News Editorial


Rediscovering the joys of knobbly vegetables


LIFE IS all about managing expectations, isn’t it? We put ourselves, and our children, under huge pressure to perform and to put not just 100% into a task but 110%. We also expect it in the food we buy. Gone are the days when vegetables like carrots and potatoes were knobbly and out of shape but tasty. Remember when you would come across one that suggested something rude? And how it provoked lots of titters? Oh, how we laughed. Well,


that - and flavour - is a thing of the past. Today’s consumers expect their vegetables to look perfect. Never mind if


vegetables like tomatoes are completely tasteless. You can blame the EU and its regulations or you can put it down to modern tastes and our high expectations for food to look perfect (even if it has no taste). On the day RWW went to press with this week’s issue, the British


Retail Consortium revealed that retailers who had signed up for phase 2 of the voluntary Courtauld Commitment, which pledged to reduce product and packaging waste in the grocery supply chain by 5%, had only trimmed it by 0.4%, the equivalent of 10,000 tonnes since the pledge was originally made in 2010. Well, at least they’re setting themselves a target. One example of a supermarket trying to make a difference is Morrisons


who are reported to sell smaller potatoes as baby roasters and those with skin blemishes or odd shapes in value packs. At long last, normal veg. Ironically, if you visit a farm shop (particularly those in converted farm


buildings with lots of expensive lighting and real baskets for shopping baskets) knobbly veg come at twice the price as the bland variety in your local Asda. But people expect high prices in posh farm shops, don’t they? There must be a middle way between the two so that retailers sell ‘real’


produce at a decent whack (after giving producers a proper price) and in as little packaging as possible. That way, retailers will get closer to the holy grail of food waste and packaging targets, consumers can rediscover the joys of knobbly veg and the UK discards much less grub.


Geraldine Faulkner


February 2 - February 8 Issue No. 786


Published by A&D Media Ltd, Jesses Farm, Snow Hill, Dinton, Wilts SP3 5HN Tel: 01722 716996 Editor: Geraldine Faulkner - geraldine@markallengroup.co.uk Advertising manager Jane Kennedy - 01722 717016 Graphic designers Carolyn Allen, Laura Spencer, Scott Godfrey Publishing director Jon Benson


Website: www.recyclingwasteworld.co.uk Twitter: @RWWMagazine Annual subscription rates for 2012 - UK: Cheque/credit card £92 Europe: €148.69


© A&D Media Ltd, 2011. All rights reserved. No part of Recycling & Waste World may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the managing director.


Recycling & Waste World is printed on recycled paper. The paper used is accredited with the Eugropa Recycled Mark.


sponsored by:


MP calls for more control of WEEE at HWRCs


THERE NEEDS to be greater control of waste electrical and electronic items (WEEE) on household recycling sites, according to Labour MP Alan Whitehead who recently visited EnvironCom’s WEEE re-use facility in Edmonton, North London. The SouthamptonMP, who


is co-chair of the associate parliamentary sustainable resource group which looks at how the UK meets its environmental commitments, toured the facility and learned how doing the right thing with WEEE, which includes re-use where possible, creates more value right across the industry. However, according to


EnvironCom, many producer compliance schemes don’t support this view, which results in mountains of WEEE waste being recycled without understanding its re-use potential. Whitehead said: “National


government, local authorities, manufacturers and retailers all have a responsibility to the public and the environment to ensure they are doing all they can to sustain the life of our unwanted electricals, thus preventing thousands of tonnes of


this valuable resource simply going straight to being recycled, ending up in landfill or being illegally exported. “It is quite clear that here in the


UK we now have the capability to give our unwanted electrical items a new lease of life, which benefits the whole supply chain. “But some parts of the industry


are not seeing the true benefit of re-using WEEE waste. It’s obvious that more needs to be done to address this in order that all recyclers are able to operate in the


same, responsible way and within the law.” Sean Feeney, CEO of EnvironCom


stated: “There needs to be a level playing field across the industry, with tighter controls on WEEE at household recycling sites in favour of those producer compliance schemes and recyclers that support re-use.” He added that EnvironCom champions WEEE re-use in the UK with its London facility aiming to achieve a 30% re-use rate; a target that is said to far exceed any other WEEE recycler in the UK.


