WRAP have today announced that they are to be the single delivery body for a range of resource efficiency services. This seems like a good idea to me as it means more clarity and fingers crossed more efficient services.
To see more of this story from MRW
Paul Sanderson, editor, MRW
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Monday, 23 March 2009
Energy from waste or incineration?
I chaired a seminar last week and energy from waste was high on the agenda.
Despite my efforts to negotiate a middle ground, it was clear that there was a divide between supporters of combined heat and power plants from the waste industry and engineers and those from the environmental lobby such as Friends of the Earth.
Indeed, it was interesting to see their use of terminology with the waste industry and engineering delegates talking of EfW and CHP and the environmentalists of incineration.
My view is that EfW and CHP has a place in a well structured hierarchy of waste with the usual re-use and recycle etc coming first. Terms such as incineration do an injustice to efficient modern plants as it gives the impression of burning waste with a stack belching out untreated pollutants. Maybe that is why the enviornmental lobby are so keen to use the word incineration.
Paul Sanderson, editor, MRW and www.mrw.co.uk
Despite my efforts to negotiate a middle ground, it was clear that there was a divide between supporters of combined heat and power plants from the waste industry and engineers and those from the environmental lobby such as Friends of the Earth.
Indeed, it was interesting to see their use of terminology with the waste industry and engineering delegates talking of EfW and CHP and the environmentalists of incineration.
My view is that EfW and CHP has a place in a well structured hierarchy of waste with the usual re-use and recycle etc coming first. Terms such as incineration do an injustice to efficient modern plants as it gives the impression of burning waste with a stack belching out untreated pollutants. Maybe that is why the enviornmental lobby are so keen to use the word incineration.
Paul Sanderson, editor, MRW and www.mrw.co.uk
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Doing it for the kids
I was intrigued by a story I saw this week in the Daily Mail about a rural shopkeeper who writes the names of her customers on the packaging of snacks they buy.
According to the Mail, postmistress Yvonne Froud marks each wrapper with the name of the buyer in black permanent marker pen. Then any customer whose name turns up on a piece of rubbish found in the street is temporarily banned from the shop. The idea is that they take responsibility for that waste and put it in the bin.
Froud, who runs the post office in Joys Green in the Forest of Dean, Gloucester, explains that her system works because the rural community is so small. She says she knows the name of every local resident and so cannot be fooled by customers using aliases.
But reading on it becomes apparent that, the woman “on a crusade”, is only applying this system to young people. Surely this is age discrimination. Does this postmistress think only children drop litter? This assumption is something many law abiding children would hotly deny. But of course when you are taking a stand it’s easy to start with those already demonised by some sections of the press and least likely to complain.
Read the full article at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1163132/Shopkeeper-writes-customers-names-sweet-wrappers-drink-cans--stop-dropping-litter.html
Claire Churchard, senior reporter, MRW
According to the Mail, postmistress Yvonne Froud marks each wrapper with the name of the buyer in black permanent marker pen. Then any customer whose name turns up on a piece of rubbish found in the street is temporarily banned from the shop. The idea is that they take responsibility for that waste and put it in the bin.
Froud, who runs the post office in Joys Green in the Forest of Dean, Gloucester, explains that her system works because the rural community is so small. She says she knows the name of every local resident and so cannot be fooled by customers using aliases.
But reading on it becomes apparent that, the woman “on a crusade”, is only applying this system to young people. Surely this is age discrimination. Does this postmistress think only children drop litter? This assumption is something many law abiding children would hotly deny. But of course when you are taking a stand it’s easy to start with those already demonised by some sections of the press and least likely to complain.
Read the full article at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1163132/Shopkeeper-writes-customers-names-sweet-wrappers-drink-cans--stop-dropping-litter.html
Claire Churchard, senior reporter, MRW
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Designing out construction waste
I managed to pop along to the Construction Waste Summit yesterday which was attended by representatives from various parts of the construction supply chain. It was interesting to hear their thoughts and concerns on construction waste - and whether the ultimate 'zero waste to landfill' was something that was achievable. (A quick straw poll found that about half of those who attended thought this 'zero waste' goal was achievable and the other half didn't...)
Those who attended seem to think that more collaboration along the supply chain and more awareness among designers about waste would help reduce the amount and impact of construction waste.
