Veolia UK has acquired the former Euro Closed Loop Recycling site in Dagenham, for an undisclosed fee – including its manufacturing assets, which its says will “unlock the complete supply chain for manufacturing plastic bottles from recycled material”.

Veolia will now be able to offer collection of raw feedstock (waste plastic bottles) through all the recycling steps, and back to food grade pellets ready to be blown into new plastic milk bottles.

The move will boost the UK’s domestic recycling capability, create 30 permanent jobs and enable Veolia to make and sell a high value product from the 200m plastic milk bottles it collects annually.

New London Mayor Sadiq Khan – “This plant will be able to recycle all of the capital’s empty milk bottles – a mountain of waste that would otherwise have been sent to landfill. This is good news for London and good news for the environment.”

The plant will produce around 10,000 tonnes of high quality food grade HDPE pellets annually. Recycling this material requires 75% less energy to make a plastic bottle than using ‘virgin’ materials, and this equates to conserving enough energy to power around 20,000 homes and saving 10,000 tpa of carbon emissions.

Currently around 13bn soft drinks, water and milk bottles are discarded each year and globally the environmental costs are on the increase. By recycling bottles to produce new food-grade quality plastic, Veolia will make plastic more sustainable and maintain lower costs for local councils.

Estelle Brachlianoff, senior executive vice president Veolia UK and Ireland, said: “We are very interested to collaborate in this space since co-operation with the manufacturing sector, the people actually making things from recovered materials, is essential in order to be successful for the long term.

“This is a great opportunity to work in tandem with our Rainham plastic recycling facility to turn the high density polyethylene (HDPE) milk bottles back into bottles and we are excited at mastering the full supply chain by moving into this type of manufacturing.  This shows once again Veolia’s commitment to investment in the UK.”

New London Mayor Sadiq Khan praised the investment. “I am determined to redouble efforts to increase the amount London recycles so I am delighted that Veolia has purchased this important facility. This plant will be able to recycle all of the capital’s empty milk bottles – a mountain of waste that would otherwise have been sent to landfill. This is good news for London and good news for the environment.”

Closed Loop

Euro Closed Loop Recycling was placed into administration back in May, just 12 months after the company was acquired in a pre-pack administration agreement.

A slump in oil prices last year pushed Closed Loop Recycling close to administration, with it calling for financial support from the industry and government.

As a result, the Dagenham Closed Loop plastic milk bottle recycling facility, the UK’s largest recycler of plastic milk bottles, was sold to Dubai-based investment company, Euro Capital, to operate under the new name of Euro Closed Loop Recycling.

The sale saw the new owners immediately seeking support from the dairies and retailers for the Dairy Road Map and Euro Capital pledged an ongoing investment programme to support the business.

Following the sale, the new owners said the plant was losing around £300,000 per month, after which the company began seeking a potential new buyer for the plant.

Inevitably, however, the plant was shut down and staff were laid off.

Jason Elliott and Craig Johns of Manchester-based insolvency firm Cowgill Holloway Business Recovery LLP have been appointed as administrators.

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The post Veolia Acquires Former Euro Closed Loop Bottle Recycling Plant appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Kent County Council has awarded Veolia, the UK’s leading resource manager, a five year contract for the treatment of 11,000 tonnes per year of municipal bulky waste in the drive to divert more waste from landfill.

Worth £8m, the contract will divert materials previously sent to landfill to the Hersden Refused Derived Fuel plant for treatment, and then transferred to energy from waste facilities to be converted into renewable energy.

“By introducing this service, using the latest technology and working closely with council, we are well placed to achieve the new diversion targets and replenish more precious resources.”

The contract begins on 1st July 2016 and includes the processing of bulky waste from Canterbury City Council and Thanet District Council.

Gavin Graveson, Chief Operating Officer Public and Commercial, Veolia UK said: “This new contract further increases our presence in Kent and will deliver cost savings to the Council as well as environmental benefits in diverting a waste stream historically disposed to landfill.

“By introducing this service, using the latest technology and working closely with council, we are well placed to achieve the new diversion targets and replenish more precious resources.”

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The post Kent Awards Five Year Bulky Waste Contract To Veolia appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Waste and resource management company, Veolia, has been recognised as a leader in environmental and social responsibility by winning Business in the Community’s Responsible Business of the Year Award for 2016.