Left to right: Alan Whitehead MP and Sean Feeney, EnvironCom CEO


Oxon residents vote ReFashion event a hit


OXFORDSHIRE’S FIRST recycled and reused clothes event ReFashion is reported to have been a big hit. Organised by Oxfordshire Waste Partnership (OWP) and Oxford City Council staff, the event saw over 700 people visit Oxford’s Town Hall to make the most of unwanted clothes. In Oxfordshire around 3% of household rubbish is reported to be textiles. This adds up to over 8,000


The paper used within this publication is manufactured from 100% post-consumer recycled fibres. Fibres are sourced from within 175 miles of the chain-of-custody certified production site. This means the paper’s manufacturing process has been chronologically documented across the supply chain. The paper has also been awarded the EU Ecolabel, Blue Angel and National Association of Paper Merchants environmental certificates. All residuals from the production process are reused for cement production, fertiliser or district heating.


Letter


Dear Sir IMUST apologise to the readers of RWW for an error in my industry opinion comment last week. As readers will know, glass


already has extremely high material specific recycling targets, whereas plastic and aluminium do not. So it was to these materials that I was referring when saying that increasing them made sense from both a parity and carbon perspective. I would also like to point out that


in many ways the regulations are a victim of their own success and if the cost per packaging item was


greater there would be less concerns about the quantity of time that it takes to gather the data. Although data submitted by companies is an important driver for the PRN market, it is also a guide as to how much growth or otherwise there is of packaging placed on the market. It is surprising there is little


correlation between these two figures with materials, aluminium, being over-reported and others steel and glass being under-reported.


Angus Macpherson, MD The Environment Exchange


Fashion shows ran concurrently with the clothes swapping, alter and repair areas


tonnes of clothes, shoes and fabrics discarded every year which costs local councils over £660,000 to collect and dispose of. Jenny Carr from Oxford City


Council said: “As this was the first time we’ve run such an event, we weren’t sure how well received it would be. “We couldn’t have been more pleased. Crowds of people came


throughout the day, with the clothes swapping area a constant hive of activity. In fact we saw around one thousand items of clothing swapped.” Over half a tonne of clothing


was brought to the event by people wanting to swap, sell, alter or repair it. While this was all happening,


regular fashion shows as diverse as students’ textile work, retro garments and wedding outfits also took place. OWP’s chairman, Lorraine Lindsay-Gale added: “It was fantastic to see so many people at the event getting inspiration about what to do with their old clothes. I personally enjoyed seeing some stylish ReFashioned outfits on the stage. “We’d like to offer thanks to all


those that helped to make the day a success.”


Stephen Urbicki, MD of XPO IT Services


BCI invests in IT specialist


PRIVATE EQUITY company, Ball Capital Investment (BCI) has become an equity partner in specialist IT and electrical equipment recycling company, XPO IT Services, based in Telford. A spokesperson on behalf of


XPO IT Services said it refocused its activities on the recycling, refurbishment and disposal of IT equipment three years ago and has since expanded the scope of its operation to include all electrical equipment covered by the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) legislation. Having secured contracts with businesses and organisations in and around the Telford area, as well as other parts of the UK, XPO IT Services is aiming to expand its operation with the help offered by BCI. XPO IT Services’ MD Stephen


Urbicki said: “As well as the financial investment from BCI, we very much welcome the business advice and direction they can bring to the company, helping us to create the right structure as we develop and expand into new markets and take on new clients.”


2 February 2 2012


www. r e c y c l i n gwa s t ewo r l d . c o . u k


Recycling & WA S T E W O R L D


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12