jon davis

This weeks Recycling Roundup features stories including a new scheme in Australia to encourage people to recycle properly, recycling centres in Gloucestershire are set to reduce their opening hours and will close an extra day during winter to save money, and finally letters from Gwent Council advising residents of changes to collections have been found dumped on a hill.

Clean Ireland Recycling has introduced the first refuse vehicles in the country to be run on compressed natural gas.  There are far fewer emissions with natural gas than diesel which drastically reduces the carbon footprint of the company as well as reducing the cost by 35%

Stories for this weeks Recycling Roundup include criminals in Germany have reversed engineered the bottle desposit vending machines to pay out for multiple bottles, a business in has invested £250k into the scrap buying and processing facility in Cumbria, and finally a drinks can awareness programme were at the finish line to engage race fans.

This weeks Recycling Roundup contains stories including residents in Ealing can now use an app for information on recycling in their local area, staff at Oxfordshire's household recycling centre being given body cameras to help tackle abuse they are given from customers and finally residents in Shropshire have been complaining to the council because they have not been given lids for their recycling boxes.

Dorset residents are being encouraged to recycle their empty coffee cups as well as food and drinks cartons at the designated recycling banks across the county.  They are being encourage to use reusable cups when they go and buy their hot drinks because most coffee shops allow the use of their own cup.

A French start up company called Terradona offers free gifts to people who sort their waste correctly, they have developed a smart box called Cliiink which attaches to the bin and gives them points when they put an item in the correct recycling bin which they then can redeem in various shops.  

5 clever ideas for everyday household items that we usually discard of.

Northern Ireland is now at a record low of sending waste to landfill, as well as an increase of 3.6% to 50% for recycling rates, these are the first set of figures published since new regulations on separate food waste which came into force in April.  Despite a very simple change it has made a significant increase in recycling for the region.  

Our new series looks at setting a new recycling challenge each month, October is metal recycling.  Cheshire Council are determined to spread the message that metal matters, if all the metal packaging was recycled in Cheshire it would be the equivalent of taking over 1000 cars off the road.  

The biggest story coming out of the news this week has been the controversy that has rised in Sheffield regarding Veolia.  A leak in the system allegedly showed that the company diverted material that was intended for recycling ending up going to the incinerator.  

Effective recycling solutions are now on the agendas of more and more businesses across the UK. From deciding which materials you will recycle through to ensuring employees are fully up-to-speed with the changes and are committed to supporting a business recycling scheme, it can be a tricky process to get up and running.

Does your office recycle? If not, it's probably time it did. Businesses across the country are now beginning to take their recycling responsibilities very seriously and with the government, local communities and even your own staff, coming down hard on those businesses which don't acknowledge their responsibility toward creating a greener environment, it more than likely won't be long before the recycled net closes in on your business.

Whilst many business in the UK are now keener than ever to ensure that their office recycling systems are in place and being used by all members of staff, there are some very common mistakes which you'll need to avoid if you're thinking of setting up your own office recycling scheme.

Following these tips should help you through the process.

Every good recycler does his or her part in helping reduce the amount of non-biodegradable plastics filling up landfills and reducing the number of trees cut down each year to produce our much-demanded paper products.  However, best intentions aren’t always effective. Many people can fail to realise how to best, and even what, to recycle. Below, the article presents five common recycling mistakes and their remedies.

Have you got to grips with recycling yet? There are now more bins and waste collections in our neighbourhoods than ever before and we’re becoming an enthusiastic nation of recyclers. Good for us! Back in the Eighties we only managed to recycle 7.5% of all the waste we generated. Last year (2013) that had soared to an impressive 43% - and it’s still rising.

As we move further into the 21st century, the importance of recycling is becoming ever more paramount. An ever increasing world population, along with an increase in consumerism and product packaging that is not biodegradable are just some of the reasons that the amount of waste we create  is rapidly escalating. This in turn is having detrimental effects on our environment, with harmful chemicals and greenhouse gasses being released from ever growing landfill sites, and natural habitats being destroyed due to the need to exploit more and more raw materials.

Are you struggling to get the recycling bug going in your household? You won’t be the only one if you are. For this to work everyone has to agree to recycle and to work to the same plan. If you’re the only one recycling and everyone else in your home is throwing everything away in the main non-recyclable bin, you’ll be fighting a losing battle every single week.

You’ve probably read the news stories that crop up from time to time in the papers. They typically reveal details about recycling and how there are going to be more changes, more bins, different ways to separate rubbish and so on. Not all of them are true of course, so let’s look at this issue more closely on an individual level.

