Veolia awarded Hampshire HWRC contract

Veolia has been awarded a contract to manage the household waste recycling centres operated by Hampshire County Council (HCC). The contract, worth over £70 million, will last for 14 years and 9 months and will start in April 2016.

The resource management company says it will provide a flexible service aimed at developing a circular economy. The focus on sustainability will reduce operating costs for the council following a reduction in funding from the government.

Charges will now be introduced for residents disposing of waste not classified as household waste, such as soil, plasterboard, rubble and asbestos. Small and medium sized businesses will also be able to deposit trade waste at this site for a small fee. Recyclable trade waste will be separated, further reducing waste management costs.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President at Veolia UK and Ireland, commented: “Through our partnership with HCC we will be able to increase recycling across the county, and at the same time help control costs for residents. Hampshire already has one of the highest landfill diversion rates in the country and this agreement will now further boost local sustainability, preserve resources and limit future carbon emissions.”

Councillor Seán Woodward, Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment at HCC, added: “Hampshire’s HWRC service is well regarded and well used by Hampshire’s residents. We are committed to providing quality and financially sustainable services for Hampshire’s residents and look forward to working with Veolia to maximise the effectiveness of our HWRC service.”

Road sweeping products from Suez site to be declassified as waste

Sand and aggregate products produced at the Willenhall road sweepings processing plant operated by SUEZ are now within quality protocol limits after the site installed a CO:FLO water treatment system, designed by CDEnviro, in June 2014.

SUEZ says that the installation has resulted in an increase in contamination removal from end products. The higher performance has allowed increased throughput at the plant.

Physical and chemical cleanliness are the two main issues associated with processing road sweepings and construction material and the treatment of water associated with plants processing such materials. Erosion and blockages can result in plant inactivity and final products can find it hard to obtain end of life accreditation due to such issues.

CDEnviro initially tested a range of existing solutions to solve the problem of processing these difficult materials without success. The company then took part in an 18-month research project with Trinity College Dublin to develop a novel solution. The CO:FLO was the product of this project and purports to produce water 5-10 times cleaner than traditional methods.

Martin Bladon, SUEZ Site Manager of the Willenhall site, said: “Both ours and CDEnviro’s aim was to achieve end of waste… Since installation we have noticed a significant increase in the level of contamination in our centrifuge cake which is a testament to the effectiveness of the CO:FLO and have also had the added bonus of being able to increase plant throughput due to this new level of performance. As a result our sand and aggregate products are now within the aggregate quality protocol limits and consequentially we are now just weeks away from having these products de-classified as waste and certified for re-use.

“This is a significant milestone not just for SUEZ but also for the road sweeping process industry as a whole and we are proud to be leading the way. We continue to work with CDEnviro in our joint goal of achieving sustainable revenue generating outlets for all of the recycled materials produced by our plant.”

New reuse shop opens in Suffolk

A new reuse shop at Foxhall HWRC in Ipswich opened on 3 March, becoming the first of its kind at any HWRC site in Suffolk.

Waste management staff from FCC Environment, which operates all HWRC sites in Suffolk, will salvage reusable items that have been deposited by local residents for disposal.

The items will be sold in the reuse shop, run by local charity The Benjamin Foundation, which will use the profits from sales to support families, children and the homeless.

The Foxhall Reuse Shop will take reusable items from HWRCs at Foxhall, Felixstowe, Ipswich, Leiston, Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket and items can also be donated by the public.

Items sold by the shop include electrical items, furniture, children’s toys, prams, highchairs, sports equipment, CD’s, DVDs, books, bikes, DIY and garden tools. All items will be cleaned and tested for safety prior to being sold.

The shop was officially unveiled at a short ceremony attended by Suffolk County Councillor Matthew Hicks, FCC Environment South Region Director Steve Longdon, and Chief Executive of the Benjamin Foundation, Tony Ing.

Cllr Hicks, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Public Protection, said: “The new re-use shop is a great asset to our community. Re-use stores are becoming incredibly popular, raising thousands for charity and, crucially, preventing unnecessary waste from being thrown away. We hope people will embrace the concept, make good use of the shop as both suppliers and customers and pick up a bargain along the way.”