With news on: NI councils see recycling improvement; Sims opens Cardiff site; Swansea thanks residents; and Powys HWRC to open this weekend.
Northern Irish councils report improvement in recycling
Local authority-collected municipal waste in Northern Ireland reached a 47.1% recycling and composting rate in Q3 2018.
Click to enlarge: A map of councils and waste management groups in Northern Ireland (Picture: DAERA)
That’s according to figures published by DAERA this week, which noted the improvement from the same period in 2017, when the LAC municipal recycling rate was 46.3%.
In total, 230,942 tonnes of waste was collected by 11 councils between October and December 2018, of which, 108,817 tonnes was sent for reuse, dry recycling and composting.
Energy recovery accounted for 19.4%, according to DAERA, and 30.7% was landfilled. The remaining 2.8% was unaccounted for.
Household waste accounted for 89.6% of total LAC municipal waste and reached a dry recycling and compost rate of 47.7%.
On a council level, Mid Ulster reported the highest household waste recycling rate at 56.3%. At the other end of the scale, Belfast recorded a 41.7% rate.
Sims opens Cardiff metals site
Sims Metal Management has announced the opening of a new site in Cardiff, South Wales.
The new metal recycling facility, located on the Tremorfa Industrial Estate, was developed to offer metal and WEEE recycling services to businesses and households across the Cardiff region, the company says.
Front (l-r) Lee Sands, site manager; Antony Hiles, area manager; with the site operations and commercial team
The £1 million facility is fitted with processing equipment to handle oversized materials and will employ five staff handling old steel and non-ferrous metals.
Within the South Wales region, Sims said it now employs more than 85 staff, across three facilities in Skewen, Cardiff and Newport.
Sims owns and operates nearly 50 recycling facilities across the UK as a part of Sims Metal Management Limited – with 250 locations globally.
Paul Wright, managing director UK Metals, said: “This new facility in Cardiff is another example of the way Sims are leading the UK metals recycling industry, and with our investment in this new site we are furthering our commitment to the South Wales region. I would like to thank the entire Sims team and regional government agencies for making this possible.”
Swansea thanks residents for recycling
Swansea council has thanked its residents for increasing the amount they recycle as part of a new ‘keep it out’ campaign.
The council launched the recycling initiative in February, which is aimed at stopping recyclable waste being put in black bags.
The ‘keep it out’ initiative involves council waste officers checking black bags. If recyclable materials are detected the households will be given advice from the council’s recycling promotion team. If repeated attempts to get households on board with recycling fail, fixed penalty notices can be issued, the council warns.
(Below: Cllr Mark Thomas thanks residents for their efforts to recycle)
According to the council, the “early success” with households has led to an extra 40 tonnes of recyclable waste being collected during a fortnight compared to previous collections.
During the first month of the scheme, 20,000 households were monitored “and around 15% were found to either not be recycling or recycling very little,” the council said. An initial letter was issued to non-recyclers explaining how they can get on board.
Seven out of ten homes offered support were found to have started or improved recycling on the next visit, the council said.
The council reported a municipal recycling rate of 63.3% in 2017/18, compared to a national average of 62.7% across Welsh councils.
Powys HWRC to open this weekend
A new household waste and recycling centre in Powys will be opening its gates for the first time this weekend. The site in Newtown will open at 10am tomorrow (27 April).
The site has been developed by contractors Alun Griffiths Ltd and the service will continue to be provided by Potters Waste Management on behalf of the council.
“Our investment in this new site is part of our long-term plans to secure strategic recycling and waste facilities across the county.”
Cllr Phyl Davies
Powys county council
Cllr Phyl Davies, cabinet member for recycling and waste at Powys county council, said: “The new centre will be a considerable improvement on the current site in the town as it is purpose built and designed to improve traffic flow and make it easier for residents to recycle their waste.
“Our investment in this new site is part of our long-term plans to secure strategic recycling and waste facilities across the county.”
The post News in brief (26/04/2019) appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Metal
