Friday 25th September 2009
Who Sorts Wins
Local authorities who practice or contract quality recycling collections met and conferred with reprocessors at the Campaign for Real Recycling’s Who Sorts Wins seminar in Birmingham last week. (Click here for presentations)
Andy Bond, Development Director of event sponsors May Gurney talked about the latest in kitchen waste collections and explained the far reaching implications of the sort of high diversion being achieved in parts of Somerset. The added bonus was a clear waste minimisation effect of separate food waste collection. “The waste we don’t have is the most valuable to our environment. Our experience tells us that it is more cost effective to recycle 65 to 70% than it is to remain at 35 or 40% because we are now in a high landfill or end-of-pipe treatment gatefee world. Bizarrely, at the end of the next decade there won’t be enough waste to fill all the treatment facilities that are likely to be built. It’s time to stop investing in waste disposal infrastructure and start investing in waste reduction and recycling, where they make the most difference.”
Eric Randall of Bryson Recycling, running kerbside sort and commingled collections side by side in Northern Ireland, said: “We are now confident that kerbside sort is both the most cost effective and most environmentally sound method of collecting domestic recyclate.” This echoed findings of recent WRAP guidance to local authorities on choosing the right recycling collection system.
Steve Read, Managing Director of Somerset Waste Partnership, spoke about how making savings across two tiers of local authorities through joint working can be consistent with achieving the right commitment to maximising diversion and collecting quality material: “We have demonstrated through trials with our partner May Gurney that we can reach levels of recycling and composting well over 60% but, perhaps more critically, very low levels of residual waste per capita”.
Calling on more processors to recognise high quality in the price paid for recycled materials Steve said “We don’t want to recycle at any cost to the environment. We supply 92% of our material to UK markets and we publish a register of where we send all of it, but we need our commitment to quality to be supported through more producer responsibility”.
Reprocessors and processors from the UK paper, glass, aluminium, plastics and textile industries were on hand to discuss quality, market and collection issues. The also event provided attendees with a unique chance to hear the latest news direct from the Far East quality recovered materials market through Chinese buyer Wade Schuetzeberg, representing the largest buyer of quality paper in the world, America Chung Nam B.V. MLM Ltd.
(Click here for presentations)
Information for Editors:
1. Who Sorts Wins Tuesday 15th September, Jurys Inn, Birmingham.
2. The Campaign for Real Recycling
wants central government and local authorities to act urgently to improve the quality of materials collected for recycling in the UK. Real recycling is about maximising the economic, environmental and social benefits of recycling for everyone, from the local council tax payer to the global re-processing industry. Our concern is that collection systems that gather a range of different materials in one bag or bin and then compact them could permanently undermine the environmental and financial benefits of recycling. Our campaign aims to influence local authority policy and practice, and build consensus within the UK of the economic and environmental importance of highly separated collections.
3. Campaign for Real Recycling supporters:
About May Gurney
May Gurney is an infrastructure services company. We are committed to helping our clients in the public and regulated sectors deliver sustainable improvements to front-line services across the UK.
We make sure that the road, utility, rail and waterways networks and public buildings are well maintained and that household waste is collected, managed and recycled. These essential maintenance services, which are based on long-term contracts, are the ones that are visible to local communities, and make a very real difference to the quality of life. They keep the country running.
Our track record in delivering great operational performance has built long-term relationships with our clients, who rely on us to support and anticipate their current needs and improve future outcomes. This focus on excellent customer service drives May Gurney.
And we never forget that our clients trust us to engage with their customers - communities and individuals - on their behalf. It's a responsibility that everyone at May Gurney takes very seriously.
May Gurney. Delivering essential services to our communities.
For further details about May Gurney please go to www.maygurney.co.uk
For more information about May Gurney please contact Andrew Slater, Tel: 01603 727385, email aslater@maygurney.co.uk or Hannah Freeman at Tribe PR, Tel: 01603 417722, email hannah@tribepr.com.
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