Recycling and waste management company Recycling Lives has secured a new contract to process waste metal arising from fuel reprocessing and decommissioning at Sellafield in Cumbria.
Recycling Lives, which is also a social enterprise helping those from some of the most marginalised communities in the UK to gain practical skills in the recycling sector and a salary to allow them to live independently, will now provide a number of jobs in the area and open two new sites in Cumbria to manage waste collection and processing and expand its charitable activities.
The first site will be a scrap buying and processing facility in the Workington area, which will bring back previously disused land back into use and be open to the public and other businesses from September.
The second site will serve as the business’s second Food Redistribution Centre in Cumbria, with locations across the county for charitable organisations to take food collections. Both sites will create new work and training opportunities for local people.
Commenting on the new contract, Recycling Lives Managing Director William Fletcher said: “Recycling Lives is pleased to have been chosen as the preferred contractor for scrap metal collection and processing from Sellafield Ltd. We’re really excited to be able to use this contract to create social value across Cumbria. The benefits will be more than just environmental and economic, as we create social impact through job creation and food redistribution.”
Martin Chown, Sellafield Ltd’s Supply Chain Director, added: “We are committed to ensuring our local communities derive maximum economic benefit from the money we spend at Sellafield. We do this by insisting that companies that win work with us invest to support local growth. Recycling Lives has these values at its core, and I’m excited by their plans to create jobs and support disadvantaged people in west Cumbria, as a result of winning work at Sellafield.”
You can find out more about the charitable work carried out by Recycling Lives on their website.
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.