Recycling February 2 2012 Weekly & WA S T E W O R L D Sign up for our digi tal edi t ion now. Register at digi taledi t ion@recycl ingwastewor ld.com In this issue:


May to ban cash for scrap metal


Geraldine Faulkner Editor


Digestate: Using the right AD Langage


Anaerobic digestion specialists are working to prove digestate is a useful soil improvement product in agriculture. Langage Farm is one of them.


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CASH PAYMENTS for scrap metal will be banned and penalties increased, the home secretary Theresa May announced recently as the government stepped up action against metal theft. In a statement to


The importance of cleaning up organics


Why co-mingled collections of paper with green waste are having a detrimental effect on the quality of compost generated.


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parliament, the home secretary said the government intends to lay an urgent amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill to create a new criminal offence to prohibit cash payments to purchase scrap metal and significantly increase the fines for all offences under the existing Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 that regulates the scrap metal recycling industry. The home secretary said:


“People who deal in stolen metal are criminals pure and simple. Their activities are bringing misery to individuals and communities as well as damaging our


economy. We’re putting a stop to cash payments and we’re imposing unlimited penalties on anyone who breaks the law.” Cash transactions for scrap


metal are often completed without any proof of personal identification or proof that the individual legitimately owns the metal being sold, said the home office. It also warned that the widespread use of cash facilitates poor record keeping by the metal recycling industry and can support tax evasion activity. The home secretary’s


announcement follows the commitment outlined in the National Infrastructure Plan published in November 2011 where the government announced £5m to establish a dedicated metal theft taskforce to enhance law enforcement activity in this area.According to the home office, these amendments are part of wider plans to tackle all stages in the illegal trading of stolen scrap metal. A government


spokesperson said: “Further


measures to crack down on rogue dealers will be outlined in due course”. However, Nicola Guest


from Alchemy Metals warned: “We are concerned over the lack of detail in Theresa May’s statement. Reality dictates that those unscrupulous merchants in our industry will find every single loophole and take advantage of them.” Guest told RWW there


are rumours within the industry that scrap metal specialists in the North East who are currently trialling a system that requires sellers to provide photographic ID and proof of address are seeing a reduction in their door trade business of some 50%. “Does that mean that 50%


of the materials they were buying are stolen? It is a worrying thought,” she said before adding: “Whatever happens we are hopeful that the coming weeks will give a more comprehensive idea of the immediate changes that will take place. After all, the devil is in the detail.”


The growth in plastic bottle recycling has risen over the past decade


Plastic bottle recycling gets boost


A TECHNICAL guide that aims to help local authorities increase plastic bottle recycling rates has been launched this week by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme). With demand for


PET and HDPE recyclate soaring, WRAP says local authorities have a significant opportunity to boost overall recycling rates by focusing on collections of plastic bottles. Linda Crichton, head of


collections at WRAP, said the growth in plastic bottle recycling has been remarkable over the past 10 years. “Back in 2000, only


around 12,000 tonnes of plastic bottles were recycled in the UK – it’s now nearly


20 times that amount,” she said. “We’re also seeing rapid growth in domestic infrastructure to reprocess plastic bottles, some of which are even producing recycled food grade materials. Around half of the plastic bottles collected for recycling are now reprocessed in the UK.” Crichton added that


maximising the capture of plastic bottles at the kerbside could be a way for local authorities to reach towards the targets to recycle 50% of household waste in England and 60% in Scotland by 2020. The guide can be


downloaded from: www.wrap.org.uk/ plasticbottleguidance


Growth in apprenticeship


Warming up Plymouth with energy from waste


Plans are afoot for an EfW plant with a combined heat and power plant to be built near Devonport Naval Base at Plymouth. Find out more.


• Page 8 Courtesy of BMRA


completions, reports BIS STATISTICS published this week by the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS) report that 457,200 apprenticeships were delivered in the full 2010/11 academic year. According to BIS, this represents a 63.5% increase on 2009/10 figures with growth reported taking place at all levels of learning, for all age groups and across all sectors. The statistical first release is said to give data on apprenticeship success rates for 2010/11 for the first time with 76.4% of learners successfully completing their apprenticeship. Skills minister, John Hayes said: "A zero tolerance approach


to unnecessary red tape and new financial incentives for small firms will enable more employers to offer gold standard training to match and beat our international competitors."


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FEATURE: MAIN


Courtesy of WRAP


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