GARWER WasteXchange News

'Zero waste' drive planned in Scotland Posted: 30 Jan 2008 10:34 AM CST In a statement to the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead outlined ministers' ambitions to recycle or compost at least 50% of municipal waste by 2013, rising to at least 60% by 2020 and a minimum of 70% by 2025. The government aims to reduce the amount of landfilled municipal waste to a maximum of 5% by 2025 and allow only a quarter of household waste - 4% of the country's waste - to be treated by small, efficient energy-from-waste plants. Mr Lochhead told MSPs: "The government is opposed to large, inefficient energy-from-waste plants. Such plants could easily become white elephants and drain public funds." More than £150m is set to be spent on zero waste projects over the next three years to support recycling and composting infrastructure, tackle commercial and industrial waste, and run education and awareness programmes. Mr Lochhead said: "Prior to the Scottish Parliament, Scotland's record was dreadful. We were a throwaway society, burying our waste out of sight and out of mind and recycling barely 5% of household waste. As everyone acknowledges, we need to move away from landfill." Green MSPs criticised the decision to allow 25% of household rubbish to be sent to energy-from-waste plants. Scottish Green Party Co-convenor Robin Harper said: "It is grossly misleading for ministers to describe burning up to a quarter of Scotland's waste as part of a zero waste strategy." Friends of the Earth Scotland welcomed the announcement, and the decision to focus on smaller, more efficient energy-from-waste plants, but said there was a lot of work to be done to meet the ambitious targets. Head of campaigns Stuart Hay said: "Some countries already recycle twice as much waste as Scotland. "This shows that we still need more investment in the right facilities if we are to shake off the tag of 'dirty man of Europe'. We also need to slash the amount of waste we produce."

UK: Businesses advised to 'reuse' tyres Posted: 30 Jan 2008 10:33 AM CST The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is urging business and fleet managers to use retreads- worn tyres which have had the tread rubber replaced to extend their life. The campaign is focusing on promoting the use of the tyres, which can be 10% cheaper than new budget tyres, for Light commercial Vehicles. Retread tyres are manufacturer from similar compounds to new tyres and are required by law to be manufactured to the same performance criteria and safety standards. Jacks Guinness, marketing project manager at WRAP, said: "The use of retread tyres on Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) is already well established in the UK, but WRAP has identified a significant opportunity for encouraging their increased specification by those with responsibility for fleets of LCVs. "By highlighting benefits of retreads and tackling misconceptions attached to their use, we can bring the opinions of key decision-makers up to date and persuade them to look at retreads in a new way." David Wilson, director of the Retread Manufacturer's Association, which is supporting the campaign, added: "Retreads are a safe, reliable and green solution, as well as being good value for money. "I'm sure they will be seen as an excellent option for decision-makers once they become aware of their performance and benefits." Argos and Tesco are among the well-known companies that have already switched to using retreads. WRAP will be contacting fleet and CSR managers to offer advice on using retreads. Further information is also available on the WRAP website at [url=http://www.wrap.org.uk/tyres]www.wrap.org.uk/tyres[/url] or by calling 0808 100 2040

Europe recovers half of plastic waste in 2006 Posted: 30 Jan 2008 06:00 AM CST The EU's 25 member states plus Norway and Switzerland recovered half of all plastics waste in 2006, up three percentage points on the previous year, reports industry body PlasticsEurope in its latest annual report. The trade body heralds the 50 per cent recovery rate as a landmark underpinned by strong growth in recycling and energy recovery. Recycling rates increased by nine per cent to nearly a fifth in 2006, compared to a six per cent increase a year earlier. Mechanical recycling nearly doubled its rate of increase to 18 per cent. Energy recovery rates showed steady growth, increasing by four per cent to over 30 per cent of all waste. Despite an increase in total plastics waste in 2006, the quantity going to landfill continued to decline. Seven countries – Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium – recovered more than 80 per cent of their plastics waste. Those with lower recovery waste are improving slowly however – half of all EU member states still recovered less than 30 per cent. [b]Follow-up[/b]: [url=http://www.plasticseurope.org/Content/Default.asp]PlasticsEurope[/url] | [url=http://www.endseuropedaily.com/docs/80129b.pdf]press release[/url] and [url=http://www.endseuropedaily.com/docs/80129a.pdf]report[/url].

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