A speaker from BDP offered the designer's perspective and made a good point that most waste legislation is aimed at the end-of-life stage and contractors - meaning designers are effectively removed from having to think about waste. In addition, she suggested a lot of designers were not aware of the 'zero waste' concept and the waste hierarchy - something that those further down the waste chain perhaps assume others are aware of.
It raised the question of whether we need to incentivise or put in place regulations to force designers and those at the start of the construction process to think about the impact of their work at the end of the chain?
Andrea Height, MRW, deputy editor
Those who attended seem to think that more collaboration along the supply chain and more awareness among designers about waste would help reduce the amount and impact of construction waste.
A speaker from BDP offered the designer's perspective and made a good point that most waste legislation is aimed at the end-of-life stage and contractors - meaning designers are effectively removed from having to think about waste. In addition, she suggested a lot of designers were not aware of the 'zero waste' concept and the waste hierarchy - something that those further down the waste chain perhaps assume others are aware of.
It raised the question of whether we need to incentivise or put in place regulations to force designers and those at the start of the construction process to think about the impact of their work at the end of the chain?
Andrea Height, MRW, deputy editor
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Mobius loop
I think if you were to ask people in the UK to identify what is the recycling symbol between the Recycle Now logo and the Mobius Loop logo, most would choose the latter.
There is some news emerging tomorrow which will be positive, but will also highlight the difficulty in communicating the recycling message when the Mobius Loop remains ubiqitous in the minds of the public.
Maybe we'd have been sticking with what was already a well known logo?
Paul Sanderson, editor, MRW
www.mrw.co.uk
There is some news emerging tomorrow which will be positive, but will also highlight the difficulty in communicating the recycling message when the Mobius Loop remains ubiqitous in the minds of the public.
Maybe we'd have been sticking with what was already a well known logo?
Paul Sanderson, editor, MRW
www.mrw.co.uk
Thursday, 12 March 2009
All eyes on WEEE
There been a lot of activity around Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) this week. Of most note is WEEE producer compliance scheme Repic's decision to bring judicial review proceedings over what it calls the “the Government’s failure to close loopholes in the system designed to ensure that WEEE items are recycled”. Read the MRW news story here. It will be interesting to see how this develops.
Repic chief executive Philip Morton calls the WEEE rules "a model of bad regulation" and says they encourage profiteering rather than sound environmental practice. Is he right? And is this also an issue for other aspects of environmental legislation?
Andrea Height, deputy editor, MRW
Repic chief executive Philip Morton calls the WEEE rules "a model of bad regulation" and says they encourage profiteering rather than sound environmental practice. Is he right? And is this also an issue for other aspects of environmental legislation?
Andrea Height, deputy editor, MRW
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
An endearing bin bag?
Is it me, or does anyone else think the black bin bag in the Starve Your Bin television adverts is too cute?
It rifles through the recycling box like a pet dog and then begs Alistair to feed it some more cans. In fact I’m reminded of a dopey old pet that my family used to have and I think, yeah give the bag some more cans!
Surely this is not the response the campaign was after. But the real bin bag in my kitchen does not get cans, plastic bottles or anything else my councils deems fit to recycle. So perhaps I’m being a little harsh.
Yet when I compare it to the earlier poster campaign, I found the two dimensional bin bag character much easier to dislike and I wanted to deprive it of recyclates. Perhaps a creepier, Disney villain voice would’ve worked better on television.
But then this advert isn’t aimed at me is it. I recycle all ready. Maybe it does work on people who don’t. If you haven’t’ already seen it, watch and judge for yourself.
http://www.recycleforlondon.com/starve/tv/
Claire Churchard, senior reporter, MRW
It rifles through the recycling box like a pet dog and then begs Alistair to feed it some more cans. In fact I’m reminded of a dopey old pet that my family used to have and I think, yeah give the bag some more cans!
Surely this is not the response the campaign was after. But the real bin bag in my kitchen does not get cans, plastic bottles or anything else my councils deems fit to recycle. So perhaps I’m being a little harsh.
Yet when I compare it to the earlier poster campaign, I found the two dimensional bin bag character much easier to dislike and I wanted to deprive it of recyclates. Perhaps a creepier, Disney villain voice would’ve worked better on television.
But then this advert isn’t aimed at me is it. I recycle all ready. Maybe it does work on people who don’t. If you haven’t’ already seen it, watch and judge for yourself.
http://www.recycleforlondon.com/starve/tv/
Claire Churchard, senior reporter, MRW
I bought a new hoover....
