With news on: Chiltern Railways introduces scheme to recycle coffee cups; Suez included in 25 best companies to work for; Waste company fined over £20,000 for illegal site; And, China is the ‘world’s biggest steel scrap user’.
Full steam ahead for plastic recycling
Chiltern claim to be the first rail franchise to introduce such a scheme
Chiltern Railways, which runs services across England, has said that it will be “the first train operator to recycle coffee cups at stations”.
The scheme, being introduced now, will see the installation of special bins on stations to encourage customers to segregate their coffee cup waste into three different categories – lids, liquids and cups.
The waste will be removed by Simply Cups and Chiltern say it will then be taken to a specialist recycling centre to be given a second life and turned into functional new product, which Chiltern plans to incorporate into its branded merchandise.
Alan Riley, customer services director for Chiltern Railways, said that the “unprecedented” scheme is something to be proud of.
Mr Riley said: “We are creating a new template for the rail industry and providing our customers with a way to reduce their plastic waste.”
Suez included in 25 best companies to work for
Suez has been included in the Sunday Times’ 25 best companies to work for list, with an overall ranking of 22.
74% of staff agreed that Suez “genuinely cares about the environment”
The rank takes into account a range of factors for staff, including relationship with senior management, staff wellbeing and if the hiring organisation “gives something back” to the community.
77% of staff at Suez agreed that their manager “talks openly and honestly” with employees, while 74% agreed that Suez “genuinely cares about the environment”.
Commenting on the ranking, David Palmer-Jones, chief executive officer of SUEZ UK, said that the company looks forward to building on it.
He said: “We are delighted to receive an accolade from The Sunday Times as our ability to innovate with our services always depends on how much our staff enjoy coming to work. I look forward to seeing how we can constantly improve, for our staff, for our customers and for the environment.”
Waste company fined over £20,000 for illegal site
A Nottinghamshire company has been fined more than £20,000 for operating an illegal waste site on land adjacent to Sandy Lane in Worksop.
Officers discovered that Yorkshire Waste were storing a significant quantity of baled textile waste on the site last year
Yorkshire Waste Services was fined £15,000 for the operation of the site and costs of £7200.
Officers from the Environment Agency told the court, where Yorkshire Waste Services were absent, that the site had been previously used by a company called Trent Valley Recycling. The site itself is one with a “high fire risk” due to the waste operations conducted by the previous owners, the EA said.
While Trent Valley Recycling did have a permit, it went into liquidation in October 2016 and the permit was disclaimed.
Officers discovered that Yorkshire Waste were storing a significant quantity of baled textile waste on the site between April and June last year.
An enforcement notice was served on Yorkshire Waste giving them 21 days to clear the site of illegal waste. However, the waste remained on the site and no attempt was made to clear it.
China the ‘world’s biggest steel scrap user’
According to figures from China’s Association of Metalscrap Utilization (CAMU), China was the world’s biggest steel scrap user in 2017, following a 64.2% increase in consumption.
China was said to have seen a 64.2% increase in consumption.
And, there was also a “major increase” in its steel scrap exports, with customs figures indicating that China shipped out 2.23 million tonnes of steel scrap in 2017, all of it in the final 10 months of the year.
Rolf Willeke, ferrous statistics advisor at the Bureau of International Recycling, said that the reason for the increase is because the Chinese government instructed blast furnace mills to increase their scrap consumption from 11% to 20%.
He added: “In addition, many new electric arc furnaces (EAFs) are being installed or are in the pipeline for the near future. It has been heard that China’s annual EAF capacity could reach 120 million tonnes within two or three years.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com General
