Straight plc meets market expectations and takes on two new contracts

Waste and recycling container manufacturer, Straight plc (Straight), has provided an update on trading ahead of its preliminary results announcement on 31 March 2014.

The group reports that its revenue and earnings before interest, taxes,depreciation, and amortisation(EBITDA) are‘in line’ with market expectations, with trading having ‘held up well in the second half of the year’.

The group highlights that it also started the new year ‘well’, taking on two ‘major’ contracts totaling ‘more than £2 million revenue’. The first will see Straight supply over 300,000 Wheeled Bin Inner Caddies for Birmingham City Council’s new wheelie bin recycling service, while the second will see Straight supply Gravesham Borough Council with £820,000 worth of various products in 2014, including the Kitchen Caddy and Kerbside Caddy for ‘food waste, wheeled bins and home delivery services’.

Chief Executive, Jonathan Straight, said: “These wins highlight our market leading expertise in the provision of stellar recycling products and we look forward to maintaining momentum in the year ahead.”

Read more about Straight plc.

Schools integrate Ecopond compostable bags

Supplier of recycling and waste management products, Cromwell Polythene, will be providing schools in Greater Manchester with Ecopond compostable bags as part of a new food-waste recycling scheme.

Under Bury Council’s new scheme, most of the borough’s 82 primary and secondary schools will receive 25-litre capacity Ecopond sacks to hold food waste from on-site kitchens and staff rooms. Cromwell will also provide five-litre bags for miscellaneous waste, which will be ‘strategically’ placed throughout school premises.

Talat Afzal, Recycling and Waste Awareness Officer at Bury Council said that the Ecopond bags stood up ‘very well’ in an ‘extensive pilot’ that was carried out last year.

Find out more about Ecopond projects.

Novelis reveals third quarter of fiscal year 2014 results

Aluminium rolling and recycling company Novelis, has revealed that its net income for the third quarter (Q3) of the fiscal year 2014, excluding ‘certain tax-affected items’, was $23 million, an increase of $14 million on the same quarter last year.

Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes,depreciation, and amortisation) was also reported to have increased by ten per cent in Q3 from $185 million to $203 million.

Collective shipments of aluminium rolled products rose by 11 per cent to 721 kilotonnes (kt) in Q3, up from 647kt for the same period last year.

Chief Executive Officer, Phil Martens, said: "Our execution in the third quarter was excellent, with year-over-year shipment growth in every operating region.

“We have made great progress in the commissioning of our major expansions and we are now seeing the benefits of some of these projects in our results. While external market pressures partially offset the bottom line impact of this volume growth, we are confident about the realizable potential for this business as the new projects come on-line."

See Novelis’s previous quarterly results.

'GreenMax’ recycling machine aims to ‘turn waste into revenue'

A new ‘innovative’ range of polystyrene recycling machines, the GreenMax Apolo range, has been launched for the first time in the UK by Yorkshire-based recycling company, Easi Recycling.

Manufactured from ‘high quality components for simple and easy operation’, the machines can process between 25 kilogrammes (kg) and 200 kg of waste polystyrene per hour (depending on the machine), and produce blocks with a density of between 200 and 400kg per metre squared. These can the be sold back to GreenMax for ‘up to £400 per tonne’.

Jon Earshaw, Managing Director of Easi Recycling, said: “We are very excited to be able to offer these machines in the UK. Polystyrene waste has been a headache in many industries for years, owing to its bulky construction and costly waste removal…The GreenMax Apolo range not only offers a solution to the waste problem but also converts the waste cost into a revenue stream.”

Find out more about Easi Recycling’s product range.

SLR Consulting acquires North American acoustics company

Environmental firm, SLR Consulting has acquired North American acoustics firm, HFP Acoustical Consultants (HFP) in a move said to ‘strengthen its global offering’.

Founded in 1979 and with offices in Texas and Canada, HFP offers those in the energy, industry, planning & development, infrastructure, mining & minerals and waste management sectors, ‘acoustics and noise control consulting services’ including ‘acoustic design’ and ‘impact assessments’.

CEO of SLR Consulting, Neil Penhall, said: “We have seen a strong increase in client demand for acoustics and vibration related work and HFP’s services compliment those we already offer. This move provides a platform for us to enhance the range of acoustics and noise control services to new and existing clients in North America and internationally.”

Read more about SLR Consulting.

Major brands unveiled for packaging innovations seminar

A ‘prestigious’ line-up of packaging and print experts has been announced for this year’s Packaging Innovations LearnShop seminar programme, based at the NEC in Birmingham later this month (26 and 27 February).

The seminar programme will feature ‘experts’ from retailers Marks and Spencer, Wilkinson, Tesco, and Asda, providing visitors with ‘the latest thinking and developments’ and ‘real-life examples of innovation in action’.

Recycling and sustainability are themes running through the seminar programme, with Managing Director of consumer research company Tangible Branding, Dominic Box, focusing on the ‘consumer perspective when it comes to saving waste via packaging,’ and recycling organization, Recoup, giving visitors a ‘clear idea’ of the ‘plastics recycling agenda for 2014’.

These seminars and case studies have been selected to provide ‘inspiration and practical guidance on packaging and print issues’.

See the full learnShops line-up.