This is according to a new survey undertaken by plastic recycling industry body Recoup. The study was covering 2010 and found that nearly 50 percent of all household plastic bottles were recycled. The exact figures show that 48.5 percent were collected by local authorities, that equates to 281,000 tonnes. In addition to this, the number…
Category Archives: Government
Bristol Council getting tough on waste
Residents in Bristol are going to have to recycle more in order to efficiently deal with rubbish come the New Year. In 2012, the normal 240 litre black bins will be replaced with a smaller 180 litre version. That equates to about one less bag of general rubbish every fortnight, the bin will fit about…
MEP’s vote for higher WEEE targets
The European parliament environmental committee has voted in favour of the weee recycling target eventually rising to 85%. The rise would be staged over several years with a target of 45% of material to be collected by 2016 and 65% by 2020. However there is still some disagreement between the parliament and council over how…
Lord Taylor appointed as recycling minister
Lord Taylor of Holbeach has succeeded Lord Henley as minister for waste and recycling at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Lord Henley left the post at Defra to become crime prevention minister at the Home Office in a small government reshuffle due to the stepping down of the current incumbent, Baroness Browning,…
Devon Council choose the best
WeeeCare, WasteCare’s WEEE compliance arm has recently won another tender to collect WEEE from Devon County Council. Hot on the heals of winning Telford and Wrekin in June, this contract further strengthens our development in the civic authority sector. The contract starts on the 1st of September 2011 and will last for a minimum 2…
Aluminium can recycling rates up
According to the latest figures from the European Aluminium Association the UK’s aluminium can recycling rates are getting a lot closer to the European average. The data shows that in 2009 the recycling rate for aluminum cans was 54 per cent compared to the European average of 64.3 per cent. This is compared to the…
Quicker handling of waste management applications promised
Planning minister Greg Clark has set out a new ‘Planning Guarantee’ which promises waste management companies that their planning applications will be dealt with swiftly. Designed to provide greater certainty to local communities by speeding up local planning applications, the new process will see whole planning applications processed within a maximum of 12 months. Currently,…
From Defra to ESA for Hathaway
Roy Hathaway has joined the Environmental Services Association (ESA) as an adviser. This follows his retirement from the post of head of waste regulation at Defra at the end of March. Mr Hathaway had been at Defra since 2006 and was responsible for policy on waste regulation and commercial and industrial waste. He recently played…
It’s Compost Awareness Week
This week (1st- 7th May) is Compost Awareness Week, up and down the country councils, retailers and community groups are promoting the benefits of home composting. Now in it’s 11th year, this international awareness week aims to encourage more householders to have a go at composting. As part of the week, Worcestershire county council are…
Consequences of reduced tip opening hours?
Concerns have been raised that reduced tip opening hours brought on by council cuts may lead to more fly tipping. In particular, residents of Sedgemoor in Somerset (which has seen the opening hours of several local tips reduced) have reported a new surge in piles of discarded rubbish. James Lye, owner of Burnham Removals, said:…