Did you know that around 90% of us would recycle more if it was a lot easier to do it? That’s quite amazing when you think about it. The simplicity of the task is what will make all the difference to us.

Bridgend Council are still in the news this week but for all the wrong reasons, we covered it a couple of weeks ago and still residents are not happy with the service they are paying with, especially if their waste is containing used nappies,  

If you own a business you’ll know the various challenges it can bring. Some of these depend on the type of business you have whereas others – such as finding customers for example – are shared by all businesses.

What type of material do you think of when you think about choosing recycling bins? You probably instantly think of tough plastic or a similar material – something easy to clean and wash that will last the test of time. You certainly wouldn’t think about cardboard, would you?

It is impossible nowadays to throw anything away without first considering whether it can be used or recycled. This is just the way it should be, since our world is struggling with the amount of rubbish we produce. The more we can do to change our habits and recycle and re-use as much as we can, the better it is for us and for our planet.

When it comes to recycling at home, we all adhere to the rules and suggestions laid down by our local councils. This makes good sense and it makes life easier for us too. They provide the required bins, bags and crates (depending on the area and how they approach recycling) and we use the items provided to divide our rubbish and recycle as much as we can. Simple.

Edible cities are becoming increasingly popular. The mission is noble and positive: to increase awareness and actual levels of self-sustaining communities and educate in the importance of growing your own food, all while making neighbourhoods more attractive and strengthening communities.

Last week saw the latest provisional waste management statistics released by The Department of Environmental Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and with them a renewed concern for stalling recycling figures.

Recent surveys have suggested that young people are the least likely generation to recycle, and that some have an indifferent attitude towards it. Is this true and, if so, why? Furthermore, how can councils and waste companies get their recycling message across to the new generation?

This first issue looks at how effective recycling is in the USA

A lot of us by now what can and cannot be recycled, but there are some instances where items will just get sent to landfill instead of being properly recycled, this list includes some items you did not know that could be recycled.

Is Wales the recycling capital of europe? We take a look into the facts that can back this up and what challenges lie ahead to keep this recycling charge going.

In this new mini series we take a look at green champions and what they have done to increase the recycling rates in their area, this week we focus of Bracknell Forest Council and how they reward their residents when they correctly recycle.

How good is Frances recycling scheme?  We take a look at how they dispose of their recyclable materials, for example their white goods scheme allows used items to be taken back to the shop where they were bought from to be recycled.  

Green Champions is back for issue 2, this week focusing on the Isle of Wight NHS Trust and what they do for recycling to become our champions for the week.

Spain is on the rise for the rates of recycling, this is mainly down to a single company being in charge of the whole scheme, with it's target of 50% recycling by 2020, they are heading down the right route to reach this target.

When you look at recycling schemes, large high street retailers do not usually get a look in compared to supermarkets, but Marks and Spencers have changed this outlook, with a target to become the world's most sustainable retailer by 2020. With their schemes in operation they are no doubt this weeks Green Champions.

Despite being in a financial crisis, Greece's recycling efforts are slowly increasing, despite having a 91% sent to landfill 15 years ago, this has now dropped to 81% which is a massive drop. A lot of their schemes need backing from their mayor and this depends on whether it is going to be a successful scheme.

We take a different approach to our usual articles from around the world and take a closer look at the home nations.  Scotland has a poor current rate of sending waste to landfill and they have a target of only 5% going to landfill by 2025, with Edinburgh's zero waste project in action it could be well in their reach.  

This week we take a look at how recycling takes place in England, of course this can vary depending on what county you live in, but the majoity follow the same pattern.  Englands rates are dropping and we are not on course to hit our target by 2020, this can be caused by quite a few factors, some of which are explained below.

The workplace generates tonnes of recycling over the year, whether it be the sheer volume of paper being used, ink cartridges or the usual office supplies, these simple tips could help prevent any unnecessary waste heading into landfill.

Everyone has clothes congregating at the back of their wardrobe due to them being out of style or the wrong size, so when you have a clearout what do you do with your clothes.  Hopefully not dispose of them in your bin but recycle them in various different ways 

Manchester's recycling rate has increased in the last year by 8% through the introduction of the new 'slim bins.'  The residents received new 140 litre wheelie bins to replace their old 240 litre.  The council are saying that not only has this increased the recycling rate but also created a saving of almost £2.4 million.  

Nappies, incontinence pads and sanitary products are a major player in what ends up in landfill, over 1 million tonnes in the UK alone are produced each year, but now scientists in Aberystwyth have provided a solution which may stop all this ending up in landfill. 

