Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Recycling Company Withdraws Trash Transfer Permit
Province launches electronic recycling
Googong unveils $90m water recycling system
Monday, July 29, 2013
Naperville breaks ground on recycling center
Landfill and recycling plan quashed over traffic fears in St Peter's Valley
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Warwick seeks 'retro' photos for 2014 trash and recycling calendar / Gallery
Warwick seeks 'retro' photos for 2014 trash and recycling calendar / Gallery
Friday, July 26, 2013
Recycling Europe's three million tonnes of tyre waste
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Public education key to recycling expansion
Vancouver entrepreneurs launch a unique recycling project
Phone recycling: Getting the gold from your mobile
New recycling scheme for Derby
South Derbyshire District Council (SDDC) has revealed that it is to introduce a new 'single bin' kerbside recycling scheme in the autumn.
The council claims that the £1 million scheme, starting in October, will see waste contractors Palm Recycling provide a 'simpler, more effective and all encompassing service for households'.
However, following a public consultation, SDDC will soon switch to a 'single bin' system, after residents voiced support for introducing a recycling system that took up less space and saved time.
As such, the council has now ordered 42,000 green bins (pictured right) from manufacturer SSI Schaefer (with internal caddies for separating paper and card coming from Straight plc) in an attempt to divert a further 2,500 tonnes of waste from landfill. The green bins will replace the current system of green boxes and blue bags, however textiles will continue to be collected in a separate bag as they are now.
Aside from changing the recycling containers, the new system will also enable householders to recycle more materials, such as plastic and cardboard.
New system will 'encourage greater participation'
The council announced that it expected the new scheme would push South Derbyshire's recycling rate - standing at 46.5 per cent last year - over the 50 per cent mark.
Speaking of the changes, Councillor Peter Watson, Chairman of Environmental and Development Services at SDDC, said: "The new all in one bin will address [residents'] wishes to be able to place all recycling into one container, helping to simplify the process and encourage greater participation in both the short and long term.
"We are delighted to be edging closer to offering this new and improved service after listening closely to what our residents want."
The new bins are expected to be delivered to residents 'from the end of August into September', with the first collection dates, due in early October, to be communicated to residents over the next few weeks.
Palm Recycling is contracted to run waste and recycling collections for SDDC for the next eight years.
Read more about South Derbyshire District Council's recycling changes.
Derby city recycling removal
The news comes as Derby City Council considers plans to remove recycling collections in four areas of the city from 28 October, in the hopes of saving money and addressing problems of fly-tipping, contaminated recycling and litter.
The proposals would see collections ending along 147 streets in the Abbey, Arboretum, Mackworth and Normanton areas of the city, as well as the introduction of a £40 charge for garden waste collections.
Speaking to Resource, Councillor Ranjit Banwait, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Streetpride at Derby City Council, said that the proposals were "popular among residents". However, a recent survey undertaken by Derby Climate Coalition found that two out of three people (out of 276 responses) living in the New Zealand area of Mackworth in Derby 'did not want the council to stop providing kerbside recycling'.
The report concluded: 'The majority of people in this area have a real commitment to recycling, which is very encouraging. They expect leadership to be shown on this - and on climate change - by the council, and the majority consider the proposal to remove a kerbside recycling collection, and not to offer a paid-for brown bin garden waste collection, to be large steps backwards.'
Read more about Derby City Council's proposals.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
A Sweat Recycling Machine To Publicize The Enormous Clean Water Shortage
When Mattias Ronge approached UNICEF with the idea of making a "sweat machine," they were dumbfounded. After all, recycling perspiration--even if it comes out pure enough to drink--is disgusting. And, generally, PR campaigns aim to entice, rather than get people to retch.
"It was the oddest meeting I've ever had with a client," says Ronge, who heads a Swedish PR firm called Deportivo. "There were four or five seconds when I thought they would call up the men in white and carry me away."
But UNICEF doesn't think Ronge is insane now. Since Deportivo created the device, dozens of media outlets have gotten in touch, and the agency's message about water scarcity is spreading far and wide. The sweat machine--a physical, gurgling contraption--has been more effective than any conventional campaign could be.
Deportivo developed the machine for the Gothia Cup, a youth soccer tournament staged in Gothenburg. The idea was to show that, just as soccer can be played anywhere (as the saying goes), everyone needs clean water. Unicef says 768 million people lack a fresh supply at the moment.
For a more futuristic possibility, imagine a suit that recycles both your sweat and urine into drinking water.Once the UNICEF people got over their initial shock and agreed to the project, Ronge contacted an old school friend, Andreas Hammar, who he knew was good at inventing things. Hammar constructed the device from washing machine parts, a coffee percolator, and a new type of water filter built by another friend.
Kids can boost sweat production by using stationary bikes, then place their soiled clothes inside the machine. Ronge says many are intrigued. "They find it disgusting, but that's sort of what's appealing about it. They stand there with their team-mates, and egg each other on to drink the sweat."
About 1,000 people have tried the water so far, and Ronge says it tastes much like that from the tap. But the machine really is a stunt--not a true solution to the problem. "A lot of journalists started asking when we would be shipping it to people in need. They actually think we've developed a product that will clean water, when what we have done is develop a PR device to lift up the issue, and get it discussed. And it is being discussed--all over Sweden."
