Straight plc signs product contract

Environmental products and services group Straight plc has been reappointed by the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) and the Central Buying Consortium (CBC) to supply a range of waste container products under a two-year framework agreement (with the option to extend for a further two years).

The four-year agreement, which commences on Saturday (1 February), is estimated to be worth up to £100 million. Straight said it expects to generate at least £4 million of annual revenues in line with previous levels achieved from this channel.

Under the framework agreement, Straight will supply the group with a range of products, including plastic wheeled bins, steel wheeled bins, food waste caddies and kerbside collection boxes as well as its two new products, the 3BoxStack and the Food Waste Inner Caddy.

The framework agreement can be used by all public-sector organisations in the UK, including local authorities as well as other public bodies and charities.

Jonathan Straight, founder and Chief Executive of Straight plc, said he was ‘delighted’ the company had been reappointed, adding: "We have been a supplier to ESPO since 2006 and retaining such a prominent position under the framework agreement further cements our relationship, highlighted by the inclusion of our two new products.”

Read more about Straight plc.

Nappy recycling company seeks new site

Nappy recycling company Knowaste, which closed its doors last year having ‘outgrown’ its West Bromwich facility, has announced it is looking for a new site ‘between Oxford, Luton, and London’.

The company said potential sites should haveaccess to sustainable heat, power, and water sources, adding that ‘high on its agenda’ are sites in close proximity to existing energy-from-waste, biomass, anaerobic digestion, or water treatment facilities.

The establishment of the new facility will reportedly be the ‘first stage’ in the company’s strategy to develop a number of sites across the UK.

Paul Richardson, Business Development Director at Knowaste, said: “The location of the new facility is critical. We want to find an optimal site close to sources of sustainable heat, power and water that is also optimally located for us to meet the demands of local authorities and hygiene companies”.

According to Knowaste, the new site will include: ‘new’ recycling technologies, which will make the processes for sterilisation, screening and materials separation ‘more efficient’; new washing, separation and drying processes; and a plastic pelletiser.

Read more about Knowaste.

Redeem Holdings acquires Envirofone

Waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) recycling company Redeem Holdings Limited has acquired mobile phone recycling and refurbishing company Easyfone Limited (which trades as Envirofone).

Redeem Holdings said the move‘marries Envirofone's strong consumer proposition with Redeem's innovative processing platform to advance Redeem's refurbishment capacity throughout Europe’.

Claes Svensson, CEO of Redeem Holdings Limited, said: “This move is a significant step forward for both businesses. Envirofone's consumer platform has become a powerful and trusted brand over the past 10 years, and this is something we'll look to develop throughout the entire group. This addition to Redeem's portfolio improves our capability to deliver market-leading buy-back, trade-in, refurbishment and wholesale solutions for operators, retailers, corporates and consumers across Europe.”

Find out more about Redeem Holdings Limited.

Lighting the way for recycling

Lights made from recycled soft drink bottles will soon go on the market following an international study led by Nottingham Trent University.

In collaboration with Spanish enterprise Ona Product SL, researchers have developed a new lighting system that is housed in a recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) casing, a material commonly used to contain soft drinks.

The lights use ultra-low watt light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that consume about seven times less energy than traditional incandescent lights.

Professor Daizhong Su, head of Advanced Design and Manufacturing Engineering Centre (ADMEC) at the university’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, who led the research, said: “We were determined to raise the bar and create a new range of lighting with a very low environmental impact and found that PET, because it is so widely recycled and because of its optical, thermal and UV properties, was the ideal material in which to house LEDs.”

The product will be sold initially in Sweden from the summer and is expected to be rolled out to other Scandinavian countries with short daylight hours in the near future, before being made available to the rest of Europe.

Find out more about Ona Product SL.

Recycling fit for a queen

An Oxfordshire resident who pledged to recycle more plastics has won an annual family pass to Blenheim Palace.

Oxfordshire Waste Partnership’s competition, which closed today (31 January), was implemented to encourage people to check they know all of the different types of materials that can be recycled in Oxfordshire, and to promote good recycling practices.

Rhea Zambrellas, from North Leigh, near Witney, entered the competition after checking which sorts of plastic are recyclable in West Oxfordshire.

She said: “I use reusable bags for shopping and try to minimise the amount of plastic I buy, and it’s great that so many plastics can be recycled in Oxfordshire. I’m so pleased to have won the prize and look forward to taking my family to Blenheim Palace!”

Reg Waite, Vice Chair of Oxfordshire Waste Partnership (pictured above with Zambrellas), commented: “Recycling as much as possible helps us to increase Oxfordshire’s already impressive recycling rate and avoids us paying huge taxes on waste that goes to landfill.”

Read more about Oxfordshire Waste Partnership’s competition.