Selkirk’s first reuse cabin opens

Scotland’s first reuse cabin has been opened in Selkirk to help distribute unwanted goods to disadvantaged people in the area.

Home Basics, a Scottish charity, and Scottish Borders Council have been working in partnership to set up the cabin at Selkirk Community Recycling Centre. It forms part of the council’s overall Integrated Waste Management Strategy, which aims to increase the reuse of materials delivered to community recycling centres, while assisting the work of reuse charities and organisation.

Local residents are now being asked to donate their unwanted electrical items that are in working condition. Home Basics will collect the items and check the quality of them before they are made available to those in need in the area.

Opening the cabin Scottish Borders Council’s Executive Member for Environmental Services, Councillor David Paterson, said: “I am very pleased that the reuse cabin has opened in Selkirk. If this cabin proves to be a success, SBC will look to extend the initiative to other community recycling centres.”

Home Basics Business Manager, Dennis Fisher, added: “It is a brilliant idea. It not only helps those in need in the Borders but also has a positive environmental impact.”

Find out more about the Home Basics charity.

Make Noise Electronic Recycling Tour starts off in Bangor

The first event of this year’s Make Noise Electronic Recycling Tour will be taking place in Bangor, Wales this week.

Put together by a partnership between the European Recycling Platform (ERP) and Heavenly Records, the events are designed to raise awareness about the importance of recycling electronic items.

Make Noise hosts club nights with performances from DJs and producers including Rob Da Bank, Jackmaster, Radio One’s Benji B and DJ Die. The events are free, but to gain entry clubgoers have to bring a small broken or unwanted electrical item to leave at the door for recycling.

This year’s first event will be taking place on 23 October, at Greeks in Bangor. Headliners will be Bodhi, and Bangor resident Ifan Dafyyd.

There will be two more Make Noise Electronic Recyling Parties this year, find out more details here.

Read about the first Make Noise tour.

Aberdeen unveils scrap metal sculpture

A sculpture made from scrap metal has been unveiled at an Aberdeen recycling centre.

The six-foot tall figure, named the ‘Re-Thinker’, has been created from around half a tonne of reclaimed steel items from Aberdeen’s various recycling centres.

Moray-based artist Lucas Dew, who only works with scrap metal, based the sculpture on Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’. The metal items used include pipes, bedsprings, spoons and a digger bucket.

Dew started his business ‘Something from Nothing’ after buying a camper van, a welder and some scrap metal to keep him occupied while recovering from a motorbike accident. Aberdeen City Council Recycling Co-ordinator, Martina Klubal, approached him after seeing his work online.

The sculpture will be on display at the Grove Nursery Household Waste and Recycling Centre until mid-January, and it is also available to buy for £4,500.

Martina Klubal said: “Waste is no longer something to be buried in landfill and forgotten about. It’s worth something. By seeing the transformation of waste materials into a striking work of art, I like to think it will spark discussion and debate, and in this way contribute to the continuing transformation of how we think about the rubbish we throw away.”

Find out more about the Re-Thinker.

VEKA Recycling Ltd appoints new Business Development Manager

VEKA Recycling Ltd has appointed David Wiltshire (pictured, right) as Business Development Manager in charge of selling PVC-U pellet and pulver derived from post-industrial or post-consumer window frame material.

The Kent-based PVC recycling company has recently invested in a new compounding line and further collection facilities for PVC frames at a second recycling centre in Birmingham.

Talking about VEKA, David Wiltshire said: “We pride ourselves in offering a dependable service for window and waste companies to ensure waste PVC is diverted from landfill. By working with them to reduce contamination levels, we can improve the value of new products, such as windows, made with recycled materials.

“Demand is growing from a wide range of manufacturers in the UK seeking a reliable continuation of supply for top-grade recycled PVC pellet, which we offer from a genuine closed-loop recycling source.”

Find out more about VEKA Recycling.

Tower block demolition achieves 97 per cent recycling rate

Only three per cent of the potential waste from five tower blocks that are being demolished in Nottingham will be going to landfill.

Due to the 'Building a Better Nottingham' programme, demolition company Total Reclaims, and waste management company Wastecycle, have ensured that 30,000 tonnes of materials already pulled down are being reused on site, recycled, or used in other building projects.

The demolition and new build programme is organised by Nottingham City Council and Nottingham City Homes, and it requires contractors to meet high levels of recycling on-site, and to minimise the environmental impact of the scheme.

Total Reclaims Director, Richard Taylor said: “When you’re dealing with structures of this size, it’s fantastic to know that such a small proportion of it will end up in landfill.”

Paul Clements, Wastecycle’s Commercial Director also commented: “The world of waste management has changed significantly in the last decade, and our ability to find a new use for the materials taken from a site like this, is a real achievement, something that couldn’t even be considered at the time these flats were first built.”

Find out more about 'Building a Better Nottingham'