With news on; strike action called off in Surrey; Recycling site near Middlesbrough to close following fly-tipping; Smurfit Kappa announces new packaging range, and; NLWA champions upcycling at annual show.
Strike action called off in Surrey
Amey has confirmed that strike action planned by refuse collectors in two Surrey districts was called off earlier this month after an agreement over pay was reached.
Refuse collectors and street cleaners in Elmbridge and Surrey Heath who are members of the GMB union voted to strike on November 5, 6, 19 and 20 in a dispute over pay and holiday entitlement (see letsrecycle.com story).
The strike action was called off at the “eleventh hour” on 4 November.
Amey confirms strike action planned by refuse collectors in two Surrey districts was called off earlier this month
Paul Grafton, GMB regional officer, said: “Amey eventually offered pay deals for GMB members between 4 per cent and 18.1 per cent over 2 years so that the depots’ disparity in pay is resolved.
Our members were very happy to see this matter resolved after months of difficult negotiations.”
An Amey spokesperson told letsrecycle.com: “We are pleased to have reached a resolution with the GMB and agreed parity on inherited pay differences for our workers in our Surrey Waste contracts.”
Recycling site near Middlesbrough to close
Persistent fly-tipping at a recycling site near Middlesbrough will force its permanent closure on 29 November.
Persistent fly-tipping at a recycling site near Middlesbrough will force its permanent closure
The decision follows large-scale fly-tipping and contamination of recycling bins at a ‘bring site’ at the Parkway Centre in Coulby Newham, a housing estate just outside Middlesbrough.
Councillor Dennis McCabe, Middlesbrough council’s executive member for environment, said: “There’s no excuse for the sort of behaviour we’ve seen at the Parkway Centre bring site – it’s nothing more than fly-tipping, and that’s something we’re determined to stamp out.
“Clearing the site up on an almost daily basis incurs significant costs, and the waste left cannot be recycled.”
The housing estate’s near 11,000 residents have been reminded by the council that everything they could recycle at the site can be recycled via their fortnightly home collections.
Smurfit Kappa announces packaging range
Paper-based packaging company Smurfit Kappa has launched a corrugated packaging range to replace single-use plastics in beverage packs.
The range includes the GreenClip, an alternative for the plastic rings commonly used to group six-packs of cans, the TopClip, a replacement for the stretch film used to bundle and sell cans in one pack, and the Nor-Grip, which bundles bottles together into consumer units, eliminating the need for shrink film.
Each product is 100 per cent recyclable, renewable and biodegradable.
Smurfit Kappa launches a corrugated packaging range to replace single-use plastics in beverage packs
Arco Berkenbosch, vice-president of innovation and development at Smurfit Kappa, said: “Single-use plastics can have a devastating impact on the environment and designing even more sustainable packaging alternatives is a cornerstone of our Better Planet Packaging initiative.
“We know from our research that 75 per cent of consumers have a preference for sustainable packaging.”
NLWA champions upcycling at annual show
The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) is encouraging people to upcycle rather than dump furniture after its research found that 62% of Britons own items they dislike.
Patricia Graham, winner in the armchair category at NLWA’s London Upcycling Show, with her winning entry
The research suggested there were 69 million items of unloved furniture in British homes, and the waste disposal authority claims more than 21 million small items of furniture were thrown away in the UK in 2018.
The results came from a nationwide poll of 2,001 adults the NLWA conducted in July 2019.
Commenting on the findings, the authority’s Martin Capstick, said: “While holding onto frightful furniture is good from an environmental perspective as it means people aren’t dumping items, it’s not necessarily good for our wellbeing at home.”
Also known as creative reuse, upcycling is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials and useless or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality and environmental value.
In an attempt to highlight the process’ benefits NWLA hosted its fourth annual London Upcycling Show on 16 November at the Walthamstow Assembly Hall, which had more than 360 visitors.
The post News in brief (27/11/19) appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
