Guidance on recycling will help Welsh councils and businesses continue to lead the way, according to Minister for Natural Resources and Food Alun Davies. The Minister has launched a consultation on guidance to support organisations and businesses affected by new EU legal requirements for the separate collection of four waste materials – paper, metal, plastic and glass.

From January 1, 2015 all organisations involved in waste collection are required to set up separate collection for paper, metal, plastic and glass, as long as this is what is necessary, in effect, to achieve high quality recycling and it is technically, environmentally and economically practicable to collect the four materials separately.

The large-scale incineration or dumping of plastic films in landfills could soon be a thing of the past as new technologies seek to convert plastics into fuels and other useful products.

Economic factors and fundamental difficulties with handling and sorting at recycling facilities has resulted in plastic film recycling still being in the early stages of development, especially in comparison to recycling processes for dense rigid plastics such as Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) used widely in the drinks industry.

As a result, policy around the world has looked at alternative solutions to reduce the impact of plastic films, especially plastic bags, on the environment. Controversial policies have included the banning of single-use plastic bags and imposing charges on consumers.

The Environmental Services Association (ESA), the voice of the UK’s waste and resource management industry, today welcomed the release of the Sentencing Councils guidance for judges sentencing those involved in waste crime. ESA’s Director General, Barry Dennis said:

ESA welcomes this guidance and hopes that it will help to deter environmental criminals who pose the greatest environmental risk, whose transgressions are most difficult to detect and whose adverse environmental impact is greatest.

The hire service of leading merchant Travis Perkins has launched a range of waste management solutions. With its service promise of “any waste, any time, any where”, customers now have access to an extensive choice of refuse and recycling solutions from wheelie bins and skips, to road sweepers and the removal of hazardous material.

In addition to skips and bins, the service extends to an exclusive partnership with HIPPOBAG, the removal of hazardous and specialist waste, and the hire of recycling equipment such as balers.

Merseyside’s residents can get their hands on free recycling bags this January in exchange for unwanted or broken electrical items.

The giveaway involves all 13 Merseyside Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) and aims to stop precious metals used in electronics and electrical equipment ending up as landfill.

Alun Davies, Natural Resources and Food Minister today launched ambitious plans to prevent waste in Wales.

The Waste Prevention Programme sets out how businesses and households in Wales can reuse or extend the life of products, and reduce the environmental impact of waste, whilst saving money.

A new Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) in Knowsley is hitting the heights as the best performing Centre in Merseyside.

Since it was opened in July 2012 the Huyton HWRC on Wilson Road, Huyton Business Park, has continued to improve recycling levels and divert more waste away from landfill. During the summer it managed to recycle and divert a record 85% of the waste accepted at the site.

This level of recycling performance has never been seen before on Merseyside* and Huyton HWRC’s performance can now be compared to the best Centres in the UK.

Lord de Mauley, a minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), has just announced to local authorities that new EU rules will see Britons everywhere forced to separate their recycling into at least 4 boxes. The rules that will come into force in 2015 will see everyone have separate boxes for their unwanted paper, metal, glass and plastic.

This drive for efficiency is being made in the hope of increasing the quality of the products integral to the recycling sector. Specifically, it is expected that this will improve the quality of recyclates – the raw materials that are processed at a recycling plant – as they will not be mixed in with other types of waste.