Dive into the latest waste and resource news with Circular Online’s news in brief roundup.
Primary school children save two tons of plastic from landfill through recycling programme
Waste management company MYGroup says primary school children from across the UK have collected two tons of plastic bottle tops to be recycled through the firm’s “SchoolCycled” programme.
SchoolCycled was launched in 2021 and is currently active in 25 UK primary schools. These schools have been provided with educational resources on recycling and sustainability, with pupils incentivised to recycle by the opportunity to earn furniture and fittings for their school, which MYGroup manufactures from processed plastic bottle tops.
MYGroup says it has invested in a series of advanced technological processes at its Hull facility, meaning the plastic bottle tops, which normally end up in landfill or incinerated, can be completely recycled.
MYGroup processes the bottle tops into MYboard™, a material similar in consistency to plywood, which the company uses to manufacture furniture and fittings for schools, including chairs, tables and desks, A-boards and mud kitchens.
Pupils can choose products to be created for their school using “Earth Points”, based on the weight of bottle tops they have collected, MYGroup says.
We are committed to educating the next generation about the importance of recycling and sustainability.
MYGroup says it has provided the schools taking part in SchoolCycled with a series of free online lesson plans covering the impact of plastic pollution and the importance of recycling and sustainability.
It has also provided recycling boxes for collection of the bottle tops and branded materials to promote and reinforce participation in the scheme, such as posters, certificates and stickers, MYGroup says.
MYGroup says it is currently in talks to activate SchoolCycled in a further 30 schools and is keen to speak to potential sponsors to help expand the programme. The company says it currently funds the scheme entirely, with no cost to the schools involved.
Commenting on the achievement, Steve Carrie, Director, MYGroup, said: “We are committed to educating the next generation about the importance of recycling and sustainability.
“Focusing on such a simple, but a nonetheless prevalent item of plastic waste as a bottle top encourages children to engage in the process of recycling at an early age, while the items we manufacture from the processed material demonstrate the circular economy in action.”
SUEZ recycling and recovery UK awarded Mid-Kent Waste Partnership contract
SUEZ has signed a contract with three Kent councils to deliver waste and recycling services from 2024, worth £152 million over the life of the eight-year contract.
The contract was awarded by Ashford, Maidstone and Swale councils after a “detailed tender process” and incorporates the provision of waste collection and recycling services across the three boroughs’ nearly 200,000 households, as well as street cleansing in Ashford and Swale, whilst Maidstone’s will remain in-house, SUEZ says.
It will begin in March 2024.
SUEZ says that fortnightly collections of waste and recycling will continue, with a single-wheeled bin for dry recycling, alongside weekly food waste collections.
At the same time, SUEZ continues that it will introduce a new fleet of lower-emission vehicles using electric bin lifts funded by each council, alongside improved technology for vehicle tracking, routing and managing customer service requests.
SUEZ says these improvements will lower the carbon footprint of the service and provide the councils and residents with up-to-date service information.
We’re delighted that the Mid-Kent Waste Partnership has entrusted SUEZ to deliver essential services to their residents from 2024.
The new contract also includes proposed improvements to the level of cleansing in rural and residential areas, and quicker response times for the removal of fly-tipping, SUEZ says.
Commenting on the announcement, John Scanlon, Chief Executive Officer for SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, said: “We’re delighted that the Mid-Kent Waste Partnership has entrusted SUEZ to deliver essential services to their residents from 2024.
“With our experience and expertise in service innovation, SUEZ is well positioned to partner with the councils to navigate the upcoming period of transition, as the government implements its waste reforms to create a more circular, resource-efficient UK economy.
“We look forward to rolling out modern technology and new low-emission vehicles, together with improved routes and fly-tip response times, to help drive up recycling rates, drive down the carbon footprint of the services and provide an enhanced customer service to residents of Mid Kent.”
Veolia’s Sustainability Fund supported 96 grassroots community projects across the UK in 2022
UK resource management company Veolia’s Sustainability Fund supported 96 grassroots projects with over £80,000 in funding, which it says were chosen for their “exemplary initiatives” to support their local communities and nurture the environment.
Veolia says the Sustainability Fund was launched in 2021 after a “challenging couple of years”, during which, many communal spaces and local services suffered.
The Fund sets out to help grassroots projects that make a positive, sustainable difference and to support long-term social and environmental benefits within local communities, Veolia says.