Deportivo might take the device on a publicity tour after the tournament, but will definitely put it to rest after that. A lot of fun for a while, the message-machine will have achieved its purpose.
New report card for best electronics recycling shows Staples in the lead
The Electronics TakeBack Coalition has released a new report that shows how electronics retailers are performing when it comes to taking back and recycling what they sell. The group looked at the top 16 retailers (this group excludes retailers that are also manufacturers like Apple, HP and Dell) and scored them using 20 sets of criteria including convenience, transparency, collection volumes and responsible recycling.
Three companies stood out among the rest with Staples in first place, then Best Buy and Office Depot, each with great in-store take-back programs with high volumes. The rest lagged seriously behind with nine of the 16 not having any recycling program in place at all.
The report didn't include things like ink and toner or trade-in volumes, though those things are discussed in the full report. The major issue was looking at what each retailer sold and what of that it took back. Best Buy was the only retailer to take back each category of electronics it sold, including TVs. Staple takes back everything except TVs and while Office Depot doesn't technically rule out any category, items must fit into a collection box 24" x 18" x 18" in size, which means TVs and many printers won't fit.
Another major issue was transparency. Most companies wouldn't disclose the volume of products coming back for recycling or reuse. In fact Best Buy, Office Depot, Office Max, and Staples were the only companies to give the coalition those numbers. The rest refused to give that data, presumably because the numbers were dismal.
Check out the informative graphic below and read the entire report here.
© Electronics Takeback CoalitionPlease enable JavaScript to view the comments.
Most Retailers Get a Failing Grade for Their Electronics Recycling Programs
The reason we have this huge stockpile is not necessarily because consumers (me included) are lazy or don't care, but because it's quite difficult to find a convenient recycling program for these products. The e-recycling system is still very much based on the options retailers provide us with, and as a new report released by the Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETB) shows, most retailers still do a poor job helping consumers responsibly recycle their old electronic products.
Released for the first time, ETB's report card on electronics retailers and their programs gave three retailers, Staples, Best Buy, and Office Depot the highest grades (B+ or B), as all three "have robust programs that let consumers bring our items back to their stores for recycling." Four more retailers got a C or D and nine retailers, including Walmart, Sam's Club, Amazon, and Costco, got an F.
"Staples, Best Buy, and Office Depot are leading the charge to meet consumers' demand for recycling options, but there is a much bigger number of disappointing laggards who are selling us billions of dollars of electronics each year and doing nothing to help consumers recycle them later," said Barbara Kyle, National Coordinator at ETB.
What about the trade-in programs - are they considered a good recycling option? Not really, the report says. Some retailers, it explains, offer trade-in programs where consumers can get store gift cards equal to the value of their traded in products, but the ETB doesn't view those as a substitute for recycling programs because "most of the trade-in programs only take the smaller, higher value items like cell phones and tablets, not the larger, low value items like televisions, printers, and TV peripherals like VCRs, DVD players."
In addition, most of these programs, except the ones at Best Buy and Radio Shack require consumers to ship their items, which for many means too much trouble to deal with. "Most people just aren't going to bother to box it up and ship it someplace unless it's really small, like a cell phone. That's why we'd like to see more of these retailers step up and be the front door for recycling programs, in partnership with the manufacturer take back programs," says Kyle.
It is sad to see most retailers getting an F, including all the giant ones. Costco, for example, currently has no recycling program available to customers and got 0 out of 60 points. Amazon ( 4 points) recycles only Kindles and has a trade in program that allows consumers to send in certain working products for an Amazon gift card, and Walmart (9 points) has a trade in program that allows you to send some items back for free recycling if they have no trade-in value, but according to the report that information is not available anywhere, so it's unlikely most consumers even know about it.
At the same time, we need to put in a good word for the retailers that lead the pack and especially Best Buy, which is the largest retailer in terms of consumer electronics sales ($31.55 billion in 2012). It provides a great example to other retailers, not just regarding the scope of its recycling program, which includes everything they sell with the exception of TVs over 32 inches, but also in showing how such a program can be transformed into a profitable operation.
Yet, unfortunately, retailers like Best Buy, Office Depot and Staples (which got the highest grade - 43 out of 60) are still the exception, not the rule. Most retailers still seem to see the e-recycling program as a costly operation with little benefit. They don't see any pressure coming from consumers or other stakeholders to up their game and believe there's very little risk in taking minimal steps and improving their programs very slowly.
"As consumers," Kyle writes, "we should give our business to the retailers who are doing the right thing, and helping us recycle. Why should we support the laggards, who are sitting on the sidelines and letting Best Buy, Staples, and Office Depot do all the work?" This is true, but let's face it - if you have a DVD player for sale on Best Buy for $75 and on Amazon for $50, would you buy it on Best Buy just because it's a leader and Amazon is a laggard? Even I know that I would have hard time to doing so.
If we're looking for drivers to move retailers forward when it comes to recycling electronic products, we shouldn't look at the consumers. They have their own cost-benefit calculations and the majority of them, just like retailers, see recycling electronic products as a lot of trouble with very little benefit.
