving for excellence and to really stand out from the crowd. It’s a fantastic achievement to meet and exceed this milestone, and I hope to see other organisations in the industry following suit and becoming a signatory.”

Stewart Melrose, Director of Scotwaste, said: “It’s important for any business in our industry to demonstrate commitment to the environment and its finite resources, and Scotwaste is no different.

“As a family business we have been striving for excellence in service and value to our customers since 1972 and this recognition will allow us to show existing, and potential, supporters that there’s more going on behind the scenes with their end of life materials to ensure sustainability going forward.”

Find out more about Zero Waste Scotland’s Resource Sector Commitment.

Veolia chooses FoodCycle as charity partner

Waste management company Veolia has chosen FoodCycle as its chosen charity partner.

The national charity runs hubs across the UK providing meals for people at risk of food poverty and social isolation using volunteers, donated food and spare kitchen spaces.

Under the partnership, Veolia will work with FoodCycle to help it achieve its objectives of reducing food waste, tackling social isolation, training volunteers and building communities.

Commenting on the new partnership, Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia’s Senior Executive Vice-President for the UK & Ireland, said: “Every year seven million tonnes of food waste goes to landfill. There are a lot of other ways this could be turned into a resource and the work FoodCycle does is the perfect example of this.

“I see this partnership with FoodCycle going from strength to strength as together we can help improve the lives of our communities.”

Mary McGrath, CEO of FoodCycle, added: “We are delighted that Veolia have chosen to work with us. Our activities are centred on what we can do to support and grow local communities, and this naturally aligns with the work Veolia do on their contracts.

“Our partnership will enable us to ensure that we can continue to reduce food waste, improve resource efficiency and, most importantly, bring much-needed friendship and support to those who are in need of help.”

Find out more about FoodCycle.

William Tracey Group surpasses carbon emissions target

Recycling and resource management firm the William Tracey Group (WTG) has announced that it has outperformed its four-year carbon emissions target.

The group, which delivers recycling services throughout Scotland and the North England, had set out a plan to reduce carbon emissions by 15 per cent over the period between 2010/11 and 2014/15, but has recorded reductions of 26 per cent over the four years.

According to WTG, annual carbon tonnages have dropped from 245 to 194 in that time and now the group is working to cut a further 20 per cent of its emissions by 2020.

Among the measures implemented by WTG to reduce its carbon footprint were: the use of stored rainwater to wash vehicles; waterless urinals; eco-plus tracking on vehicles, ensuring that driving and routes are efficient; and staff awareness surveys and campaigns.

The company now plans to install biomass boilers to power treatment facilities and wind turbines at its sites.

Robin Stevenson, Managing Director Non Hazardous Division (pictured), said: “This reduction in emissions positions the William Tracey Group at the front line of action against climate change, securing our position as a proactive and forward thinking business, meeting not only the needs of customers but helping to secure a sustainable future.

“We take resource efficiency seriously and as a Scottish company we are doing all we can to back Zero Waste Scotland’s ambitious plans to achieve a 70 per cent recycling rate and boost the Scottish economy by £175 million.”

Find out more about the William Tracey Group.

Every Can Counts to support Coca-Cola Happiness Pod tour

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) has announced that an awareness initiative developed in partnership with Every Can Counts, the partnership between drink can manufacturers and the recycling industry, will be supporting this summer’s Coca-Cola ‘Happiness Pod’ tour.

The tour takes the ‘Happiness Pod’ across the company, vending samples of Coca-Cola drinks to consumers in exchange for a smile.

Within a ‘Happiness Lounge’, volunteers from CCE and Every Can Counts will engage with members of the public about recycling while they are queuing for the pod. They will pose quiz questions along with recycling facts and provide free gifts featuring tips on what can be recycled at home.

The tour will take in nine stops across Great Britain: Liverpool; Blackpool; Leicester; Birmingham; Swansea; Barry Island; Barnstaple; Weymouth; and the two-day V Festival.

Giustina Diana, Recycling Manager, Coca-Cola Enterprises GB, said: “We hope that by discussing recycling with the public in a fun and memorable way, they will take away some useful tips on how they can recycle more at home and overcome some of the confusion which can sometimes surround recycling.”

Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Every Can Counts, added: “With almost half of the drinks cans sold in the UK used by people when they’re away from home it’s really important to make sure they are encouraged to do the right thing with their empty cans.

“Being a part of the Happiness Tour is a great opportunity for Every Can Counts because it gives us the chance to talk to people about the value of recycling whilst they have a can in their hand, and as a result we hope they’ll remember to recycle wherever they are in future so we can keep the recycling loop going.”

Learn more about Coca-Cola Enterprises sustainability practices.