Waste crime offender ordered to pay extra £278k in costs
A Lincolnshire waste crime offender has been ordered to pay £278,492.92 after the Environment Agency discovered his undeclared assets. Simon Mason, 54, was ordered to pay hugely increased proceeds of crime on top of the £8,317.02 he paid after being sentenced in 2021. Mason’s case was reopened after the Environment Agency learned of changes in his financial position. It was discovered that he owned a property that he had not declared at the time of his sentencing. Mason was originally prosecuted in the summer of 2021 for waste crime offences and given a suspended prison sentence for storing and burning waste illegally at a site in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. At…
Pura NappiCycle: Creating roads from recycled nappies
Ahead of Resource Conference Cymru next week (26 March), resource efficiency adviser Brian Mayne FCIWM discusses the recent CIWM Cymru visit to the Pura NappiCycle facility in Capel Hendre, Wales. I recently joined a CIWM Cymru site visit to the Pura NappiCycle facility in Capel Hendre, West Wales. NappiCycle offers a unique and innovative treatment system for the recovery of cellulose and plastics from absorbent hygiene products (AHP). AHP covers a range of multi-material products used in everyday life – such as disposable nappies, incontinence pads and feminine hygiene products – which are mostly made of absorbent tissue-fibre and plastic. They account for over 3% of the household waste…
Making the packaging supply chain smarter
Alice Rackley, CEO of Polytag, explains how the evolution in barcode technology can make packaging supply chains smarter and increase visibility. Alice Rackley, CEO of Polytag, has written in Circular Online about the untapped potential of Digital DRS tech. It’s a common misconception that circularity simply equals recycling more. Instead, think of the supply chain as a never-ending game of “pass the parcel”. To achieve a circular fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) economy, we must carefully assess each step, especially the industry’s role in delivering products to consumers and reclaiming them for recycling and recovery. This requires better connectivity and optimisation across the chain. The FMCG industry must focus its…
SUEZ’s £30m recycling facility rebuild nears completion after fire
SUEZ recycling and recovery UK’s new £30 million Material Recycling Facility is set to be fully complete this summer following a fire in 2022. The rebuild began last year and the exterior of the building is now complete, with interior contractors now mobilising on site. SUEZ manage the waste and recycling on behalf of Aberdeen City Council. When complete, SUEZ says the material recovery facility (MRF) will have the capacity to process around 60,000 tonnes of recycling every year. This includes glass, cardboard, newspaper, plastics and metals, collected from households across Aberdeen and Scotland. Alongside the MRF rebuild, the site will also be home to offices, a waste transfer…
UK households could make £638 by recycling their unused tech
UK households could make £638 by recycling their unused tech devices, according to new research from Virgin Media O2. The findings were released to coincide with Global Recycling Day (18 March) and show households are missing out on an average of £638 from recycling their unused tech. The research estimates 92 million electrical devices – including phones, tablets, smartwatches and gaming consoles – have been thrown in the bin in the last five years, costing the average household £370. Despite 65% of people saying they understand the environmental impact of throwing electronics in the bin, 79% admit to discarding devices along with their general rubbish. Unused devices stashed in…
CIWM launches new version of P&I Forum think-tank
The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) has announced the launch of its “refreshed and reset” Policy & Innovation (P&I) Forum. The P&I Forum is a think-tank consisting of leaders, specialists, and academics, designed to help shape the future of the resource and waste management sector. CIWM says the new P&I Forum will act as a hub for thought-leadership in resources, recycling and waste management, and provide evidence-based insights to CIWM members and stakeholders. The reset follows a comprehensive review led by the CIWM Trustee Board to develop the forum’s structure and alignment with CIWM’s strategic objectives. P&I Forum Chair Marcus Gover. The new P&I Forum approach reflects CIWM’s…
78% of adults would be likely to buy fresh fruit & vegetables loose
78% of UK adults would buy fresh fruit and vegetables loose if they were sold that way, according to a new survey by Love Food Hate Waste. Released on Food Waste Action Week (17 March – 23 March), the survey found that less than half said they would be likely to buy their usual fruit and veg in plastic packaging, such as plastic trays/boxes/cartons (46%) and plastic bags/sacks (47%). Commenting on the findings, Jackie Bailey, Senior Campaign Manager at Love Food Hate Waste, said: “Buying loose fruit and veg has the potential to significantly cut the amount of food ending up in the bin and we have the evidence…
Environment Agency waste crime operation issues 13 fines
An Environment Agency waste crime operation in Lincolnshire has led to Boston Borough Council issuing six £300 fines and Lincolnshire Police issuing seven fines. Operation Clean Sweep was a multi-agency operation led by the Environment Agency and involved Lincolnshire Police, British Transport Police, Boston Borough Council, East Lindsey District Council, and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). The operation took place on Thursday 6 March and involved roadside inspections in Boston and site visits in Skegness conducted by the Lincolnshire Environmental Crime Partnership. Three vehicles were seized as part of Operation Clean Sweep. Teams conducted roadside stops and inspections of vehicles capable of carrying waste, with 25 vehicles…
Defra’s £15 million food surplus fund now open for applications
Food redistribution charities can now submit applications for a new £15 million UK Government scheme to help ensure surplus food is redistributed. The new Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme aims to strengthen links between farms and charities to reduce food surplus on farms. Applicants can apply for grants starting from £20,000 by outlining how they intend to form relationships with farmers to access surplus food, and how they would seek to increase their capacity to redistribute this food to communities. The funding can go towards purchasing new packaging and labelling equipment and vehicles to move goods from farms to a redistribution organisation, as well as new…
Producers should prepare for recyclability assessments now
Packaging Sustainability Specialist at Ecosurety Alison Appleby explores how the new recyclability assessment is shaking up the packaging industry and why producers should prepare now. With the final version of the packaging Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) released by government in the last week of 2024, businesses are now starting to wrap their heads around the additional work required to use the RAM and the impact it will have on them. What is the RAM? The Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) is the mechanism through which large producers (those companies with a turnover greater than £2 million and that supply or import more than 50 tonnes of packaging in the UK)…