I believe two stakeholders groups can significantly increase the current recycling rate of electronics, which is 25 percent (2011 data). The first is investors putting pressure on retailers through shareholder resolutions. The second is legislators - as the report noted, three states, Oklahoma, Wyoming and Texas, introduced retailer takeback laws in 2013 that would require big box retailers to provide collection services for electronics recycling. It's not clear if these laws will eventually pass, but this is certainly the way to disrupt the e-recycling system.
Until that happens or until companies start designing products more sustainably (after all, this is first and foremost a design problem) I guess our stockpiles of electronic products will just keep getting higher and higher.
[Image Credit: Electronics TakeBack Coalition]
Raz Godelnik is the co-founder of Eco-Libris and an adjunct faculty at the University of Delaware's Business School, CUNY SPS and Parsons The New School for Design, teaching courses in green business, sustainable design and new product development. You can follow Raz on Twitter.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Syracuse Recycling Plant Fire Guts Five Buildings
East Syracuse, NTY - A fire at an East Syracuse recycling plant gutted five buildings and blocked a railroad track with debris. The fire at Syracuse Recycling and Recovery started around 2:15 am local time.
The blaze was likely fueled by the plastic, papers, and metals inside the five affected buildings. Firefighters remained at the facility on Tuesday night to deal for any hotspots and flare ups that the fire may have.
Long-reach excavators worked to sift through debris and knock over any remaining walls, reports Syracuse.com. Firefighters focused on an area of debris where the fire may have started.
East Syracuse Fire Department spokesman Louis Longo added that crews are expected to remain at the scene for a while in case any hotspots catch fire again. The department initially poured thousands of gallons of water on the Syracuse recycling plant fire. They were still on standby with several firetrucks and a few aerial sprayers.
While the blaze is contained, the crews will work the scene in shift rotations, according to CNYCentral.com. East Syracuse Fire Chief Robert Russell added that it could be a two day operation. He added, "I'm looking probably at two days operation here. I don't want it to be that, but it all depends how quickly we can get in there, move stuff around, get it wet down."
Crews need to adjust the smoldering debris, so that everything can be soaked. In doing so, they will be able to put out the remaining hotspots. Investigators have also been cleared to go into the building and begin to determine what may have caused the fire. Russell explained:
"The company has property surveillance cameras, so they are looking through them to see if any of them have any still pictures, or anything on it, for what may have started it."
It's not yet clear how long it will take investigators to determine the cause of the Syracuse recycling plant fire.
[Image via ShutterStock]
ABM Fujiya to set up battery recycling plant in Kuching
KUALA LUMPUR (July 24, 2013): Homegrown automotive battery maker ABM Fujiya Bhd, which debuted on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia yesterday, plans to set up its first battery recycling centre in the country in a move to secure the supply of lead, a main raw material for battery production that is currently outsourced, said its deputy managing director Datuk Tay Tze Poh ( pix).
The move is also to minimise the risks associated with the fluctuation of lead prices.
"One of our plans is to set up a (battery) recycling factory in Kuching so that we can resell the supply in terms of raw materials, which is lead - the main product used in battery production," he told a press conference after the group's listing ceremony here yesterday.
"We're already in final discussions with two key contractors (suppliers of lead recycling machinery and technical support)."
ABM Fujiya plans to start construction on the plant in two to three years. Currently, the Kuching-based company mostly obtains its supply of lead overseas.
According to the group's prospectus, the construction cost of the plant is estimated to be RM3.8 million. Upon completion of the new plant, it estimates to enjoy cost savings of between 15% and 30% per tonne of secondary lead.
At the optimal level of the lead recycling plant, in three to four years when it is production efficient and economies of scale, the group would be able to reduce its import of secondary lead by 50% to 60%.
Tay said the demand for auto batteries is there, but the fluctuation of lead prices will affect every battery manufacturer.
Today, the group has four battery production plants in Kuching, with an annual production capacity of 1.6 million batteries. Utilisation of these plants is at 66%.
The group, which currently exports to 50 countries, also intends to venture into markets like South America, Europe, Indochina (Myanmar and Cambodia).
The export markets contribute some 48% of its revenue. Locally, it has a 7.9% share of the battery manufacturing market.
Yesterday, ABM Fujiya shares opened at a 5 sen or 8% premium at 65 sen above its issue price of 60 sen on its debut. The stock closed at up 2 sen or 3.33% to 62 sen, with some 25.24 million shares traded.
"The price is on the upper side now, this is why our future plan is to set up our own recycling plant so that we will not rely so much on outsourced lead suppliers," said Tay, adding that lead prices are hovering at US$2,100 per tonne now.
Reuse and Recycle
"The Sentiment of Style" is a recurring series based on the notion that the most treasured things we own -- our homes, clothing, jewelry, art and accessories -- are objects of equal intimacy to us as our friends, family and mentors. Whether we realize it or not, these items tell stories. Those we keep the longest, and miss the most once they're gone, have the best tales to tell.
