Edinburgh moves on food waste plan
More recycling bins will be provided across the city in an attempt encourage householders to recycle food scraps and plastic bottles.
Plastic bottles and food waste are said to make up the majority of rubbish left in bins after other materials have been recycled and contribute a larger part of Edinburgh's landfill bill, which is set to rise to £12m a year by 2014.
Lockable collection boxes are to be provided to help recycle some of the estimated 20,000 tonnes of food waste that is sent to landfill each year in the city.
It is expected the pilot will eventually be rolled out to include the rest of the city's 250,000 households.
Councillor Robert Aldridge, Edinburgh's environment leader, said: "Residents will see a difference in the level of service offered, with more collections. Food waste will be collected weekly and there will be more opportunity to recycle other household items."
Full story
Cheshire waste set to be burned in Runcorn
Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWEC) and Cheshire East Council have confirmed Viridor as its preferred bidder in an £850m contract to process their waste.
Plans also call for the waste to be incinerated at a facility in Runcorn which is currently awaiting planning permission.
If the plant receives planning permission and the provisional deal becomes final, Viridor will produce refuse-derived-fuel (RDF) at its Lostock works to be burned in Runcorn.
The Viridor development manager, Symon Grasby, said: “We are very pleased the consultation has shown good levels of support for our Lostock proposals.
“The plant will generate much needed jobs in the area, extract more recycled materials and the remainder will produce a fuel to be efficiently used at the Runcorn plant. The steam and electricity generated will reduce the use of fossil fuel use and support essential industry in Runcorn.”
Full story
Harrogate to overhaul refuse collection
Harrogate Borough Counci is to overhaul its waste collection service after it had emerged that recycling rates in parts of the district are as low as 28 per cent; nine levels below the national target for 2010.
Proposed changes, which will cost almost £3m, include adding plastic bottles and cardboard to kerbside collections, a weekly collection alternating between waste and recycling and replacing the black sack service with wheelie bins.
A scrutiny and overview panel is set to give a final report on the scheme before the plans go before a specially arranged council meeting to be held shortly after Christmas. The Cabinet member for the environment, Coun Michael Harrison, said: "We need to bring Harrogate up to the level that we should be at – our recycling rates at the moment fall way short.
"In the long term we cannot continue to send the amount of waste to landfill that we currently do.
Full story
Basildon rolls out new food waste collection scheme
Basildon's new food waste collection scheme, which was started in October, has shown a vast increase in the amount of waste being recycled.
In Billericay and Wickford alone a total of 819 tonnes of food and green waste was recycled in October this year - compared with 349 tonnes for the same month last year.
Basildon councillor Malcolm Buckley, cabinet member for the environment, said: "I am so impressed with the way residents have embraced this latest step to reduce massively the amount of waste that goes into landfill."
Full story
Hull waiting for green light on new recycling plant
Willerby rubbish collection and recycling firm, Wastewise, are proposing to build Hull’s first major mixed recycling processing plant on Hull's Bankside.
The £600,000 plant could, if planning is given, process up to 46,000 tonnes of waste each year, which is enough to fill the local sports stadium.
Dan Ingram, sales director of Wastewise, said: “The materials recycling plant will be the first of its kind in this area.
“What we’re doing is recycling mixed waste, so rather than people segregating the waste at the source into plastics, paper, metal, glass and all the rest of it, we offer a mixed recyclables collection and make it easier for the customer to sort the waste by just asking them to take out their contaminated waste.”
Full story