News Industry opinion The case for taking


care of our bins Emma Elston, founder of UK Container Maintenance (UKCM), argues it’s time to ban the phrase “wear and tear”.


Packaging slams carrier bag tax


DEPUTY PRIMEminister Nick Clegg’s announcement that a tax on single-use carrier bags is going to be introduced in England by Autumn 2015 has been condemned by PAFA (Packaging and Films Association) as a “political diversion”. Michael Flynn, chairman of


the Carrier Bag Consortium (part of PAFA) said: “We are deeply saddened that, yet again, taxes on carrier bags have risen up the political agenda. Our industry is already playing a full part in facing the nation’s recycling challenge and the government’s attention and money should be directed to developing a fully sustainable UK recycling industry to stop exports of our ‘dumped waste’ and also reduce our reliance on landfill. “This is obviously a symbolic


political decision not an environmental or scientific one.” Barry Turner PAFA CEO added:


“This announcement sends many mixed messages and ignores the reality of Environment Agency studies that show plastic carriers have lower overall impacts than


any other material when properly re-used and recycled. “The encouragement being


shown to so-called biodegradable bags is also wholly unsupportable as such bags are made to deliberately go to waste and are not currently regulated by any quality standards. “It also sends the message that


littering biodegradable bags will be acceptable when the reality is that small particles from discarded degradable bags are more likely to be ingested by wildlife,” said Turner. According to the government,


over seven billion carrier bags are reported to have been issued by supermarkets in England last year. Nick Clegg, said: “We’ve waited


too long for action. The charge will be implemented sensibly - small businesses will be exempt.” PAFA re-iterated its view that


science does not support taxes on carrier bags which are already re-used by more than 70% of households. It also said that to avoid contravening EU competition law the tax would have to apply to all bag materials - not just plastic.


AS Amum, I’m used to having to tell my two young boys to take care of their possessions and tidy up after themselves, yet unfortunately it seems my work life is mirroring my home life and that simple message is often not getting through to local authorities and waste companies. While I accept that an industry which processes and transports


Food waste campaign saves money


LOCAL AUTHORITIES can save millions of pounds by implementing a tailored Love Food Hate Waste (LFHW) campaign according to WRAP’s evaluation of recent LFHW activity in West London. The six-month LFHW campaign,


which was part of a larger, London wide LFHW campaign is reported to have helped West Londoners cut their avoidable food waste by 14%. It is estimated that reductions in


food waste could save West London boroughs up to £1.3m each year through avoided disposal costs and deliver up to £8 savings for every £1 spent on implementing the campaign. “If the 14% reduction is scaled


up to the whole of London, for a year it would equate to 29,400 tonnes of avoidable food waste. This would see a £79m cost saving to residents,” said a LFHW spokesperson.


ReFood awards ‘gas to grid’ contract


REFOOD, PART of PDM Group, the food waste recycler, has awarded the contract to provide the gas- to-grid system at its new Widnes- based anaerobic digestion (AD) facility to Chesterfield BioGas (CBG). Once completed, the £20m Widnes plant is expected to be the largest food waste gas-to-grid AD project in the UK. The new plant, due for


completion in 2014, will reportedly have the capacity to handle 90,000 tonnes of commercial and domestic


food waste and will generate up to 2,000m3 per hour of raw biogas. According to ReFood, further


AD plants being developed in the UK by the food waste specialist will use a combination of systems to provide sales of electricity, heat, gas and other forms of renewable energy applications. Philip Simpson at PDM, said:


“This is the first time that ReFood has invested in this technology in Europe. The decision to move to supplying upgraded biogas direct


Advertorial Olympus Industrial: Window Guard


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• www.olympus-ims.com Health, safety and environmental management in AD - Lanarkshire, Scotland - September 26 - Visit www.recyclingwasteworld.co.uk/conferences Recycling & WA S T E W O R L D www. r e c y c l i n gwa s t ewo r l d . c o . u k September 19 2013 3


We buy baled


waste paper & cardboard


to the grid rather than using it for the generation of CHP was the result of a long and detailed assessment of the various technical systems available.” The ‘Totara’ biogas-to-


biomethane upgrader, which is due to be installed at the ReFood plant in Widnes in April 2014, employs the Greenlane water-scrubbing method which reportedly doesn’t require heat or chemicals to operate. Instead, the system uses water; much of which can then be recycled.


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11 Alvaston Business Park, Middlewich Road, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 6PF Visit our website www.recycling-uk.com


UK RECYCLING & GLOBAL TRADING Industry


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Collections by Trailer, Container or Multilift bins


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We buy


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millions of tonnes of waste every year is admittedly never going to be synonymous with presentation, there are three words, which to me, sum up the wrong attitude towards health and safety; ‘wear and tear’. Maintenance and safe practice does not suddenly become an issue


when a container falls out of working order, it is an everyday necessity and writing off and ignoring small damage, considered ‘inevitable’, often goes hand-in-hand with serious health and safety risks. It concernsme that there is an obvious lack of agreed standard practice


covering the use of waste containers and most worryingly, health and safety. Just because containers are often stored in backstreets and yards doesn’t mean that they are not accessible to anyone. There have been many scare stories over the years, and sadly a number


of tragic accidents, involving containers left unlocked, unsecured or damaged. Regardless of the fact that the public should never be interacting with industrial containers, companies are often powerless to prevent this when bins are stored outside the business. Therefore proper maintenance of containers and clear signage is essential to ensure both the public’s safety and that you are not liable, no matter how small the damage. Secondly, it is vital to remember that before any containers are moved


or emptied, they should be checked thoroughly. Health and safety education is an on-going and ever-changing


campaign and we continue to contribute to work by the HSE and its WISH forum on its safe practice guidelines regarding such issues as the operation and maintenance of lifting mechanisms and, more recently, the installation of deflector plates on roll on/off containers used by local authorities and companies. This is a technical and potentially life-saving requirement, relating to


the majority of the types of containers traditionally used, which is not publicised widely enough. Realising the importance of promoting this message, we recently


published a safety bulletin relating to the fitting of a fully welded deflector plate to the underside of the front cross member above the hook bar outlining, in simple terms, the guidance contained in Technical Standard 8 of the Container Handling Equipment Manufacturers (CHEM) guide.


• For more information on UK Container Maintenance visit www.ukcontainers.co.uk


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