"JUST GIVE IT AWAY" is advice I often dispense. People think I'm being flip, but I'm entirely sincere. It's a personal recycling program of sorts -- but it has less to do with green and blue bins than with handing things off to live new lives elsewhere.
Clients frequently ask me how they can sell possessions they no longer want; 1stDibs.com has made everyone believe they can get top dollar for the things they hang onto but would rather relinquish. I'm the worst person to ask -- not because I discount the value of things but because I think it's much more engaging to give belongings to someone I know and see how they'll use them. I've done this for as long as I can remember, and I do it for one reason: I find extraordinary pleasure in this approach. (I am not, admittedly, giving away a Goya or anything worth a great deal of money.)
I wear stacks of rings on my fingers. One of the first I ever bought was a 22-karat gold band with a stamp that noted it was English and had been given as a gift in 1904. I loved it. It was heavy, perfectly proportioned, beautifully worn and weathered. It glowed with a warmth that only a ring of its age could. Well into building what became my first stack, I purchased two new bands and found there wasn't enough space below my knuckle to accommodate them all. I slipped the two new rings on, and slid off the one I loved -- solely because it was, by far, the widest band I owned. I put it in my purse and went to meet a friend for lunch.
Explaining my conundrum, I showed my friend the new rings and the one in my purse. She beamed at the one I had removed: " Ohhh," she exhaled. "I've always loved that one." She wasn't intimating anything; she was simply acknowledging my problem. Still, struck by her response, impulsively I gave her the unworn ring.
Oh, my God, I thought. What had I done? I could have simply shifted the rings around. But what was done was done -- or so I thought.
My friend has ridiculously small fingers, and needed to have the ring resized. When she did, she took the remnant from the ring and a gold earring of her own then had the two forged the two into a new ring, which she gave to me. Now that's recycling.
So the next time you look at that errant chair or another household item and think "Craigslist," hold on. Take a moment to do a mental audit of your friends' homes, then offer it to someone for what it is: something you think they might like. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the response.
East Syracuse fire chief: Recycling plant fire expected to burn for days
East Syracuse, NY -- When firefighters arrived on the scene of a large industrial fire Tuesday morning, more than 80 percent of the building was engulfed in flames, East Syracuse Fire Chief Robert Russell said.
Around 2:15 a.m., firefighters were called to Syracuse Recycling and Recovery located at 380 Carr St., after a call came in that the recycling plant was on fire.
Plastics, papers and metals inside the building contributed to the fire, Russell said. The plant is made up of five buildings that are all interconnected to each other. All of them have been destroyed by the fire.
"Right now, the biggest concern is getting the plant opened up," Russell said. "It's just smouldering because of the materials that are in there."
Smoke continues to rise from the area but Russell said, the public is safe.
Two sides of the main red brick building have already collapsed and the front end of the building is still a concern, Russell said.
Firefighters have been fighting the fire from outside and are waiting for heavy equipment to arrive to start taking the buildings down. Breaking down the buildings will give firefighters better access to get the fire out, Russell said.
Nearly eight different departments responded to the fire and several were on standby. Some of those departments have been released. Beginning at 9 a.m., firefighters will begin shift rotations that could last several days, Russell said.
Today's fire is different from other industrial fires that have erupted over the last year because the buildings were occupied, Russell said.
"Camillus Cutlery was a vacant building and Metalico Aluminum Recovery was an outdoor scrap pile," he said. "This was occupied and generally when you get these kind of fires, it's days not hours. The hours turn into days because you start at one end of the building and continue to work your way down in order to put the fire out."
RWM Event Set for Birmingham, UK, in September
Annual resource efficiency and waste management conference expected to draw 15,000 visitors.
Solon prepares to roll out pilot automated recycling program
SOLON - Upon the arrival of about 400 carts, the city will be rolling out a pilot automated recycling program over a six-month trial period.
City Council gave Service Director Tom Bandiera approval July 15 to rent the rolling containers for $3 a month - plus freight - which is expected to cost about $8,400.
At the end of six months, the city will have the option of buying them as well, at a cost of about $48 per cart - with the rental fees being credited.
Since 2007, the city's collection of household recyclables has increased by about 400 tons - half of that in 2012 - which Bandiera attributes to the "co-mingling" of all items in a manual single-stream process.
Those items are placed into bags which are placed at the curb for collections.
Bandiera believes the numbers will invariably go up as people simply dump their recyclables in either 65- or 95-gallon carts, then wheel them out to the street.
The main discussion at the July 3 meeting of council's Public Works Committee dealt with which cart size to go with.
Councilman Bill Mooney brought up the possibility of alternately using both sizes to gauge the public's reception to both.
Councilman Robert Pelunis, who chairs the Public Works Committee, also likes that idea. He noted much of the feedback from residents in his ward has been in favor of using the smaller carts, though Bandiera personally favors the 95-gallon receptacle.
"It's not going to hurt to have a little extra room," Bandiera said, pointing to house and garage clean-outs, and special family gatherings and events.
Bandiera also noted the larger can does not take up that much more space, since it's basically just taller than its 65-gallon counterpart, while slightly wider as well.
The standard size for automated rubbish collection is 95 gallons, although Bandiera said it would be feasible to possibly go with a "50-50 split" on the pilot recycling - starting with one and switching at some point to the other.
