BPI ‘polytrekkers’ face the three peaks challenge

Seven employees from bpi.recycled products (BPI), Europe’s largest polythene recycling company, are undertaking the ‘three peaks challenge’ today (27 June) to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

BPI recycles up to 70,000 tonnes of waste polythene each year, preventing it from being sent to landfill.

The team will be attempting to climb the highest mountains in Scotland, England, and Wales in under 24 hours and are hoping to raise £5,000 for charity.

One of ‘polytrekkers’, Rachael Barton, Marketing Communications Manager at BPI, said: “We’ve been in training for months now, and the seven of us are really looking forward to taking to the mountains in the Three Peaks Challenge. Everyone at BPI RP has given us all the support we need to take part in this event and raise money for a charity close to our hearts, and we can’t wait to get started on 27 June.”

To boost their efforts, the team will be keeping their ‘rallying slogan’, ‘3 mountains, 7 trekkers, 24 hours, 1 great cause’, in mind throughout the trek.

To donate to the Polytrekkers’ Three Peaks Challenge attempt, visit their Just Giving page.

Don’t Mess With Croydon

Croydon Council has announced a series of schemes to tackle fly-tipping and litter, with plans for the release of the new ‘Don’t Mess with Croydon: take pride’ campaign aiming to educate people about the range of existing and new waste services on offer, as well as the council’s means of enforcement.

Reporting and tackling fly-tipping are central to the campaign, with the creation of a new hotline and email address alongside the council’s existing smartphone app ‘MyCroydon’ to allow residents to report incidents.

Any reports will be investigated by a specific ‘fly-tip flying squad’, and all council staff and contractors are being encouraged to act as ‘additional eyes and ears’.

Residents who want to get actively involved in the scheme will be encouraged to become ‘community champions’ taking part in a series of ‘community pride clean ups’.

Councillor Stuart Collins, cabinet member for a cleaner and greener Croydon, said: “The volume of calls shows interest in reporting fly-tipping has been skyrocketing recently and we want to capitalise on this to keep the reports coming in. Over just the last few weeks we've had approaching 1,500 reported incidents from across the borough.”

Fly-tipping in Croydon can be reported online, by phone (020 8604 7000) from 30 June, or by email (flytipping@croydon.gov.uk).

Grundon landfill site hosts international environment team

Grundon Waste Management’s Wingmoor Farm landfill site in Bishop’s Cleeve, near Cheltenham, played host to a group of international visitors from the European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL) and the UK Environment Agency (EA).

The tour completes the UK section of a wider training programme for IMPEL environment inspectors from across Europe.

Over the course of three days, visitors learnt about the EA’s role in the UK and the implementation of the EU Landfill Directive in England and Wales, as well as spending one day at the Grundon site to view an operational landfill site first hand.

Grundon’s compliance manager Toni Robinson said: “It was a very interesting day. The visitors were especially keen to see our waste acceptance procedures and understand how we monitor activity and carry out restoration work.

“It gave us an opportunity to demonstrate Grundon’s commitment to best practice and we were very pleased to be able to play a role in helping set the scene for future environmental guidelines.”

Find out more about Grundon.

Recycle for Wales releases guide for a ‘Greener Summer’ BBQs

Recycle for Wales has released a series of ‘Greener Summer’ guides to encourage people to act sustainably during the summer months.

This includes its top tips to have greener barbeques and save money. According to research from the National BBQ Association and Mintel, people have on average nine barbeques during the year, spending around £35 on food and drink each time at a total cost of £315.

Top tips include:

• investing in a reusable barbeque as disposable versions create waste and cost more money in the long term;
• using an online portion planner to avoid spending money on excess food and reducing waste;
• avoiding disposable plastic cutlery by using your own crockery and knives and forks;
• recycling all glass bottles, cans, plastic bottles and food waste and putting recycling bins in the garden for easier use; and
• encouraging your guests to walk, cycle or take public transport on the way.

Andrew Osborne from Recycle for Wales said: “We all love a BBQ party (or nine!) during the summer months, and by taking on board these easy steps to save you cash and help the environment, we can all have a greener summer.”

Read Recycle for Wales’s ‘Greener Summer’ guides in full.

Liverpool hotel celebrates successful recycling campaign

The Richmond Hotel and Spa in Hatton Garden, Liverpool, is celebrating the success of its recent scheme, delivered in partnership with B&M Waste Services, to recycle glass, card and paper, plastic, wood and metal.

According to a statement from the hotel, it has gone from no recycling to more than 83 per cent recycled in less than six months, saving almost 3,000 kilogrammes (kg) of carbon per month.

Steven Hesketh, Group Director at The Richmond Hotel, commented: “We are delighted to be working closely with B&M Waste to ensure we are doing the very best we can when it comes to recycling.

“A hotel is operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so waste does occur. However, with the expert help, support and advice we are receiving from the experienced team at B&M, our team are being educated in ways of how we maximise our recycling of cardboard and glass.”

Find out more about B&M Waste Services.