A man has been jailed for over four years after being found guilty of laundering £1.9 million through his UK-based business which exported textiles to West Africa. Ahmed Ali Suleman, 63, was found guilty of entering into a money laundering arrangement and false accounting following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court. Suleman laundered £1.9 million gained from a sophisticated romance fraud operation through his UK-based textile business, Savanna Rags. Savanna Rags collected second-hand clothing for export to West Africa, but the company also served as a front to process fraudulent funds. On Monday 23 June, he was sentenced to four years and three months’ imprisonment. Suleman was prosecuted by the…

News updates written by CIWM’s commercial partners. Contel launches next-generation AI camera systems to enhance fleet safety in the waste sector Contel, a UK-based vehicle technology specialist, is helping waste and environmental service operators boost fleet safety and compliance with the rollout of its latest AI-powered camera systems. Developed to address key risks such as blind spots and vulnerable road user collisions, Contel’s advanced AI cameras provide real-time analysis and alerts to reduce the likelihood of incidents, especially in busy urban and high-risk environments. Optional in-cab cameras and intelligent software can monitor for signs of driver fatigue, distraction, mobile phone use, and external cameras can warn the driver to people…

  Research from OPRL shows that labelling remains the number one source of information for consumers looking to recycle packaging. According to OPRL’s latest survey, which polled over 5,000 British consumers, 89% look for information on packaging, while 81% said they use the OPRL ‘Recycle’ label when disposing of packaging. The survey found that consumers are less likely to cite lack of importance or understanding as barriers to recycling, with 83% saying they believe recycling is important. Although friends and family are a growing source of knowledge, the survey found that labelling remained the primary route for consumers to find out what they can recycle. Commenting on the survey results,…

  Matthew Austin, Senior Market Analyst at Ecosurety, revisits how the UK’s packaging recycling obligations have evolved in light of the latest PRN market data. In an article last year, I explored how the UK’s packaging recycling obligation might evolve under the first year of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and what this could mean for the PRN (Packaging Recovering Note) markets. It was a response to the then draft statutory instrument – which is now law – and raised concerns about the new recycling targets. I cautioned that the 2025 recycling obligation could be lower than in recent years, and potentially lead to oversupplied markets and reduced revenue for recyclers.…

  WRAP has warned the UK that unless they halve global food waste it will make it ‘much more difficult’ to meet net zero goals. The latest data from global environmental action NGO, WRAP, shows that household food waste decreased by 9% between 2021 to 2022. WRAP says the data shows that, while it is possible to significantly reduce widescale household food waste in a short space of time, the UK is not on track to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 to halve global food waste. The reduction in food waste between 2021 to 2022 was primarily caused by COVID-19 restrictions and rising food prices, particularly up to…

  John Redmayne, CEO of ERP UK, explains what ‘Small Producers’ must do about new EPR for packaging reporting thresholds. Quietly, but firmly, the government has halved the reporting thresholds for businesses under its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for packaging – meaning thousands of smaller UK businesses are now in scope. Previously, only firms turning over more than £2 million that handed over 50 tonnes of packaging a year needed to register. But under the updated rules, any business with a turnover of just £1 million that handles as little as 25 tonnes of packaging now falls under the spotlight. A new category, defined as ‘Small Producers’, has been…

  49 district and communal heat networks in England and Wales receive £7 million in funding from the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES). The investment will provide heating to over 11,300 residents, and for hospitals, charities, universities, and religious buildings, Gemserv – the company responsible for delivering HNES – says. The HNES is entering its third year of supporting low-income households and public sector buildings to create more efficient heating systems. Funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, HNES can provide up to, but not including, 50% of the total estimated eligible project costs for capital grant applications, and up to 100% of the estimated eligible project…

Alan Chestnutt must pay a £101,683,66 Confiscation Order after operating an illegal waste site in Northern Ireland. Officers from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency’s (NIEA) Environmental Crime Unit (ECU) opened an investigation into Chestnutt, 53, in 2017. They discovered household, commercial and industrial waste being sorted on Chestnutt’s land in the vicinity of Cabragh Road, Bushmills. Following the NIEA investigation, Chestnutt pleaded guilty in 2023 to offences contrary to Article 4 of the Waste and Contaminated Land (NI) Order 1997. As well as the Confiscation Order, the judge sentenced Chestnutt to 10 months in prison on two counts and four months on a further count to run concurrently, suspended for…

  A metal and waste recycling company in South Wales has been fined £64,000 for environmental offences after a fire broke out at its plant. In 2021, a large-scale fire broke out at the S L Recycling plant in Ystrad Mynach Caerphilly, after a lithium-ion battery exploded when a vehicle shell was crushed. The fire spread to the primary stockpile of scrap metal stored centrally within the yard, where around 150 tonnes of recycling material, including plastic, foam, electrical items, lead batteries, and gas cylinders, caught fire, alongside machinery. S L Recycling Limited pleaded guilty to three separate charges at Newport Crown Court in a case brought by Natural Resources…

  The Environment Agency has begun work to remove over 30,000 tonnes of dumped waste from Hoad’s Wood in Kent. Lorries have begun to remove tonnes of harmful waste from Hoad’s Wood in Kent as part of a major operation to aid the recovery of the woodlands, the Environment Agency announced today. The operation, coordinated by the Environment Agency and carried out by Acumen Waste Services Ltd, will involve removing over 30,000 tonnes of household and construction waste from 2 acres of the 200-acre woodland. The Environment Agency has previously warned there could be unknown hazards buried beneath the 30,000 tonnes of waste. More than 50 specialist workers have been…