Our last visit to the home nations focuses on Northern Ireland and their battle of stopping waste ending up in landfill, a programme launched by the Department of Environment In Northern Ireland called the Rethink Waste Programme to help sectors of society.  

We think recycling is just an everyday chore , but do people think of the benefits of recycling your items, recycling paper saves trees is the obvious one but when it comes to plastic and glass the energy saved can save wildlife and carbon emmissions.  So it would be benficial in the long term if everything that can be recycled is. 

Sky have had great success with their campaigns in recent times, for example the rainforest campaign managed to save 1 billion trees in Brazil, and now they are turning their attention to the problem with plastic in the ocean. It is not impossible to reduce this, we can all start by recycling the plastic bottles we use.

With the January almost at an end, everyone has been paid and now people are looking at booking their holidays, with campsites and staycations becoming more and more popular, litter is increasing at hiking trails and areas of beauty.  Our blog covers a few tips on how to reduce the amount of waste you produce when going away.  

Introducing our brand new series of recycling blogs, we are going through an A-Z of countries and seeing how they recycle in that country, starting with A we look at Australia.  We look at how it started and how they have had to change their methods in light of global warming and other influences.  +

You should always look to recycle products which can be recycled but to have a successful scheme in your home in place you need the correct bins, our top 4 bins would make a great start for the home or the office.  

Recycling is in the news on a daily occurance in many different capacities, this series' takes a look at what news has made the headlines this week from around the world, from Starbucks lauching a new coffee cup recycling scheme to a rocket launcher being found at a recycling centre.  

People often do not know what can and cannot be recycled, it is in fact the law not to recycle items which aren't supposed to be recycled, there are certain guidelines in operation to help businesses correctly dispose of their waste and the amount of waste that is generated.  

Our Green Champions series is back and this issue we take a look at the 7 year old boy who is helping to save the planet with his recycling business, starting when he was just a toddler, Ryan Hickman has found a passion for recycling and has grown his business impressively so far he has his college fund up and running and has become a patron of the Pacific Marine Mammal Centre. All at such a young age.

Looking to start your own recycling programme in your school or college but unsure how to go about such a scheme, take a look at how to get yourself started and how to try to get everyone on board.  

Belgium has the highest recycling rate in Europe and it is no fluke.  The country has had a waste decree in place since 1981 which has set targets for reducing the amount of waste in households whether it be through home composting or just general recycling, these were so successful that their original goals were exceeded and more had to be set.  

Paper cup waste is an ever increasing worry with the amount ending up in landfill, this is where Starbucks have stepped forward, they are leading the way on trying to prevent an unprecedented amount being wasted.  They have tackled all aspects to try and help save the environment, such as saving water consumption by 23%.

Our take this week on the recycling news from around the globe, covering low recycling rates in some parts of London to a Brazilian woman who collected recycling materials to pay for her son to go school in Europe.  

Despite coming from a humble background, Sting has amassed a fortune of around $150 million, but he is not the type of person to sit around and do nothing, in partnership with his wife he started the Rainforest Foundation which is now split into 4 different organisations.  

We head across the pond to Canada for this weeks Recycling Around the World, like most countries their landfill is almost at capacity and Canadas landfills generate 25% of their methane emmissions.  A recycling scheme that was set up in the 90's allowed Canadians access to recycling facilities and this has gone strength to strength with more and more homes gaining access to these facilities.

Virgins ethos is that we should protect our natural resources and work with nature, everyone knows the airlines and trainlines, but do you know they do an incredible amount of work outside of these companies to help with sustaining our environment, such as being part of a programme to help make 10 islands run on 100% renewable energy.

Upcycling is like recyclyling, but instead of sending to the recycle plant you basically restore the item for use again.  Our new series looks at projects anyone could do, with this 1 restoring an old stool.  Whether it just needs a lick of paint or a reupholster job, you can make an old stool look brand new.  

In Denmark it is illegal to send waste to landfill when it is suitable for incineration, when the waste is incinerated it is used to generate electricity and heat, which makes sense why there is a law in place.  Another country which has a deposit return scheme which prevents 390,000 tonnes of waste ending up in landfill, does this not prove that a scheme works.  

With lent tomorrow, instead of giving up food like chocolate you could try to tackle the no waste challenge, there are many ways to reduce waste you generate with some simple ideas like drinking tap water instead of bottled water, if you can do this for 40 days what is stopping you from creating this all year round and significantly reducing your waste.

When you think of British Airways you automatically think of flights and the carbon footprint that air travel causes, but behind the scenes they are working tirelessly to reduce waste and reduce carbon emmissions.  Since the 1990's BA have reduced their fuel efficiency by 28% let alone helping reduce waste by 9% at Gatwick and Heathrow.