In its second year, the Fund has grown, welcoming partnerships with four new local authorities and the number of projects supported has doubled, from 47 projects in 2021 to 96 in 2022, Veolia says.
Supporting the communities we serve is at the heart of our partnerships with local authorities.
Commenting on the fund, Pascal Hauret, Managing Director, Municipal at Veolia, said: “We are incredibly proud to see how Veolia’s Sustainability Fund has grown in just its second year.
“Through this campaign we can increase our impact towards ecological transformation by working with residents and groups on the ground to find local solutions to everyday challenges.
“Supporting the communities we serve is at the heart of our partnerships with local authorities and we’re looking forward to another year of supporting their projects in 2023.”
Critical role of waste wood biomass must not be overlooked, says WRA
The “important contribution” that waste wood biomass is making in the transition away from fossil fuels must not be overlooked by government policy, according to the Wood Recyclers’ Association (WRA).
The WRA has written to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) ahead of the launch of the department’s much-anticipated Biomass Strategy, highlighting what it says is the sector’s “crucial contribution” to providing renewable, baseload power and energy security for the UK.
The WRA says the letter comes after waste wood biomass was not mentioned in a report published last week (January 5) by the Environmental Audit Committee on how to accelerate the move away from fossil fuels.
We hope that this doesn’t set a precedent for the upcoming Biomass Strategy.
Commenting on the letter, Richard Coulson, chair of the WRA, said: “We noted the Environmental Audit Committee report on the fossil fuel transition and are disappointed that waste wood gets no mention again. We hope that this doesn’t set a precedent for the upcoming Biomass Strategy.
“Whilst we welcome the focus of the report being the urgency to transition from fossil fuel dependence to both improve our climate and energy security and it highlighting the important role renewable energy such as wind and solar can and must play, we’re at a loss why waste wood biomass is not mentioned as providing important baseload power.
“Waste wood provides all the benefits of other renewables, but also brings the additional advantage of baseload power from our own domestic waste.”
UK environmental agency grants recycling lives ABTO status
Recycling and waste management company Recycling Lives has revealed that it has received ABTO (Approved Battery Treatment Operator) status, weeks after achieving B Corp certification.
Recycling Lives has also been given the green light from the UK government on a new battery treatment and sorting centre.
Work on a specialist battery treatment centre is already underway, with a flagship site in Workington scheduled to open its doors in March this year, Recycling Lives says.
Recycling Lives says the “state-of-the-art” site will set the new industry standard for the collection, storage and sorting of all battery types, with full traceability of each cell’s life journey from source.
Recycling Lives believe, with efficient recycling and extraction processes, we can help reduce long-term damage to the planet.
By securing ABTO and ABE status, Recycling Lives can now sort, process, recycle and/or export all types of battery, from button cells commonly found in wristwatches, to Lithium e-bike, e-scooter and e-cigarette and vape batteries, the company says.
Recycling Lives’ Senior Commercial Manager, AJ Marsh, commented: “We’re really pleased to have achieved ABTO status and are excited to get started at our Workington plant once it opens in March.
“As part of our existing recycling network, we have great connections with key disposal routes in the UK and on the continent, which means we’re already set up to keep much of processing in the UK, which is far more sustainable than exporting.
“Recycling Lives believe, with efficient recycling and extraction processes, we can help reduce long-term damage to the planet.”
Brand refresh for Recycling and waste management firm Recycling Lives
Recycling and waste management company Recycling Lives has announced a brand refresh, including a new brand strategy and evolved messaging, along with a new website, brand film and strapline.
The new look and feel, developed in conjunction with its employees and clients, has been designed to tell the story of a “small northern” social enterprise that expanded to become a sector leader in social sustainability, environmental innovation, and the recycling services it provides, Recycling Lives says.
Recycling Lives says the new strapline, “We make doing good, good business”, was developed to convey the firm’s passion and commitment to creating tangible positive impact across local communities and the wider global environment as part of its commercial success.
It’s important that the brand reflects the trajectory we’re on, as we move into the next generation of circular economy business.
Commenting on the brand refresh, Claire Miller, Brand Director of Recycling Lives, said: “Recycling Lives as a business has undergone an exciting journey over recent years, placing positive impact for each of our business pillars at the heart of the business – none of the pillars takes place without the others.
“It’s important that the brand reflects the trajectory we’re on, as we move into the next generation of circular economy business. More important is to have a brand which communicates the social and sustainable purpose at the core of the business, alongside the people who make us who we are today.”
