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New shredder boosts BPR's destruction of confidential waste

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altWaste management experts BPR Group has invested in a leading-edge shredder to improve the scope and security of its confidential paper destruction service.

The company has installed the renowned UNTHA RS100 shredder at its Rainham facility in Greater London, enabling BPR to bring its shredding operation in-house rather than contract it out to a third party.

BPR is now generating revenues of more than £100 per tonne of shredded paper and expects to see a return on its investment in four years.

BPR is a leader in the field of safe and secure handling, storage and destruction of sensitive waste – anything from confidential paperwork and documentation to credit cards and charity boxes. Clients include major corporate organisations, NHS trusts and legal and financial practices. Whoever the client, helping them to reduce the environmental impact of the waste they produce is key.

The new UNTHA RS100 shredder is enabling BPR to process some five to six tonnes of confidential waste paper every hour – an impressive throughput achieved due to the machine's large capacity.

This thorough, high torque, slow speed shredding process complies with secure shredding standards without destroying the paper fibre content. Once material is drawn into the shredder's main cutters, it is both pre-shredded and re-shredded in a single pass. Material that does not fall through the screen is transferred to the secondary cutters before being fed back into the cutting chamber for re-shredding.

Every RS100 is configured to the client's specific requirements and can be fitted with different cutters and screen options according to the application and desired fraction size. BPR has purchased a number of screens which the team can simply adjust themselves, to optimise the performance of the secure data destruction process. Screens with holes of say 25mm diameter for example guarantee small confetti-like particles that – especially when combined with the machine's mixing action – ensure a greater DIN security level and consequently increased confidentiality.

After shredding the material down to a homogenous particle size to uphold the highest DIN security standards, the waste is then baled for recycling.

Alison Roe, director of BPR Group, said: "We are extremely pleased with the new shredding unit which gives us increased security and peace of mind for our clients by bringing our shredding process in-house. "It also gives us control over the output of shredded paper from which we are now able to generate a revenue."

Alan Harvey, UNTHA UK's business development manager for the South, added: "Hard-wearing cutting systems and self-cleaning contra shears heighten the machine's reliability, reduce the amount of ongoing maintenance and translate into a long machine life expectancy. In addition to its throughput capability, this slow speed reliable shredder – with its four shaft technology – boasts low levels of noise, vibration and dust, and as a result has a much lower risk of a spark-induced fire or dust explosion.

"This machine has set the industry standard for this type of shredding. There's no doubt that with the RS100, all BPR's confidential waste is in safe and secure hands."

Green party reaches 40th birthday

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altWhere are political parties born? Labour might say workplaces, the Conservatives their clubs and stately homes, but the Green party – which is 40 years old next week – can be precise: the Bridge Inn at Napton, in Warwickshire, where an unlikely group of lawyers and estate agents used to meet for a drink after work in the early 1970s.

Hardly revolutionary, but it was only when Coventry solicitor Lesley Whittaker passed around a copy of Playboy magazine, which she had bought in WH Smith, that these ultimate middle Englanders resolved to challenge the UK political establishment.

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Revisions to EIA directive must be recosidered

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altThe Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management urges Government to reconsider revisions to Directive 2011/92/EU on Environmental Impact Assessments that could exclude large numbers of chartered environmental professionals from important accreditation role.

In response to revisions made to Directive 2011/92/EU on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) has urged the Government not to restrict professionals working in this field and to determine that the experts should be ‘Chartered Members of an appropriate environmental professional body.’

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Shale oil surge poses threat to renewable energy, PwC warns

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altA worldwide expansion of relatively cheap shale oil could put investment in renewable energy and global emissions targets under threat, as well as posing other environmental risks.

The shale oil industry is still in its infancy, but has the potential to reach up to 12 per cent of global production, potentially pushing down oil prices by as much as $50 per barrel by 2035, according to a new report by consultancy firm PwC.

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Ethiopia looks to realise its geothermal energy potential

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altEthiopia, like its fellow Great Rift Valley countries, has enormous geothermal energy potential. However, the costs involved and the need for skilled expertise have, until now, been major obstacles.

In late January, the Development Bank of Ethiopia announced that, over the next five months, it will offer an initial $20m to kickstart geothermal energy projects in the country's private sector as part of a programme funded by the World Bank. A further $20m is expected to be made available at a later stage.

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Solar Glass means buildings can generate clean power

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altA solar power company capable of "printing" colourful glass that can generate electricity from the sun's energy announced a £2m funding boost on Tuesday.

Oxford Photovoltaics, a spin-off from the University of Oxford, said the investment from clean-tech investors MTI Partners will help its solar glass, which can be dyed almost any colour, take a step closer to the commercial market.

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Energy target 'would be threatened by independence vote'

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altAlex Salmond could be forced to abandon his ambitious 100% green energy target if Scotland votes for independence, a team of academics has warned. The group of energy specialists from four universities across the UK argues that an independent Scotland would have to fund far more of the billions needed to subsidise renewable energy such as offshore windfarms and wave and tidal devices on its own, because it would lose significant financial support from consumers across the UK.

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English Heritage launches study into effect of bridges on floods

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altAncient stone bridges with water pouring over the parapets, their narrow arches choked by fallen trees and debris washed down swollen rivers, have been recurring images in reporting the myriad floods of the past sodden years – and the bridges have often been blamed for damming the rivers' flow and causing misery to nearby communities.

As torrential rains wash away the snows, causing more floods in many parts of the country, English Heritage is launching a pilot study to establish whether the 7,000 listed bridges in its care are the villains or the victims of flooding.

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A quarter of local building firms want Green Deal work

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altThe Green Deal needs to involve more small, local builders to work, as red-tape and negative publicity threaten to scupper the Government’s flagship energy-efficiency policy before it gets off the ground, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Just over a quarter (27%) of small to medium-sized (SME) construction firms are planning to get involved in the Green Deal according to a  recent survey by the FMB, but many said the application and accreditation process was overly complicated, while householders were unaware of the potential benefits because of a lack of positive publicity about the scheme.

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