Two weeks prior to the carts being delivered, letters will be sent to residents notifying them their home has been selected to participate pilot study.
They will also receive a Residential Pilot Recycling Guide, featuring a detailed list of acceptable items, cart placement, collection schedule, cart storage regulations and, perhaps most importantly, program feedback instructions.
Bandiera also plans to provide a link on the city's main web page to direct residents to a recycling form where they will have the opportunity to provide feedback.
Rather than spreading the participation out across the city, Bandiera is tentatively looking at the city's Monday pickup schedule for the pilot automated recycling program, in which 400 of about 650 homes on the route would be selected.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Drury Students Pushing For Recycling Club
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Students in Drury High School's Summer Transitional Educational Program are spearheading a recycling club in their school that they eventually want to bring downtown.
"There used to be a recycling program but then it stopped," said Oscar Alvarez. "I want to start it back up."
Alvarez, Zack Decker and Joseph Butler are part of one of three groups aiming to make this idea a reality. Their role is to raise awareness to both the city and school through media and spread facts regarding the importance of recycling.
The club aims to fundraise for recycling bins to place with trash bins around the school. Alvarez said the club also needs members willing to collect the items from the bins and bring them to the transfer station. Their also hoping to find a grant or special permit for free dumping.
Beyond the school, the club inspires to raise funds to also add recycling bins downtown
Alvarez said a lot of the inspiration for a recycling program is from the book "Going Blue" by Cathryn Berger Kaye, which focuses on trash in the ocean - masses larger than some states Alvarez said - and other environmental topics.
The program has just two weeks remaining and they hope to have a presentation for Student Council by the end of it.
"We don't have too much time... but we're doing our best to get something out of it," said Max Quinn, a teaching assistant for STEPS and a 2012 Drury High School graduate who returned for the summer from Brown University in Providence, R.I.
Six other students make up the other two groups - one that's working on making a proposal to Principal Amy Meehan and Superintendent James Montepare and another working on a video to present to the school and city.
Molly Meczywor, the coordinator of STEPS, said the course targets to help students during the summer who either need to pass another class to qualify for ninth grade and work towards improving MCAS scores through more hands-on work. Some students are just involved any way with no academic reason.
The students work on various projects at their own will. Some students took on addressing lunch menu needs and conducted surveys figuring out what others want. Another group considered options on how to address stray animals in the area and intend on visiting shelter sites to learn more about how they can help the problem.
These students approached subjects that they'd normally shy away from to access these issues.
For example, one group led by math teacher Brad Botto worked on collecting rain water to supply the school's garden. Botto and his students took measurements to figure out how much water the tank could hold and observed other measurements of the tank before sawing it apart for use.
Meczywor said the 3-week program aims to tap the best of the students' resources and focuses on positive decision making.
This year the program focuses on the STEM - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - studies as well, per usual, community service.
US to join EU in fighting Russian auto recycling fee as trade barrier
If they're not going to get you on the front end, they'll get you on the back end. That's what the European Union is accusing the Russian government of doing with automotive trade restrictions, and the US appears to agree, Reuters reports. The US is joining the EU in a World Trade Organization (WTO) claim that Russia is violating trade agreements by imposing an auto-recycling fees on cars imported into the country.
Russia doesn't have such a fee for Russia-produced vehicles. Therefore, such a fee is no different than the import tax that the Russians were told to remove in order to become part of the WTO.
When it comes to the automotive industry, Russian trade agreements have become all the more relevant as more people buy cars in the country. By the end of the decade, Russian auto sales will increase to 4.4 million units annually, which would make it the world's fifth-largest auto market, and will leapfrog Germany to become Europe's largest, Automotive News reports, citing a report from Boston Consulting Group.
Nationwide Recycling bosses jailed for four years
Two directors of former Neath-based recycling company Nationwide Recycling Ltd have been jailed for four years after admitting to packaging recovery note (PRN) fraud amounting to £2.8 million.
Andrew Thomas, 46, of Bonymaen, Swansea, and Paul Thomas, also 46, of Morriston, Swansea, were also ordered to repay £224,702 and £218,702 respectively in the next six months or face an extra 32 months in jail. Both men have also been disqualified from being directors of a business for 10 years.
Nominal £100 fines were given to the now-liquidated firm for issuing PRN certificates for waste that had not been received and two offences of operating contrary to Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations.
Case background
The pair had pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges in October 2012, after an investigation by Environment Agency Wales (EAW, now Natural Resources Wales) in 2010 found that the company was adding weight to plant machinery and lorries in order to falsify weighbridge tickets and invoices for recycled materials that it never received nor processed.
According to the prosecution, in one month in 2009 a total of £19,000 worth of PRNs was over-claimed and that despite company records showing 29 loads of glass had been received, surveillance only showed 10 loads.
The investigation also found that company directors were taking metal cans for recycling from local authorities, then selling the cans to local scrap dealers and keeping the cash. The money generated through fraudulently selling these cans is estimated at just under £300,000.