Issue 2 of our upcycling ideas looks at how to save glass jars to create soap dispensers, glass is 100% recyclable without having the loss of quality, so why not use them around the house for creating something quirky.  

Recent recycling statistics have stated that Estonia is one of the best performing countries with it comes to reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill, per person, Estonia only generates around 279kg of waste per person with 40% of that waste being recycled.  

If you live in Wales, you may have seen people dressed as Bananas, this is just one of the stories that have appeared in the news for last week, and if you live in Reading, you may have been one of the houses whos recyclables were not collected.  

When you think of 02, you think of just another mobile phone company which helps with the increasing e-waste, but you could be no wrong, 02 were the first company to launch an eco rating with their mobile phones and have been working with a sustainability advisor since 2008.  02 have since helped 12 million customers change their behaviour and saved natural resources along the way, they are this weeks Green Champions

With only 15% of textiles being recycled every year, every little helps, with this issue of upcycling projects we take a look at how to change old sweaters into cushion covers.  In landfill clothing can take centuries to degrade, but with this idea you can give old clothing a new lease of life.

More and more emphasis is being placed on recycling packaging around the world, Finland has a record of being able to recycle more than half of its packaging and they can boast that they exceed all of their recycling targets on glass, cartons and metals.  

Nike has worked for 15 years to track and minimise the environmental impact of its operations, with changing and scarce resources, Nike have started to tackle the issue of sustainable materials.  Nike has focused on trying to reduce waste and try to reuse as much as they can, by 2020 they aim to have a zero waste to landfill policy in place.  

The next installment of our popular recycling series looks at Guatemala, recycling has vastly increased, mainly down to the story of Ecoplast.  Ecoplast is from the owners of a small plastic packaging company which has gone from one recycling machine to a 24/7 job which now employs 35 people on a full time basis.  

With the 6 nations now over and done with for another year, recycle for Wales used this as an oppurtunity to push their message across, they wanted people to know that recycling food waste that is not edible such as tea bags and banana skins can help power your tv and power your lights.

Manchester are one of the biggest football clubs in the world but they are more than just that, in 2000 they started an environmental journey to help them become more sustainable, for example rainwater which is collected is used to irrigate the pitch and any food waste is sent to be composted. 

Holland have a successful recycling scheme in place, only a small fraction of waste is sent to landfill with 64% of waste is recycled.  90% of Dutch people separate their waste and they say that they take measures to help save energy where it is neede, such as turning the tap off whilst brushing their teeth.  But why are they successful?

In this weeks edition of Reycling Roundup we feature one of the biggest stories to originate from last week, a new plant in West Bromwich has opened up which enables the site the facility to recycle, nappies as well as feminie hygiene products, which when in landfill can take up to 500 years to degrade naturally

Recycling around the world this week looks at India.  India have no formal waste collection service but have many small waste collectors who trade their rubbish for other items.  Citizens of India only generate half a kilo of waste is generated per person but the size of the population of India means waste adds up to huge volumes.  

Ever wanted to decorate your fridge with something different, these scrabble fridge magnets are simple and easy to make and make the fridge a place to leave messages or have a scrabble game with a difference.  Easily made with items from the craft shop with the exception of scrabble tiles which can be used from the game itself or if your really savvy you could make your own. 

One of the most covered stories over the recent weeks is regarding councils making waste collection changes, most have been met with unhappy residents, but in some cases it works out for the better.  East Devon had a new weekly recycling scheme introduced which then led their general waste bin being collected every 3weeks, as a result their recycling went up to 59% from 44%. 

Recycling is important in Japan, with a large population and little lady, there isn't much option so there is no wonder that Japan currently recycles around 50% of waste,  and one of the ways this is achieved is making laws regarding recycling.  Tourists are not exempt from the recycling laws.  

Car manufactureres Nissan are this weeks Green Champions, Nissan have the belief that people, vehicles and nature can co-exist in the modern world if the correct adaptations are made.  Japan's ministry of the environment endorsed Nissan as an Eco-First company in their efforts to reduce emmissions.  

With almost 5 billion aluminium cans sold each year in the UK and 42% recycled, there is a still a long way to go ensure cans do not end up in landfill, this weeks DIY project takes large coffee cans and turns them into stylish planters for your home.  

Despite Easter being done for another year, you could always start with some small upcycling projects for the following year, like these cute felt easter bunnies, and this is done by just recycling some of your old clothes.  

