The shortlisted finalists for the 2011 Scottish Waste & Resources Awards have been announced today by the Scottish Waste & Resources Steering Group.

Launched in 2001, the awards have been designed to recognise outstanding achievements in the waste and resource industry in Scotland and provide a unique opportunity for the public, private and community sectors to gain national recognition for environmental performance, innovation and best practice.

 Iron technology leader Saint-Gobain PAM UK, part of leading international materials company, Saint-Gobain, has been awarded a £500,000 contract by Sutton and East Surrey Water to supply pipes and fittings for a new pipeline which connects the existing trunk main network at Mogador Road, Lower Kingswood, to storage reservoirs 5km away at Burgh Heath.

The Rothschild Foundation in Buckinghamshire stole the show and the top award in this year’s hotly contested Wood Awards 2011 competition. The ceremony was held on the 27th September, the first day of new exhibition Timber Expo at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. Stephen Marshall Architects saw off competition of an exceptionally high standard to win the Structural category, before being crowned the winner of winners in front of nearly 250 leading industry and architectural figures. As the UK’s premier architecture and furniture awards programme for excellence in wood, the Wood Awards recognises innovative design and craftsmanship in the world’s most natural material.

At 8 o’clock on Thursday morning, eco-activist group Climate Rush will join influential bike bloggers and local pedestrian and cycle groups to stage a go-slow on Blackfriars Bridge and barricade Transport for London offices to protest against TfL’s car-centric policies. Liberal Democrat MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, Simon Hughes, will speak at the rally, as will Green London Assembly member Darren Johnson.