The award recognises Veolia’s role in transforming itself into a resource management company that is committed to the circular economy and is aimed at businesses that are creating long-term sustainable value.

Commenting on the award, Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice-President Veolia UK & Ireland said: “Winning this award shows how our 14,000-strong team has made responsible thinking part of how we do business.  We are committed to saving resources, carbon reduction and building a sustainable future, and investing in communities through apprenticeships and employing people from marginalised groups.”

Stephen Howard, Chief Executive, Business in the Community said: “The Responsible Business Awards provide the proof that from the largest global multinational to the smallest local firm, business is a powerful force for good in society.

“This year we have seen some profound examples of what business can achieve when it puts responsibility at the heart of its operations. I congratulate Veolia for the practical action it has taken to build a fairer world and more sustainable future.”

CIWM’s own Sustainability and Resource Awards 2016 are now open for entries. For further details and to apply, or sponsor an award, click here

The post Veolia Named ‘Responsible Business of the Year’ appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Chocolate ice cream has emerged as the most powerful flavour for green energy, following an innovative project involving the world’s third largest ice cream manufacturer, R&R Ice Cream, Iona Capital and resource management company, Veolia, in which inedible ice cream waste is being turned into biogas for the National Grid.

The R&R factory, based in Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, is the UK’s largest producer of own label ice cream as well as top brands such as Nestlé’s Fab, Rowntrees’ Fruit Pastille lollies, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate sticks, Oreo ice cream and Yoomoo frozen yogurt, and now what is left over from the production of these sweet treats will help power local homes.

The sugary sludge consisting of sugar, fat and protein that is left behind after production line cleansing, is to be transformed into biomethane, a biogas. This will then go to the National Grid to heat UK homes, thanks to the nearby anaerobic digestion (AD) facility funded by Iona Capital and operated by Veolia.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President, Veolia UK & Ireland – “And now you can enjoy your ice cream even more because, rest assured, none of production by-product is going to waste, as we are busy creating renewable energy with it”

The transformation process resembles the human body burning calories, and like our bodies different flavours of our favourite frozen dessert amount to different levels of energy. It transpires that chocolate ice cream provides 10% more energy than vanilla, and 20% more energy than strawberry. And if you were to add a chocolate flake to the mix it could boost the energy efficiency by 20% – adding a new significance to the renowned 99!

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President, Veolia UK & Ireland states: “This summer will see the UK’s energy mix take on a new flavour and a delicious one at that. And now you can enjoy your ice cream even more because, rest assured, none of production by-product is going to waste, as we are busy creating renewable energy with it.

“This project is a prime example of using creative thinking to turn waste into green energy. It’s innovation like this that is needed to ensure the UK meets the Government’s 2020 targets, and something we’re hoping to build on.”

Mike Dunn, Director of Iona Capital, adds: “Green infrastructure has the Government’s backing and it is an area that we are seeing more and more investors taking an interest in. This is especially true with local authority and public sector pension funds who want to show their members they are investing responsibly.”

The raw material that goes into this facility would otherwise be discarded and sent to landfill, now it is not only avoiding landfill but the by-product that is leftover at the end of the AD process is a nutrient rich fertiliser that can be distributed to farms to improve crop production.

The Leeming facility, which is one of the largest gas-to- grid energy plants in the UK, is now fully functional, and will contribute to the Government’s target for 20% of the UK’s energy generation to come from green energy by 2020.

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The post Ice Cream Waste Used To Power UK Homes This Summer appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Residual waste will generate electricity and heat at the South East London Combined Heat and Power (SELCHP) facility.

Veolia has successfully secured three contracts for the sustainable treatment of domestic and business recycling and waste from Westminster City Council.   

Veolia will provide a suite of sustainable solutions based on its industry expertise and extensive treatment infrastructure to help the Council reach its target of zero waste to landfill.