Kenya has an ever increasing population with the capital alone creating over 3000 tonnes of waste, with only 1/4 of this making it to the Cities only rubbish dump, most of the rubbish ends up strewn across the country in sewers and streets.  To address this, the city council teamed up with the UN environmental programme to help develop a waste management plan and to help create a plan for recycling.  

The Hilton Hotel chain is now one of the world's biggest and most recognisable brands in the hotel world, with one of their values focuses on the environment, they have reduced their carbon footprint and joined with WWF to help reduce food waste and support sustainable seafood, but this is just one of their ideas in action among many others.

One of the biggest stories that appeared this week came from Wales, Wales have a high recycling rate and threatened to fine any councils which did not meet this targets and 3 councils failed to do so.  However on this occasion they refused to fine the local councils which has drawn some criticsm.  

With a steadily increasing population, there is an inevitable amount on increasing waste., with up to 250 tonnes of waste ends up in landfill every day, which equates to about 0.75kg of waste per person with the main problem in this area being the lack of awareness on how to dispose of waste properly.  

Arriva is one of the largest providers of public transport in Europe who employ more than 60,000 people and provide services to over 2.2 billion passengers per year.  With this amount of travel, the need to help protect the environment is more important than before, Arriva now operate electric buses and gas powered buses running from 100% bio-gas.

Every household has an odd sock bag for socks that mysertiously go missing, so rather than throw them out why not use them in different ways.  Old socks can be useful as old rags or can even be made into a DIY heatpack, or even better why not make them into a pusheen cat.

Malta is made uo of 3 islands in the Mediterranean Sea and has a population of 416,000 people and the local council are responsible for the collection and disposal of waste.  Residents are encourgaged to recycle using designated points and are also encouraged to list items which can be recycled for free for anyone who wants them.

There is no surprise that Switzerland take recycling very seriously, often being at the top of the recycling charts.  Largely driven by financial incentive, recycling is free but to throw out normal household rubbish there is a cost, over the month and year this can add up.

McDonalds' golden arches are iconic around the world and serve billions of customers each year, so there is no surprise that along with cigarette butts fast food wrappers contribute to a vast amount of litter, McDonalds have recognised the problem and strive to help anywhere they can, for example they complete a litter pick daily around their area as well as join in and organise community clean up events.

In the recycling news this week we take a look at 2 big stories, 1 which includes the potential danger batteries can cause when they are not recycled correctly, and the other looks at the coffee company Nespresso and how they are trialing a pod recycling scheme when you sign up the Nespresso Club.  

The management of waste in New Zealand has become more regulated to help reduce any damage to the environment, in the past waste was taken to a dump but there was no control to where these dumps were, there used to be an estimated 327 in 1995 reducing to around 100 now.  The problems with the unregulated dumps was that they used to be near waterways which toxins could seep into and cause damage.  

What makes being in the garden better than hearing the tweeting of the birds.  Do you have any spare plastic bottles lieing around in your kitchen or in your recycling, then why not try your hand at making your own bird feeder, a great idea to do with children to get them interested in upcycling.

When you think of Pierce Brosnan, you would instantly think of James Bond, but would you associate him with being a dedicated environmentalist?  He has been awarded an Environmental Leadership Award from a former Russian Leader and donated the funds he received for the magazine photo shoot to help a school in Tibet build classrooms.  Our new series features a different celebrity and their green efforts.

You may have noticed almost in every large supermarket car park there seems to be a clothing banks, but what do they do?  Around half of the clothes are sent abroad to help the less fortunate people, but some are sold in second hand shops and some are sold in charity shops.

Our next mini project to try at home is a beach bag or grocery bag, easily made by just using an old cotton shirt.  With the plastic bag charge why not create a collection of stylish collection to do your regular grocery shop.  

In the recycling world, Pringles tubes and Lucozade Sports Bottles are villains, this is mainly down to a mix of materials that are in the packaging which are near impossible to recycle, these are then rejected at the recycling facility.  

This weeks recycling news takes features a story on a zoo starting a mobile phone recycling scheme to help highlight the problem of small e-waste on the environment, and a Hull recycling centre which is going to be closed for 2 days a week despite there being an increase of flytipping.

Qatar is one of the fastest growing economies in the world mainly due to the natural oil resources, with an ever increasing population the 3 landfills in Qatar will be filling up rapidly.  One reason for this is the country's recycing rate is at a low 8%, to combat this, a recycling centre has been created, but reluctance and funding could cause issues.  

Carlisle Council are set to launch their imprioved recycling service this summer, this includes the kerbside collection being extended to more residents, a new collection schedule which means their rubbish is collected on the same day each week to help with confusion.