With news on: FCC signs contract with councils; EFRA Committee launches packaging inquiry; Ealing council prosecutes fly-tipping business; and, water refill points in Square Mile.
FCC signs contract with West Devon and South Hams
South Hams district and West Devon borough councils have signed a contract with FCC Environment to provide waste, recycling collection and street and toilet cleaning services from today (1 April 2019).
Signing of a contract by FCC and South Hams district & West Devon borough councils for a recycling depot in Ivybridge
FCC Environment will continue to deliver a range of key services in West Devon, and will now extend these to South Hams.
At an official signing of the contract FCC’s group chief executive Paul Taylor was present to sign the deal.
Helen Dobby, group manager for commercial services for South Hams district and West Devon borough council said: “FCC Environment will bring a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise to our services.
“I am pleased to be able to say that over the next 2 years improvements will be put in place to increase the amount and types of household waste which we recycle. The new partnership design is directly linked to what our householders have told us they want to do – recycle more and throw away less.
EFRA Committee launches packaging inquiry
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee is launching an inquiry into plastic food and drink packaging.
“The Committee is keen to find out what progress has been made in developing and using more environmentally friendly alternatives to plastics and how they perform when compared to plastic food and drink packaging.”
Neil Parish MP
EFRA Committee
The committee is seeking written submissions that address a range of questions, which cover topics including: alternatives to plastic food packaging, barriers, research and funding.
Chair of the EFRA Committee Neil Parish MP said: “The Committee is keen to find out what progress has been made in developing and using more environmentally friendly alternatives to plastics and how they perform when compared to plastic food and drink packaging.
“It is imperative that we find practical ways to protect the environment and reduce the risks posed by increasing plastic pollution. We also hope to highlight how Government action may help to alleviate this significant threat.”
Written evidence should be submitted through the Committee’s web portal by midnight on Thursday 2 May.
Ealing council prosecutes fly-tipping business
A Southall business has been ordered to pay more than £4,000 for fly-tipping offences following a prosecution by Ealing council.
A business has been ordered to pay more than £4,000 for fly-tipping offences following a prosecution by Ealing council
Tarique Hamid who runs Nehanas Kitchen, based on South Road, Southall, pleaded guilty to six offences of fly-tipping in a nearby residential street, at Ealing Magistrates’ Court on 18 Match 2019. The business was ordered to pay a £3,000 fine, £1,070 in costs, and a £50 victim surcharge, the council said.
According to the council, the prosecution followed an investigation by its enforcement officers, who caught staff from the business “fly-tipping commercial waste on six occasions in August last year”. CCTV had been installed at the location to monitor the area following reports of fly-tipping from residents.
“The CCTV footage captured staff coming out of Nehanas Kitchen, walking and sometimes running across a busy main road to dump their waste in a nearby residential road opposite the business,” the council said.
The council said it had been paying £150 per day, over the six dates, to clear rubbish dumped at the locations.
Water refill points set for Square Mile
The first of 10 city water refill points to be rolled out this year has been installed in Bow Churchyard Cheapside, as part of the City Corporation’s Plastic Free City campaign.
The water refill point, sponsored by the Cheapside Business Alliance (CBA), comes as 43 businesses across the Square Mile joined the City Corporation’s ‘war on single use plastic waste’. Together these companies employ over 61,704 people.
The City Corporation has installed the first of 10 new refill points in the Square Mile
149 of the City’s pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants have also become part of a network of water bottle refill stations, where the public can refill reusable water bottle – all found on the Refill app.
The campaign is a call to businesses and individuals to reduce single-use plastics across the Square Mile. Nine more City water refill points will be installed this year near transport hubs and other areas of high footfall, taking the total number of refill points across the Square Mile to 17.
Jeremy Simons, chair of the City of London Corporation’s environmental services committee, said: “Our ambition is to make the City of London free of single-use plastics and harness the clear desire amongst City workers, residents and visitors to eliminate their use.
“These points are a visible demonstration of our commitment to reducing and eradicating unnecessary single-use plastics which are blighting our waterways and damaging our environment.”
The post News in brief (01/04/2019) appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com General
