With news on: Edmonton EfW supplies electricity for data-centre; Environment Secretary goes back to school; James Cropper receives #LeedsByExample cups; Jones Bros continues Suez landfill work; Biffa and Birmingham City team up for schools campaign.
Edmonton EfW supplies electricity for data-centre
LondonEnergy Ltd has announced an agreement with Ark Data Centres to supply power from the Edmonton EfW facility in north London, to a nearby data centre.
Ark Data Centres, which builds and operate secure data centres, has a facility nearby which will run solely on energy from the EfW.
Under the agreement, LondonEnergy will supply up to 22MW of power to the Ark facility via a physical connection, known as a ‘private wire’ network, to supply electricity.
(l-r) LEL directors Jim Kendall , Mary Czulowski and Peter Sharpe, along with Andrew Mercer of Carbon 12 and Huw Owen and Simon Burrage from Ark Data
Jim Kendall, operations director at LondonEnergy, comments: “We are excited to announce this agreement with our new neighbours, Ark Data Centres, a first of its kind for LondonEnergy. As we look to the future and society’s transition to more sustainable sources of energy, I can see many more opportunities of this nature opening up.”
Commenting on the agreement, Councillor Clyde Loakes chairs of the North London Waste Authority – the public body which is the sole shareholder of LEL, said: “Converting waste into electricity reduces waste disposal costs and this new partnership supports important business development in the area. It further demonstrates LEL’s commitment to working hard in sustainable solutions for waste disposal. Powering the online world is better than pushing more material into landfill.
Michael Gove goes back to school
Environment Secretary Michael Gove on Monday (28 January) visited Wilberforce Primary School in Westminster to talk about plastic and food waste and to find out about environmental initiatives at the school.
Michael Gove visited Wilberforce Primary School in Westminster on Monday (28 January)
The London primary school is participating in environmental project ‘A Future Without Rubbish’ which seeks to teach schoolchildren about sustainability and protecting the planet.
As part of the project, the pupils are being encouraged to reduce their use of single-use plastics and cut food waste, and to think of ways they can minimise their impact on the environment.
Speaking to the primary schoolchildren Mr Gove, said: “We want to leave our environment in better state than we inherited it, and it’s great that young people at Wilberforce Primary School are playing their part.”
Luke Douglas-Home of the A Future Without Rubbish campaign, said: “What the school is doing as part of A Future Without Rubbish should be the model for most schools regarding food and plastic waste. We call upon Defra’s newly-appointed ‘Food Waste Champion’ to learn from this school and the project A Future without Rubbish for us all, nationally and internationally.”
James Cropper receives Leeds coffee cups
Cumbrian papermaker James Cropper has announced that it has received the first bales of coffee cups from the #LeedsByExample initiative launched last year.
In partnership with Forge Recycling, James Cropper took a delivery of 159,000 single-use coffee cups from work places, coffee shops, universities, shopping centres and on street cup bins in Leeds.
(l-r) Gareth Ellis, Hubbub, Sam Goodall, Forge Waste & Recycling, and Phil Wild at the James Cropper recycling plant
The initiative was launched by Hubbub and Leeds city council in October 2018, with the aim of increasing ‘on-the-go’ recycling by trialling a range of different technologies.
As part of this, Forge Recycling performed a cup collection service, and instead of going to waste they were sent to James Cropper’s paper mill in Kendall, Cumbria, which has the capacity to deal with 500,000 cups a year. James Cropper said the cups will be used to produce new paper and packaging.
James Cropper chairman and chief executive, Phil Wild, said: “This scheme demonstrates that with the right infrastructure, great in-roads can be made to tackle the coffee cup issue.
“There needs to be a change in mind-set in how we handle waste and source materials, and ensuring packaging is easy for consumers to recycle is key to this. The delivery marks a pivotal moment for recycling in the UK.”
Jones Bros continues Suez landfill work
Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK has detailed some of the work undertaken to restore the Suez-operated landfill site in Redruth, Cornwall.
The Suez-operated landfill site in Redruth, Cornwall
The company upgraded old public right-of-way paths, which had not been used for 50 years, as part of a restoration plan by Cornwall council.
They also installed a surface water management system at the environmentally sensitive site, with the area situated above mine shafts.
Gareth Jones, site agent, said: “It always creates extra difficulties when you are working above possible cavities such as mine shafts because it makes the structure less stable.
“There were three different routes of access on the old public paths, totalling 1,500m in length. We re-profiled the ground using type one stone, which is ideal for high quality paths. We also installed fencing throughout the bridleways.”
Biffa and Birmingham City team up for schools campaign
Waste management firm Biffa has teamed up with Birmingham City Football Club to teach local schoolchildren about recycling.
Pupils watch on as Birmingham City winger Viv Solomon-Otabor takes a shot
Pupils at Timberley Academy received a visit from Birmingham City winger Viv Solomon-Otabor on Friday (25 January), while learning about waste and the environment, and taking part in the Biffa Chip and Bin Challenge, swapping goal posts for Biffa bins.
According to Biffa, schools generate around 22kg of waste per pupil per academic year and more than 70% of this waste is comprised of food, paper and card. Whilst 80% of this could be recycled, only 20% actually is, the company claims.
Ben Highfield, business improvement manager at Biffa, said: “It was a pleasure to meet the pupils at Timberley Academy and teach them about the best ways to manage their waste, recycle more and to be environmentally friendly.”
The post News in brief (30/01/2019) appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