Last month, the two directors and several other employees were faced with numerous charges including those relating to money laundering (to the count of approximately £295,000), conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation (representing an accrual of over £2 million), and 'consenting or conniving' as director in a regulated facility without the relevant environmental permits.
Staff members Beverley Bradford and Terrance Ainge were each given two-year jail terms, suspended for two years, at Swansea Crown Court on 5 July, after they admitted conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.
Pair had 'lived lives beyond legitimate means'
At a hearing at Swansea Crown Court on Friday (19 July), Judge Keith Thomas sentenced the men to four years in jail, saying: "I've no doubt you spent large amounts of money on garish tokens of wealth and lived your lives beyond legitimate means.
"The [PRN] system is an important tool in controlling environmental waste and pollution, but it requires the good faith and honesty of those involved for it to operate effectively."
The judge added the two had "undermined public confidence" in the recycling system and had gained up to £1,569,000 from the fraud. According to court, the "garish tokens of wealth" bought from company money included a £90,000 yacht, a £111,000 Audi car and a three-week holiday to Thailand.
Lead officer in the case, John Rock, of Natural Resources Wales said: "As regulators of the waste industry, we have to make sure that all companies operate legally to make sure there is a level playing field.
"Occasionally, there are those who break the law simply to profit from their activities and this will not be tolerated.
"In this case, the actions of the offenders have undermined the recycling markets and industry which are vital to make sure the waste we all produce is not sent to landfill.
"People who do consider breaking the law simply to make money must understand that not only will they be punished for their offences, the profits they make are also at risk."
Read more about the Nationwide Recycling case.
Analysis: Fund could recycle German savings to euro strugglers
Credit: Reuters/Remote/Pawel Kopczynski
Traders are pictured at their desks in front of the DAX board at the Frankfurt stock exchange July 4, 2013.
That novel idea for recycling Berlin's huge current account surplus, avoiding fire sale privatizations in the weakest euro zone states and boosting growth in southern Europe comes from French economist Olivier Garnier.
The group chief economist of Societe Generale bank argues that creating an agency in charge of purchasing, restructuring and privatizing state-owned assets could solve several of Europe's deep economic problems over time.
The "European Treuhand (Trust) Agency" would offer a "debt-for-equity conversion" that could repair the public finances of the euro zone's bailed-out states, reduce North-South current account imbalances in the 17-nation currency area and generate investment in Europe's periphery.
Garnier argues that the idea offers German savers a better financial return than parking surplus cash in domestic bank deposits earning zero nominal interest, and is politically more palatable for Germans than risky taxpayer loans to governments that may never be able to repay the debt, or be fully recouped.
The fact that such long-shot proposals are doing the rounds four years into the bloc's debt crisis highlights how few of the underlying problems that caused it have been resolved.
This idea may be timely as Chancellor Angela Merkel tries to soften Berlin's image as Europe's stern austerity enforcer and show a gentler side with initiatives to help fight youth unemployment in crisis-stricken euro zone countries.
But to bitter Greeks or Spaniards it might look more like an exercise in German colonization than a helping hand. While Dutch, Austria or Finnish savers might join, the "European" agency would inevitably be dominated by German money.
Quoting Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble's comment that "we want to show that we are not just the world's best savers", Garnier says: "He should have added that the Germans have to show they can be wiser investors, making a more efficient use of their savings and of their related taxpayers' guarantees."
PRECEDENT
His idea has a German precedent. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and German unification in 1990, a trustee agency known as the "Treuhandanstalt" was set up to restructure, wind up or sell off East German state enterprises, as well as owning farmland, public housing and former army property.
Some top talents of West German business were recruited or volunteered to help shake out and spin off eastern companies.
But the example points to some of the political obstacles to Garnier's proposal. The Treuhandanstalt was bitterly criticized for mass layoffs of nearly 2.5 million workers out of the 4 million it inherited, and for shuttering businesses that critics said were profitable.
It contributed to lingering East-West resentment over the social and financial costs of German unification, and its first president was killed by (west German) Marxist assassins.
Privatizing state-owned companies and property are a key part of the bailout programs prescribed by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for the euro zone's debt-laden governments.
Yet Greece's consistent failure to meet its privatization revenue targets highlight just how hard it is to attract serious investors to countries mired in deep recession, and to sell even profitable businesses for a fair price.
Athens' attempt to sell natural gas company DEPA collapsed in June, blowing a 1 billion euro hole in its bailout plan, and raising further doubts about plans to hawk the state gambling monopoly and the loss-making railways.
Elsewhere in the region, so-called vulture funds of private equity investors are looking to pick up stakes in blue-chip Spanish companies at knock-down prices after bailed-out banks were forced to divest.
Under Garnier's model, a long-term investment vehicle funded by both private sector and German government savings, or with a state guarantee, would buy up the assets, taking them off their governments' books, then restructure and run them until they can be sold off profitably.
He calls this "enhancing cross-border capital ownership of banks and corporates", but many Greeks are likely to see it as a hostile German grab for their national treasures, while Germans may view it as a risky way to place their money.
When the top-selling German daily Bild ran a headline at the start of the debt crisis in 2010 screaming "Sell your islands, you bankrupt Greeks! - and the Acropolis too", it caused fury, rekindling resentments smouldering since World War Two.
SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND?
German economists Daniel Gros and Thomas Mayer suggested last year that Germany should create a sovereign wealth fund to invest excess savings mostly outside Europe in a portfolio of assets, as Norway, Singapore or Saudi Arabia do.
Such a fund would be a safer and more efficient way to place German savings than in unremunerated deposits at the European Central Bank, they argued. It would also have the side benefit of lowering the euro's exchange rate, which would benefit struggling south European economies.
Garnier would put that money to work inside the euro zone.
He notes that Germany's KfW state-owned development bank is already dipping a toe in these waters by providing loans, though not equity capital, through its Spanish counterpart to credit-starved small and medium-sized businesses.
His proposal raises three other issues: would the agency be able to run the assets more efficiently than current owners?; how would the risk to German savers' capital be mitigated?; and how could the assets be valued at prices acceptable to all?
His answer to each question is that the status quo is worse: the assets are mouldering while governments desperately need the money; Germans face risks from the bailed-out countries as taxpayers so why not get some return on their savings; and the assets could be priced in a way that allowed for some upside for south European states if they fetch more on the market.
"I see all the hurdles, but it would be ill-advised to rely only on fiscal transfers to share risks among euro zone economies," Garnier said in an interview.
"A European fiscal union raises even bigger obstacles than this - abandoning budget sovereignty - and writing off official debt would be fraught with legal and political obstacles."
(Writing by Paul Taylor, editing by Mike Peacock)
Electricity generated by recycling plant 'barely caters for 45 households'
A report presented by environmentalist Edward Mallia has found that the recycling plant at Marsascala was barely catering for 45 households, let alone the 1,400 households as originally planed.
The Sant' Antnin waste recycling plant turns organic waste into compost. The plan was to produce enough biogas which in turn would generate electricity for 1,400 households.
Moreover, only 50% of the organic waste processing targets were met at the plant over the past two years.
The findings of the report have led the government to temporarily close the Marsascala family park, which is situated right next to the plant - a decision which was met with criticism by the Nationalist Opposition.
Because of a fault in the adjacent plant, the experts were of the opinion the park should be declared "out of bounds".
A hydroliser tank, used to clean the biogas produced from treating household waste from hydrogen sulphide before this passes into the electricity generating unit, was damaged.
Environment Minister Leo Brincat explained the decision to temporarily close the family park was taken at a political level, and not by WasteServ's management.
"We wanted to send the message that even if the report was of the opinion, and not a recommendation, that the park be closed, we owed it to the rapporteurs to take their suggestion on board even if they admitted that sulphur content of emissions had not surpassed EU levels," Brincat told MaltaToday.
He insisted it would a "big disservice" to the hours and commitment the review team put into their scientific exercise if one were to focus on the risk assessment element only.
Originally, the task of the review team was to focus on environmental health with particular emphasis on air quality. At their own request, this was was then extended to incorporate the performance of the plant on waste to energy.
"The findings of the report were alarming, especially when it transpired that waste separation was badly lacking. It proved to be a big mistake for the previous government to locate the family park so close to a recycling plant," Brincat said, noting the report found that most of the Sant Antnin compost had excessively heavy metal content.
The experts found the air quality was so inefficient in monitoring terms, that they called for the whole air quality monitoring procedure in the environs of plant to be re-evaluated. They said air sampling for certain pollutants should be carried out on a continuous 24/7 basis publishing all such results in real time.
The review team found that one person responsible of HR was not enough to handle with and cope with the various operations with WasteServ had across the the island.
The same conclusion had been reached in a separate study carried out by IDEA Consulting.
"What I personally found worrying was a revelation made by the IDEA report: according to board minutes, the former management had tried to keep under wraps the involvement of a person who was unable to sign all documentation pertaining to his job. The said person had a suspended court sentence after having been found guilty by the local courts of malpractices in his line of business," Brincat said.
The minister said health and safety standards in the whole plant "were a big joke". The review team found "totally unacceptable" widespread disregard for health and safety. Workers, for example, were found smoking in areas were hazardous material was kept.
Brincat found "interesting" Mallia's strong case for a more robust waste to energy strategy.
In his report, Mallia claims Malta needed to consider more intensive investment in waste-to-energy technology if this were to contribute significantly to the 2020 renewable energy targets.
To date, little of renewable energy targets have been target. According to the environment minister, this was down to the intrinsic defects in the execution of the plan, particularly due to the inferior quality of organic waste feed which depressed the contribution of waste treatment.
"What I found even more depressing was the performance predictions on uncertain or unclear assumptions and the lack of monitoring of actual performance which will invariably lead to failure to achieve set targets," the minister said.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Federal Way Queen of Styrofoam honored for recycling reign
For Jeanette Brizendine, garbage equals fun.
Yes, she knows this makes her "weird." But as the solid waste and recycling project manager for the City of Federal Way, it's her job.
Brizendine didn't always know this was her calling.
She was brought up to live a green lifestyle, but after college she went to work in a human resources office so she could encourage others to make a living doing what they loved. Then she met a job coach who told her to take her own advice.