The three contracts worth a total of £71m are for:

• dry, mixed and source segregated recycling (for 3.5 years from September 2016)
• food waste treatment (for 3.5 years from September 2016)
• the treatment of residual, bulky waste and street sweepings (for 6.5 years from September 2017)

Mixed recyclates will be taken to Veolia’s MRF in Southwark, where they will be sorted and separated for reprocessing. Food waste will be treated in partnership with Biogen at its anaerobic digestion facility in Baldock, Hertfordshire.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President for Veoila UK and Ireland – “We are delighted to extend our partnership and I believe we have been successful in securing these contracts because we have the capability to provide innovative solutions that allow us to transform the materials we handle into valuable resources.”

The plant will maximize the use of this valuable resource by transforming it into a renewable fuel source, as well as producing fertiliser.

Residual waste will be recovered into energy at South East London Combined Heat and Power facility, which is operated by Veolia.

The waste will be used to create power for the National Grid and heating and hot water for local homes. Street sweepings will be recycled via Veolia’s specialist facility at Rainham and bulky waste, such as furniture at its Greenwich facility.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President for Veoila UK and Ireland said: “We are delighted to extend our partnership and I believe we have been successful in securing these contracts because we have the capability to provide innovative solutions that allow us to transform the materials we handle into valuable resources.

“As the Business in the Community’s Responsible Business of the Year 2016 we look forward to continuing to support Westminster City Council and its residence along their journey towards a more sustainable future.”

Councillor Melvyn Caplan, Cabinet Member for City Management said: “Westminster is a particularly challenging environment for delivering sustainable waste management. We look forward to working with Veolia and further developing our partnership and maximising the recycling and recovery of wastes collected.”

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The post Veolia Wins Three Waste Treatment Contracts With Westminster appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

The London Borough of Camden has contracted Veolia to manage a range of environmental services in the borough for up to 16 years.

The eight-year contract with a possible eight-year extension is worth an estimated £338m.

Veolia continue to deliver Camden’s recycling, waste collection and street cleansing services as well as commercial waste collections and winter maintenance, extending a relationship, which goes back to 2003.

In addition, Veolia will be responsible for new services including public engagement, customer service and marketing commercial waste services.

Veolia – “Camden Council is a long standing and highly valued client. We are delighted to be continuing our operations in the borough and we look forward to working in partnership with the Council, local residents and businesses to deliver vital services”

Starting in April 2017 the focus of the contract will be on maintaining high service standards and delivering solutions to increase efficiency, provide effective management of resources and continually improve services.

Veolia has pledged to work in partnership with the Council to increase recycling, reduce emissions and support the local economy through local employment and purchasing.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President, Veolia UK and Ireland said: “Camden Council is a long standing and highly valued client. We are delighted to be continuing our operations in the borough and we look forward to working in partnership with the Council, local residents and businesses to deliver vital services. As Business in the Community’s Responsible Business of the Year 2016 we will support a more sustainable future for everyone in the years ahead.”

Councillor Meric Apak, Camden Council’s Cabinet member for Sustainability and Environment, said: “I am excited at the opportunity to look at how we can best provide a modern-day service for the people of Camden. The new Environment Services contract that we have agreed will maximise up to date technology so that the service becomes both more efficient and responsive, in order to meet the needs of the council, and its residents and businesses.”

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The post Veolia Secures Waste Services Contract With Camden Council appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Around 200 tonnes (200,000 kg) of waste has been successfully cleared from the streets of Notting Hill over two days following this year’s Carnival – the equivalent weight of 15 Route master buses.

The clean-up operation by Westminster City Council, in partnership with Veolia, got under way within minutes of the close of the street festival; as a team of street cleaners, refuse staff and waste managers along with a huge fleet of vehicles led the clean-up each night.

There were 170 people per night working into the early hours of Monday and Tuesday in an operation involving 60 vehicles (including refuse trucks and mechanical sweepers). The team also used a large motorway vehicle to wash down the roads.

“The Notting Hill Carnival is such a fantastic event for the capital and I would like to thank everyone who was involved in ensuring the clean-up went smoothly.”

The clean-up lasted 3 hours on Sunday night and 4 hours on Bank Holiday Monday, and finished at 0200 on Tuesday 30 August.

Councillor Melvyn Caplan, Cabinet Member for City Management, said: “We are proud to support the Notting Hill Carnival, and provide such an efficient clean-up service to get the streets tidy after one of Europe’s biggest street parties. Through the hard work and commitment of the council and Veolia’s clean-up staff you wouldn’t know that such a huge event had taken place. I know residents and visitors appreciate these efforts to get the neighbourhood back to normal.”

