News


Chesterfield man in court


A CHESTERFIELD man received a suspended prison sentence after illegally storing thousands of tyres and transporting some of them to Vietnam. Andrew Revell, aged 50, of the


Green, Hasland appeared at Derby Crown Court on Friday, January 27. In the case brought by the


Environment Agency, he admitted five charges in relation to an illegal waste operation called Revco Recycling Limited which he ran from a unit on the former GKN site in Sheepsbridge, Chesterfield. Revell was sentenced to


a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years on each of the five charges, ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay full court costs of £9,578.75. Barrister Ben Lawrence, acting


on behalf of the Environment Agency, said officers first visited Revco Recycling Limited in October 2009. Officers reported seeing up


to 4,000 tyres stored on the Sheepsbridge site which was not covered by the necessary environmental permit from the EA. After the case, EA officer


Lindsay Jones said: “Revell showed blatant disregard for environmental laws.”


Residents and pupils from St Mathias Primary School took part in the inaugural clean-up


Tower Hamlets launch anti-litter campaign


TOWER HAMLETS residents are being encouraged to tackle littering in their community through the launch of a new anti-littering campaign: ‘Litter - not in our street’ Run by Tower Hamlets Council


and Veolia Environmental Services, the ’Litter - not in our street’ campaign, was launched last week. Shahed Ali, cabinet member for


environment, joined forces with local residents and pupils fromSt Mathias Primary School to launch the campaign. The new campaign raises


awareness about littering, highlighting that people who drop rubbish are affecting everyone in their local community. It aims to empower residents to take pride in their area and help them to stop


local littering and report problem areas through the Find it, Fix it team. Residents are also encouraged to take direct action through volunteering and community clear- ups. Shahed Ali, said: “Tackling


litter is a mayoral priority and the campaign will lead the way in raising the issue. “The council works hard trying to


keep the borough litter free through street sweeping and the Find it, Fix it Teams, but everybody needs to do their bit and take responsibility for their litter.” Local resident Carol Johnston,


added: “It would be great for everyone to get involved from all age groups, especially in the run up to the Olympics.”


Newport pupils win £200


PUPILS AT Caerleon Lodge Infants School won £200 for their school after taking part in ‘January Junk Week’ which is a new initiative by Newport recycling company, FootprintMatters2U (FM2U). Children across Newport spent


the week bringing in their old computers, phones and electronic toys and games to school, ready for FM2U’s collection at the end of the week. In total, FM2U collected nearly four tonnes of WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) from schools across Newport.


Newport-based FM2U, collects


and recycles waste electrical and electronic equipment from organisations and businesses in Wales and England. It also runs a free service to collect the same items from households in and around Newport and Cardiff areas. Tim Hourahine, managing


director of FM2U, said: “We offer a completely free service to households in Newport to collect these items so there is no excuse to throw away items like old kitchen appliances, computers,


FootprintMatters2u collected nearly four tonnes of WEEE from Newport schools


TVs and any electrical gadgets. Caerleon Lodge Infants School had put so much effort into the week and are truly well deserved winners.” Helen Power, head teacher


at the school, stated: “It’s so important for children to learn at a young age how vital recycling is to creating a more sustainable future. At Christmas time, it’s easy


to forget about the environment in the excitement of new presents. “It might seem easier to just


throw that old games console or unwanted electrical toy in the bin with everything else, but we want to emphasise the importance of thinking about how we dispose of waste and how things like old computers can be used to create new products,” added Power.


Milton Keynes unveils shortlist


MILTON KEYNES Council has announced a shortlist of two waste management companies which are aiming to design, build and operate a residual waste treatment facility. The contract, which involves the


development of a treatment facility with a capacity to meet the needs of Milton Keynes, will run for an operational period of between 10-15 years. The two companies shortlisted


are AmeyCespa and FCC working with WRG. The new facilities are to be built on a site already owned


Recycling & WA S T E W O R L D


by the council at Dickens Road, Old Wolverton. Both companies shortlisted


are offering solutions which are reported to comply with the council’s ‘no mass burn’ incineration policy, treating waste as a valuable resource. Andy Hudson, the council’s


head of environment and waste, said: “Both bidders have a wealth of experience to draw upon, both here in the UK and in Europe, to develop an excellent solution to meet the needs of Milton Keynes.”


As part of the competitive


dialogue process, both companies will now be invited to develop solutions for final submission in the summer. It is anticipated that the preferred bidder will then be selected in September 2012. The new facility is expected to take three years to gain planning permission, complete construction and be in full operation by April 2016.


• To find out more, visit: http:// www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/ residualwaste


www. r e c y c l i n gwa s t ewo r l d . c o . u k Industry opinion Getting cranky about


environmentalism We have come a long way since eco- friendly measures were regarded as the preserve of tree-hugging loonies. Richard Truman looks at how the eco option is now mainstream.


IT MAY have been well buried in the post-Christmas stories of dieting and superfoods, but there was a great little line in The Daily Telegraph last month stating that a group of experts against the current trend for wind turbines are nothing better than anti-green ‘cranks’. Now I’m not a died-in-the-wool wind power fan - I’ll take each case


on its merits - but it made me a very happy man indeed. Why? It’s a sign that we have come a long way from the sandal-wearing-


hippy picture of the green and renewables movements. It’s a neat indication and reminder that the environmentally


sensible option is also now often the mainstream view. The piece in question focussed on a Civitas report which claims


that, over the entire life of a turbine, wind power has an even greater environmental impact than its coal- or gas-generated counterparts. This is, the report states, partly because the inconsistency of wind


power means it needs a back-up, partly because of the energy required to build wind turbines and partly because the turbines themselves don’t last as long as other power generation techniques. The report also claims that the high costs of wind power will drive


up energy costs. Despite all this, lobby group RenewableUK felt confident enough to


brand the report’s contributors as “anti-wind farm cranks”. Whether or not this is all hot air is a debate which will run and


run, I am sure. But while it’s nice to see that The Daily Telegraph clearly sees such sustainable ideas as widely accepted (for further similar evidence, see the shiny new solar panels on my dad’s roof), it is also a useful reminder that greenwash just doesn’t…well, wash. And that however carefully you construct your argument, someone


else probably has an equally clever counter-case. Couple this with the level of transparency expected by our web and


social media savvy world and it’s clear that, green or not, there has never been a more important time to do as you say - or you’ll be found out quickly. Honesty, integrity and transparency bring trust. And trust gives you


the power to shout very loudly indeed. So now that we have support from the majority for sustainable practices and ideas, let’s use these lessons to keep it that way.


• Richard Truman is a senior consultant at Pelican PR. To find out more about building trust in your organisation visit www.pelicanpr.co.uk


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