Novelis awarded Industry Leadership Award in Aluminium

Aluminium rolling and recycling firm Novelis has won the Platts 2014 Global Metals Award for Industry Leadership Award in [Aluminium].

The award recognises Novelis's ‘decisive action to transform its business’, its ‘leadership as a first-mover’ and ‘willingness to take risks by making fundamental changes in the way it operates’.

Phil Martens, President and Chief Executive Officer of Novelis, said: "We are honoured to be selected by Platts as the 2014 [aluminium] industry leader for our game-changing business and sustainability strategies and focused commitment to disruptive innovation. We accomplished much over the past year and we are pleased to see our progress recognised with this award."

Novelis was also a finalist for Breakthrough Innovation of the Year for its cold rolling mills in Pindamonhangaba, Brazil, and Yeongju, South Korea, and a finalist for the Corporate Social Responsibility Award.

Read more about Novelisor the Platts 2014 Global Metals Award.

Every Can Counts celebrates fifth anniversary

Drinks can recycling initiative Every Can Counts is marking its fifth anniversary in the UK and celebrating its efforts in expanding across Europe. Set up in 2009 as a partnership between the European and UK drinks can manufacturers, the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), and the aluminium and steel packaging and recycling industries, the initiative now has over 10,000 branded collection points in workplaces throughout the UK and 11,500 recycling points across six other European countries. Every Can Counts is also due to launch in Greece later this year, and discussions are underway with other countries to further expand the programme’s European reach. Rick Hindley, Executive Director of UK programme manager Alupro, said: “As Every Can Counts is a non-commercial brand, it allows all sectors of the industry to work in partnership to promote and encourage recycling. We are really excited by the impact the programme is having and about the prospect of developing new industry partnerships to communicate the programme’s message to more people across the continent.” Find out more about the progress of the Every Can Counts programme across Europe. Record number of people attend IFAT A record number of people attended IFAT 2014, a trade fair for the water, sewage, waste and raw materials management sectors earlier this month. The bi-annual fair, which ran between 5-9 May, saw more than 135,000 visitors attend the event at the Neue Messe exhibition centre in Munich, with nearly half coming from outside of Germany. Eugen Egetenmeir, Managing Director of Messe München, said: “IFAT has broken all previous records. We were able to welcome more than 135,000 visitors from all over the world to this event. That is impressive.” Herwart Wilms, Managing Director of Remondis, who was exhibiting at the event, added: “This year again the audience was very international and had a high level of decision-making competence. As a result, we were able to engage in lots of interesting and business-orientated talks.” The next IFAT takes place from 30 May - 3 June 2016 in Munich. Find out more about IFAT.

The Skip Company expands operations

Pontypool-based national skip hire firm, The Skip Company, has announced that it will be launching a new waste management service.

In its first year of operations, the company has increased turnover to £1.55 million (since trading began) and has seen its workforce expand from two people to six.

Matthew Davies (pictured above), Managing Director of The Skip Company, said: “There is a lot of value in waste, and we can help advise firms on what can be sold on and what they can expect to receive, opening up another potential revenue stream.

“In an industry that is constantly evolving, nothing stands still for long. Technological advancements and changes in tax and legislation mean there is always something new to navigate. But we are relishing those challenges and, after such a successful first year, we are extremely confident about our future.”

Find out more about The Skip Company.

Hart District Council calls for school pupils to audit recycling

Hart District Council has launched a new competition that asks local schools to find out how much their pupils recycle in their homes.

The Big Recycling Count is aimed at all infant, junior and primary schools in Hart, and asks schools to have pupils fill out a booklet detailing the products they have recycled.

The school with the highest number of booklets returned to the council will win £300 to spend on environment-related improvements and projects. Pupils could also win a £10 book voucher by designing a school recycling mascot.

Maria Massarella, from the waste and recycling team at Hart District Council, said: “Recycling rates in Hart remain some of the highest in Hampshire; however, we need to remain vigilant and work with residents, of all ages, to educate and inform them of the different types of materials that can be recycled.”

The competition is open until Friday, 27 June.

Find out more about the Big Recycling Countfrom Hart District Council