She started with the city six years ago and has implemented an array of creative programs, workshops and contests that led the Washington State Recycling Association to honor her this year as the Individual Recycler of the Year.
Just ask her about the Recycle Palooza Contest (complete with cash prizes and a street fair) or the Family Green Fest that attracts more than 1,250 people every year.
Question: Recycling isn't exactly what people think about when they think about fun. What makes it fun for you?
Answer: I love two things about recycling. I love giving things a new life. It seems so sad when things go to their final resting place. On a weird side, I like the sorting and having everything organized and going in its own place. We have so much serious matter in our life, I knew I needed to make it fun, make it something people want to do. I want to inspire people to make them want to do it rather than tell them they have to.
Q: Did your family ingrain recycling into you as a child, or did you fall in love all on your own?
A: My family did ingrain it in me. We didn't have a whole lot of money growing up so we did all those "green" things. We recycled, we grew our own food, we composted, we line-dried our clothes. It was just how we did things. It made sense to me. But I also love it and am passionate about it. It really resonates with me.
Q: I understand your dedication to recycling means some of your chickens have become local stars?
A: Yes! The city passed an ordinance that it's OK to have backyard chickens, so we had a workshop because I knew we needed to teach people how to pet chickens, what to feed them. I brought in Mary Poopins and Goldie Hen, they were my two quietest. It was a last-minute decision. I couldn't find anybody to bring tame chickens, so my chickens came to work. They just hung out during the workshop and I took them home afterward and put them to bed.
Q: Why do you think recycling is so important?
A: If you shift your thinking away from recycling being garbage, it's a resource just like money or anything else. When you throw it away, we lose that resource and we have to go find it somewhere else. Like a watermelon rind. One of my favorite things to say is a rind is a terrible thing to waste. It's a commodity that's being wasted if it's thrown away. It can make wonderful compost for the soil.
Q: How do you make this fun for people?
A: I try to put something fun in all my materials. I'll be honest, sometimes recycling is gross and you have to acknowledge that. But I use humor in things and share the why. We're not children, people want to know why we're supposed to do something.
Q: How do you feel about being nicknamed the Queen of Styrofoam, and how did you earn that moniker?
A: Styrofoam was one of those materials people don't like to get rid of - it doesn't break down, little pieces go everywhere. I found a company in Renton that recycles and was so excited to tell people but people didn't want to drive that far. So I set up a post-holiday collection event in the City Hall parking lot where people can drop it off. We get so much Styrofoam. Last year we got 75 cubic yards. That's about 150 yard-waste carts. In three weeks.
Q: OK, tell me a wacky recycling story.
A: I was putting together gift baskets with mugs, pens, pencils and I had them sitting out. The janitor thought it was recycling, so he dumped it. I had to jump in the recycling bin to get recycled items meant for a gift basket.
Q: What do you say to the recycling skeptics out there?
A: You have the freedom of choice. You don't have to recycle if you don't want to. It's a great thing, and there are millions who believe in it, but if it's not right for you right now, that's OK. I'm going to be here for the people who want to learn more, who want to do more and for the people who are skeptics. No judgment.
Science students take up recycling in Moscow Region
As Navalny was sentenced to 5 years in prison and people gathered to protest in Moscow, the rest of the world was a spectator. Via social media.
Every person in the RBTH team has his/her own view of the Russian reality. We glance through it, scrutinize, feast our eyes upon it. Noisy cities, abandoned villages, cozy cafes, industrial ghettos, trendy spots and chubby cats...
3 climate zones, 8 time zones, 12 tonns of fuel, 180 flight hours - these figures represent the helicopter expedition "Russian 360". The expedition's unique route will take place along the borders of the Russian mainland.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Correctly Understand Housing from Recycling Construction Waste
Wang Jiwei, secretary-general of the China Association of Resource Comprehensive Utilization, (male, 1st from left) is invited to join a discussion on recycling construction waste, at a global eco forum in Guiyang on Friday, July 19, 2013. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
The fast pace of urbanization in China has put great pressure on resources when promoting economic growth.
To solve the problem, changing wastes into valuables is a good way for sustainable development. But can Chinese people accept living in a house built from recycled construction waste? How should the government and real estate developers work together to promote and update this concept?
Experts participating in an eco-forum currently underway in Guiyang, a city in southwest China, are giving their advice. CRI's Wei Tong has the story.
Reporter: China produces over 300 million tones of construction waste every year, but only a small proportion of construction debris is recycled.
Wang Jiwei, secretary-general of China Association of Resource Comprehensive Utilization, pointed out at a special forum on recycling resources that many places have recently yielded bold incentives which encourage local companies to recognize the market value of construction waste resource recycling.
"Real estate developers in China have been using disposed construction materials but they choose to conceal the truth from the public. In reality, they are given support by the relevant government departments including the ministries of construction and environmental protection which encourage the building of green housing."
Industry insiders say China has mastered technologies for recycling construction waste, but the recycling industry is stagnating because few Chinese people want to live in an apartment building made of construction debris.
Wang Jiwei added that since western countries people wouldn't mind the house they live in is actually built of construction debris, we should ask what western countries have done to convince their citizens.
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