Vincent Masseri, Veolia’s Senior Contract Manager, said: “The Notting Hill Carnival is such a fantastic event for the capital and I would like to thank everyone who was involved in ensuring the clean-up went smoothly. The recyclable materials collected by the Veolia Westminster team have been sent for processing and the remaining waste will be converted to green energy – generating approximately 97,200 kWh of electricity.”

The waste collected will be converted into green electricity and heat, creating enough energy to power 60,000 hot showers or travel the entire length of the District line on the London Underground (64 miles).

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The post 200 Tonnes Of Waste Cleared After Notting Hill Carnival appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

French water and waste group Veolia plans to invest £750m in its British recycling business, stating that the UK will be a “major growth” area for the next five years.

According to Reuters, Veolia UK chief executive Estelle Brachlianoff said gradually rising landfill taxes had been a major revenue driver for Veolia in Britain, where it has annual revenue of about £2bn (2.4 billion euros), making it the company’s second-largest market after France.

“We expect Britain will be a major growth area for Veolia in the coming five years as we help this country become greener,” Brachlianoff told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Three quarters of Veolia’s UK revenue comes from waste recycling, the rest from energy services and water.

“We expect Britain will be a major growth area for Veolia in the coming five years as we help this country become greener.”

Unlike other countries, which boost recycling through legislation and subsidies, Britain imposes a steadily increasing landfill tax, now around £85 per tonne.

Brachlianoff said that as the tax had been consistent and predictable, it had spurred a large recycling industry. Twenty years ago Britain was landfilling some 80 percent of its waste; that percentage has now more than halved, she said.

Companies such as Veolia, France’s Suez, Britain’s Biffa and Pennon unit Viridor as well as a string of smaller niche players are recycling paper, plastic, wood, metals and glass, while organic waste is composted, burned or used as feedstock for biogas production.

Veolia also handles hazardous waste and decommissions North Sea oil rigs. Over the past decade, the firm has invested more than £1.5bn in its British operations. Unlike in its French market, it does not operate drinking water concessions, but sells services to utilities.

Veolia also sells energy efficiency services to industrial customers and operates 10 energy-from-waste plants, which feed over 2 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity per year to the grid.

Brachlianoff said if all of Britain’s waste was reused, up to 10 percent of its green energy and up to two percent of its power could come from waste incineration.

“Waste cannot replace nuclear or coal, but among green energies it is significant, not a niche market,” she said.

Brachlianoff said waste was hard to burn as it can be heterogeneous, containing high-energy plastics as well as wet organic material.

“Some five percent of waste will still go to landfill for quite a while,” she said.

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The post Veolia Set To Invest £750m In UK Recycling Business appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Veolia has helped increase low carbon generation for the University of Bradford (UoB) by over a third by designing and installing an additional 525kWe combined heat and power unit, estimated to save more than £8m in energy costs over 20 years.

The post Veolia Delivers More Power To Bradford’s 50:@50 Programme appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Since England’s 5p charge came into practice in October last year, plastic bags collected by Veolia have reduced from an estimated 170m to 40m, the company says.

Richard Kirkman, Technical Director at Veolia UK and Ireland, said: “In just 365 days we’ve seen a huge drop in carrier bags coming through our facilities. In fact, plastic bags collected by Veolia have reduced from an estimated 170 million to 40 million, since the 5p charge came into practice last October – that’s a huge 75% reduction. This is a great achievement and something we, as a nation, should be very proud of.”

Veolia is now turning the carrier bags it does receive into new refuse sacks. Through its Bag2Bag scheme, launched in Southwark, it’s able to recycle the low density film – the main material in single use bags – back into single use refuse sacks that are then distributed back to Southwark residents.

“The 75% drop in carrier bags shows many people are not only thinking more environmentally friendly but acting more environmentally friendly too”

“This is a great illustration of the shared contribution Veolia and the residents of Southwark make to the circular economy,” Kirkman said. “We’re hoping to roll it out to other local authorities because if this was translated across the country we would save about 6.2bn bags. This is equal to 15,000 tonnes of material and 15,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, helping out in the battle against climate change.