I bought a new hoover from Curry's the other day. I asked the store assistant that served me if he could take my old one back under the WEEE rules. And he said: "We don't do WEEE take-backs at this store."
He explained that customers that have electrical items delivered by Currys can arrange for the old items to be collected at the same time. But only if they are delivered - you cannot take it back in-store (strange I thought in my mind). So they can recycle it if they deliver it but I can't take it back in-store!!!
I am sure that they launched a scheme in 2007 where you could take back your old electrical appliances at any store. I have to check this one out. The store assistant might have given me some wrong info - I am on a mission to find out!!
N.B. Thank you Brendan for your help. It was actually a Panasonic vacuum cleaner that I wanted to take back. Now, I know that I can take this back to the store I will just dump it inside. I thought I was right but obviously the store assistant did not know what he was talking about. Next time if in doubt speak to the manager!!!
He explained that customers that have electrical items delivered by Currys can arrange for the old items to be collected at the same time. But only if they are delivered - you cannot take it back in-store (strange I thought in my mind). So they can recycle it if they deliver it but I can't take it back in-store!!!
I am sure that they launched a scheme in 2007 where you could take back your old electrical appliances at any store. I have to check this one out. The store assistant might have given me some wrong info - I am on a mission to find out!!
N.B. Thank you Brendan for your help. It was actually a Panasonic vacuum cleaner that I wanted to take back. Now, I know that I can take this back to the store I will just dump it inside. I thought I was right but obviously the store assistant did not know what he was talking about. Next time if in doubt speak to the manager!!!
Monday, 9 March 2009
Inspiration and innovation
Sometimes you meet people who are brimming with so much enthusiasm it really is quite infectious and gives you back your zest for life. Last week I went along to Ecobuild, a trade exhibition for those involved with sustainable design and construction, and met a number of people who had seen an opportunity, had a vision and made it happen.
There was Simon Greer from Nulife Glass, who had spent about 13 years trying to find a method of taking the hazardous lead out of the cathode ray tube (CRT) glass that is found in old television screens and computer monitors. He was told it wasn't possible, but persevered and has now cracked the problem and proved his solution. This means both the lead and the glass can be reused as raw materials and the glass is no longer hazardous. The glass can go into applications as diverse as cufflinks, wall and floor tiles, kitchen worktops and high-grade aggregates.
Working with one of last year's National Recycling Award winners, GLASSeco, Simon has even used some of the glass he had separated out from old TV screens for making his own kitchen worktops.
Donald Crawley, one of GLASSeco's directors, had equally spent about 10 years of his life working out how he could find a better use for glass waste that was ending up in landfill. MRW magazine has previously covered the story of how he experimented with mixing waste glass with resin in his garden shed to create worktops. A chance break led to him making a worktop for an eco-house featured in Grand Designs and judging by the number of people at his stand at the exhibition, it's a product people are really interested in.
GLASSeco is now working with Chamois, who make kitchens using 100% recycled timber panels, so you can get a truly recycled kitchen.
And finally there was Les Owens, the managing director of BuilderScrap, a website designed to prevent construction waste from going to landfill. The free service acts like a match-maker for those wanting building materials and those with building materials to get rid of. A builder himself, Les knows how builders think and operate, so has made the website 'builder-friendly' and easy to upload photos and information from site.
It's built around the premise of why you would want to pay to have skips of perfectly usable material thrown away when you could give it to someone who wants it for free. Why indeed. All three were a really good example of thinking outide the box and finding innovative solutions. And they were a real inspiration.
Andrea Height, Deputy Editor, MRW
There was Simon Greer from Nulife Glass, who had spent about 13 years trying to find a method of taking the hazardous lead out of the cathode ray tube (CRT) glass that is found in old television screens and computer monitors. He was told it wasn't possible, but persevered and has now cracked the problem and proved his solution. This means both the lead and the glass can be reused as raw materials and the glass is no longer hazardous. The glass can go into applications as diverse as cufflinks, wall and floor tiles, kitchen worktops and high-grade aggregates.
Working with one of last year's National Recycling Award winners, GLASSeco, Simon has even used some of the glass he had separated out from old TV screens for making his own kitchen worktops.
Donald Crawley, one of GLASSeco's directors, had equally spent about 10 years of his life working out how he could find a better use for glass waste that was ending up in landfill. MRW magazine has previously covered the story of how he experimented with mixing waste glass with resin in his garden shed to create worktops. A chance break led to him making a worktop for an eco-house featured in Grand Designs and judging by the number of people at his stand at the exhibition, it's a product people are really interested in.
