Phone made from Twickenham grass launches new recycling initiative

O2 Recycle, which offers consumers cash payments for their gadgets to ensure they do not go to landfill or sit unused, has unveiled a smartphone created from grass from Twickenham Stadium and parts of old recycled phones.

The fully-functioning device was released to celebrate the launch of O2’s ‘Recycle for Rugby’ initiative, which supports the Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) new social responsibility programme ‘Try for Change’.

Tens of thousands of grass blades were used for the casing, and locally-sourced wood for the buttons. In total the device took designers 240 hours to build.

The piece aims ‘to showcase how old technology has the potential to be upcycled into something new, original and unique’ and ‘to inspire more people to recycle their old devices’.

Sean Miles, designer at DesignWorks, the firm that created the phone, said: “We wanted to give the ‘old and forgotten’ a new lease of life and create a thought provoking prototype which would make people stop and think about recycling in a new and different way.”

Speaking about the partnership between O2 Recycle and the RFU, Bill Eytes, Head of Sustainability at O2, said: “We are calling on people across the country to recycle unwanted gadgets and help raise the £350,000 we have pledged to support the RFU’s Try for Change social responsibility programme, aimed at promoting rugby as a powerful tool for social change.”

Find out more about O2 Recycle.

Novelis announces series of managerial staff changes

Global producer of aluminium products Novelis has announced a number of management appointments.

Gary Yogan has been appointed Vice President of Global Can Sales. He will be responsible for maintaining the market growth of the company’s high-recycled content ‘evercan’ product.

Yogan takes over the role from Andy King, who previously held two roles at the company. He will now focus solely on his position as Vice President and General Manager (VP and GM) of Can, Asia. King will be focusing on Novelis’ participation in the Asian marketplace.

Ganesh Panneer will be taking Yogan’s old role of VP and GM of Light Gauge and Specialities. Markus Gartner meanwhile will take Panneer’s role as VP and GM of Specialities in Europe.

Novelis operates in 11 countries and employs around 10,900 staff.

Find out more about Novelis.

Winners of Golden Carton Awards 2014 announced

The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) UK has revealed the winners of the Golden Carton Awards 2014.

The awards recognise and reward local authorities achieving the greatest improvements in beverage carton recycling.

‘Greatest Percentage Increase in Beverage Carton Recycling’ went to East Cambridgeshire District Council, which has achieved an eleven-fold increase in the amount of cartons collected since changing to a comingled kerbside collection in 2013.

Reacting to the award, Councillor Kevin Ellis of the council said: “The introduction of the wheelie bin recycling service in 2013 has transformed the recycling performance in our district. We are all very proud of the improvements and this award is a great recognition of the progress which is being made.”

The award for ‘Best Communications Campaign’ went to Down District Council. The council developed a variety of promotional activities ranging from a mobile education bus to themed recycling events, giveaways and incentives for residents.

Commenting on the entry the judges said: “The campaign showed great creativity in finding ways to reach the widest possible audience and this is reflected in fantastic engagement with the local residents and a tenfold increase in beverage carton recycling in Down over the last year. This is a great achievement at a time when local authority budgets are being squeezed from all sides.”

Find out more about the 2014 Golden Carton Awards.

Zero Waste Scotland to challenge businesses to consider benefits of circular economy

Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) will challenge businesses to consider the benefits of a circular economy when they attend the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) forum in Edinburgh in May.

ZWS will host a joint session with The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (RSA). They will showcase the progress of the Great Recovery project, a joint initiative which aims to build new networks across a broad range of sectors to explore how products can be designed and manufactures in more sustainable ways.

The potential of Scotland’s remanufacturing industry was the focus of a report from ZWS released earlier this month. It found that by 2020, the industry has the potential to add £620 million to the economy as well as 5,700 new jobs.

Louise McGregor, Head of Circular Economy, Zero Waste Scotland, said: “The circular economy presents a huge opportunity for Scotland, with projected benefits for business and our economy. We are gearing up support for businesses, building on our strong evidence to understand the opportunities better and working with businesses directly to help them develop more circular practices.

“Establishing a circular economy will take change at all stages in our traditional make-use-dispose system, and by focusing on all the aspects – from design to business support, we hope to stimulate change which will help Scotland achieve a more sustainable economy.”

Find out more about the Scottish Council for Development and Industry.

West Sussex schools lead pledge to cut down plastic bottle waste

Schools in West Sussex are taking the lead in a national campaign to reduce the number of plastic bottles sent to landfill.

As part of the Pledge4Plastics campaign, Wastebuster, a programme promoting environmental awareness to children, teamed up with the Recycle for West Sussex Partnership to encourage pupils to collect pledges from their communities to recycle one more plastic bottle a week.

In three months, 9,900 pledges have been received from West Sussex, as schools have battled it out to get to the top of an online leaderboard.

Rose Green Infant School in Bognor Regis ended up on top with more than 5,000 pledges.

They will receive several prizes, including a trip to a recycling facility, an assembly from the Wastebuster team and soft toys made from recycled plastic bottles.

Katy Newnham, Wastebuster Director, said: “We're thrilled with the response to our pledge drive. Plastic is a valuable resource that can be recycled into so many different products but all too often ends up in landfill. West Sussex schools have done a fabulous job of raising awareness of this issue.”

The Pledge 4 Plastics initiative aims to boost recycling of plastic packaging in the UK. Led by RECOUP, a plastics recycling charity, its partners include Unilever, Coca-Coal Enterprises, Veolia and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

Find out more about the West Sussex Pledge 4 Plastics campaign.

Andigestion appoints plant manager for new Bishops Cleeve facility

Anaerobic digestion specialist Andigestion has appointed a plant manager to its new site in Bishops Cleeve.

Jon Stait was previously a plant manager at an energy-from-waste site in Redditch and will now oversee the daily running of the new plant that will turn food waste from Gloucestershire and the surrounding areas into biomethane to be put back into the national gas grid.

The plant also produces liquid fertiliser, which will be made available to local farmers.

Speaking about his new role, Stait said: “It is an exciting opportunity as the facility is brand new and the technology we are using is state-of-the-art.

“We are now up and running and working hard to ensure the plant is at full capacity as soon as possible.”

Find out more about Andigestion.