Initial proposals in February 2011 to introduce an 85 per cent collection target in the revised Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive have been softened following a consideration of the European Parliament’s decision by the Council of the EU. A Council consideration of the decision has “foreseen” a collection rate of 45 per cent…
Category Archives: News
Action needed on rare earth metal recycling
A report by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) which has been submitted to the Government’s Science and Technology Committee, has stated that unless quick action is taken to increase the recycling of rare earth metals (REM), the government’s plan to achieve 15 percent renewable energy by 2020 will be unattainable. In the report,…
More environmental guidance needed at work
According to new research only 17 per cent of UK employees have received advice or training at work on energy efficiency and fewer than a quarter have been given information on recycling and waste management. The findings are from a poll of more than 1,000 working people by NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety…
Batteries and bottles collections introduced in Edinburgh
Edinburgh Council has introduced two new waste stream collections to their kerbside recycling scheme. Residents have been given two new recycling boxes in which to collect plastic bottles and batteries. The Council will also be running a pilot food waste project from April 2011.This will see food scraps picked up from 20,000 Edinburgh households in…
Survey shows that Twin Bin scheme is preferred
Durham County Council are looking to change their waste and recycling arrangements to a Twin Bin scheme across the county. This followed the largest ever waste survey of residents in the county which found that the Twin Bin scheme currently used in Derwentside was the preferred waste option. 74 per cent of residents said the…
The great bin debate
How many bins is too many? In a time of public sector cuts, is it better to sort your own rubbish rather than paying more council tax for someone else to do it? How can the government encourage more recycling without alienating people? These were just some of the questions that the press were asking…
Retail sector concerned about proposed WEEE regulations
The recent vote in European Parliament on the recast of the WEEE Directive will mean an increase of the target for collecting WEEE to 85 per cent by 2016. In order to reach this higher target the UK is going to have to find new ways to make WEEE recycling easier for consumers, and to…
10 per cent recycling increase in Guernsey
Guernsey’s household recycling figures for 2010 have just been released and show a significant increase. 12,122 tonnes of household waste was recycling during the year, up from 8,774 tonnes during 2009. However, the figures also revealed that the amount of household waste produced rose by 2,000 tonnes in the same period.. Public Services Deputy Minister…
Rubbish recycling tops 40 per cent
The latest figures from Defra show that across the UK we are now, on average, recycling more than 40 per cent of our rubbish. The figure was taken for the 12 months up to June 2010 and represents a 0.4 per cent rise in recycling. Environment minister, Lord Henley commented: “We’re producing less waste and…
WEEE Directive recast update
Proposals to introduce a new collection target for waste electronics have been endorsed by the European Parliament. If agreed, the new collection target would be set at 85 per cent. In addition to this the new agreement would make producers and retailers responsible for funding the collection of WEEE from households. The proposals now have…