GLASSeco is now working with Chamois, who make kitchens using 100% recycled timber panels, so you can get a truly recycled kitchen.
And finally there was Les Owens, the managing director of BuilderScrap, a website designed to prevent construction waste from going to landfill. The free service acts like a match-maker for those wanting building materials and those with building materials to get rid of. A builder himself, Les knows how builders think and operate, so has made the website 'builder-friendly' and easy to upload photos and information from site.
It's built around the premise of why you would want to pay to have skips of perfectly usable material thrown away when you could give it to someone who wants it for free. Why indeed. All three were a really good example of thinking outide the box and finding innovative solutions. And they were a real inspiration.
Andrea Height, Deputy Editor, MRW
Friday, 6 March 2009
Low carbon future
There is a summit happening today on the low carbon future. Seems recycling isn't part of it as there is only mentions of energy policies from Lord Mandelson and Ed Miliband.
Who is shouting our to publicise the climate change mitigation impact of efficient waste management or recycling and waste minimisation? Or who should be?
Paul Sanderson, editor, MRW
Who is shouting our to publicise the climate change mitigation impact of efficient waste management or recycling and waste minimisation? Or who should be?
Paul Sanderson, editor, MRW
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
PFI funding can only be good news
We are reporting on MRW today that the Treasury is to put £3.5 billion into waste PFI projects.
Infrastructure is desperately needed in the recycling and waste sector and I am sure this will give a welcome boost when commercial funding is proving hard to come by.
My sources tell me Greater Manchester is on the brink of being signed - I'm holding my breath in anticipation! Once it is, and with this funding boost, we might actually see a great deal more on the horizon such as Merseyside and North London.
See the story in full on MRW.
Paul Sanderson, Editor, MRW (Materials Recycling Week)
Infrastructure is desperately needed in the recycling and waste sector and I am sure this will give a welcome boost when commercial funding is proving hard to come by.
My sources tell me Greater Manchester is on the brink of being signed - I'm holding my breath in anticipation! Once it is, and with this funding boost, we might actually see a great deal more on the horizon such as Merseyside and North London.
See the story in full on MRW.
Paul Sanderson, Editor, MRW (Materials Recycling Week)
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Revenge of the bin men
Did anyone watch that Channel 4 programme last night called Revenge of the bin men?
How funny was that! That programme was enough to put you off recycling for life. It seemed to exaggerate everybody's roles (it showed the extreme side of practically everyone). Did the Peterborough recycling officer Emma really have a recycling bin in her bedroom? I am sure I must have been dreaming! I think she went too far with that one.
The menacing music in the background just made for more entertaining TV. It really did sound like there was a war was going on.
The best bit of the show was the showdown between the Hertfordshire resident who wanted to keep the bigger wheelie bins and the councillor. And after all the effort that the Hertfordshire resident put into his campaign to save the bigger wheelie bins nobody backed his cause in the end!
I think the show should have put more emphasis on the fact that we are running out of landfill and councils face huge fines if we keep sending waste to landfill. I think if that message got across then it might have encouraged more people to recycle. I didn't get the overall message of the programme.
But showing enforcement/recycling officers penalising the public "is not a good look". It makes them look callous and calculating, especially when they claim that there is no word for recycling in Polish.
Liz Gyekye, reporter, MRW (Materials Recycling Week)
How funny was that! That programme was enough to put you off recycling for life. It seemed to exaggerate everybody's roles (it showed the extreme side of practically everyone). Did the Peterborough recycling officer Emma really have a recycling bin in her bedroom? I am sure I must have been dreaming! I think she went too far with that one.
The menacing music in the background just made for more entertaining TV. It really did sound like there was a war was going on.
The best bit of the show was the showdown between the Hertfordshire resident who wanted to keep the bigger wheelie bins and the councillor. And after all the effort that the Hertfordshire resident put into his campaign to save the bigger wheelie bins nobody backed his cause in the end!
I think the show should have put more emphasis on the fact that we are running out of landfill and councils face huge fines if we keep sending waste to landfill. I think if that message got across then it might have encouraged more people to recycle. I didn't get the overall message of the programme.
But showing enforcement/recycling officers penalising the public "is not a good look". It makes them look callous and calculating, especially when they claim that there is no word for recycling in Polish.
Liz Gyekye, reporter, MRW (Materials Recycling Week)
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