“Equally important as the reduction in carrier bags itself, is the behavioural change it represents. The 75% drop in carrier bags shows many people are not only thinking more environmentally friendly but acting more environmentally friendly too. And when you walk down the street carrier bag litter has visibly reduced. All of this has been achieved in a very short space of time so we just need to keep up the momentum so we see further reductions in single use carrier bags on the second anniversary.”

He says, however, that carrier bags are just the “tip of the iceberg”.

“Imagine if we collected all the plastic in the UK and recycled all the plastic bottles,” he said. “Currently we only receive 50% of all plastic bottles but if we were to get them all this would save approximately 300,000 tonnes of materials, which is 300,000 tonnes of carbon, meaning we’d be well on our way to being a truly sustainable society.

“Our new facility in Dagenham is able to regenerate all the plastic milk bottles in London into food grade pellets to make new bottles. This is a huge step in the right direction and will double the UK’s recovery capabilities of high density plastic recycling. By reusing plastic, Veolia is closing the loop on a valuable resource and makes it possible to avoid pollution that is difficult to eliminate.”

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The post Plastic Bags Collected By Veolia Have Reduced By 75% appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Veolia has commissioned the production of a pair of platinum rings, made entirely from metal recovered from obsolete pharmaceuticals, as part of its Imagine 2050 report launch.

The rings, with a retail value of around £1,200, are 100% pure platinum and they were chosen to symbolise the circular economy – a concept which focuses on ‘closing the loop’ by reusing resources rather than throwing them away. Veolia is working in partnership with pharmaceutical company, Accord Healthcare, to turn the high-quality recovered platinum into new drugs.

A large amount of today’s leading specialist medications contain traces of precious metals. In common with all pharmaceutical products, medications have a limited shelf-life and, after this expires, must be sent for secure destruction. Using the latest recycling innovations, scientists at Veolia’s hazardous waste facility in Ellesmere Port can now remove the precious metals by applying a two-step recovery process to recover the precious metal for re-use.

Kevin Hurst, Chief Operating Officer – Industrial Customers, Veolia UK said: “This work really shows that we need to look at all waste materials to see what hidden value we can extract. This innovative collection of tiny amounts of platinum has now enabled us to create something that is unique. As mining has a significant impact on the environment, recovery techniques that maximise reuse make sound economic-sense in the highly volatile metals market. It also lowers emissions as each gram of recovered platinum saves 14kg of CO₂ compared to extracting ore.”

The post Veolia “Mines” Rings Recovered From Pharmaceuticals appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Veolia has published a new report which highlights the innovative business models needed in three sectors to meet resource and waste challenges between now and 2050 and could uncover £4bn of “hidden value”.

The report, “Imagine 2050“, says that the manufacturing, pharmaceutical & chemical and food & beverage sectors generate around 13 million tonnes of waste, and if this was properly reused, recycled or remanufactured, it could generate £4 billion of value that is currently ‘hidden’.

The report highlights the wide range of challenges including population growth, pressure to reduce carbon emissions and utilising technology advances to shape resource use in these three sectors.

It reveals how business models and operations can be re-engineered and redesigned by 2050 so that products and manufacturing processes are completed by closing the loop. By generating energy from renewable sources and no longer treating water as a cheap commodity, but a valuable resource, businesses will become more self-sufficient.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice-President, Veolia UK and Ireland, explains: “The £4 billion hidden value of unutilised resources in these industrial sectors is not something we can ignore.  Realising this value has a double windfall – it helps businesses manage their resources more efficiently, and generates new revenue streams.

“Adopting the innovative business models outlined in Imagine 2050 needs to happen now.  Long-term planning, minimising waste and more effectively using water, energy and raw materials will help us meet the changing needs of a growing population in a sustainable way. This is at the heart of the circular economy and in Veolia’s DNA.”

Change And Innovation

To meet these interlinked challenges, the report highlights priority changes and innovations in each sector.

Manufacturing businesses can benefit from £2.8 billion of hidden value in unutilised waste streams by generating, using and recovering energy and water resources and being closer to raw materials to secure supply chains with. By 2050, waste materials will be turned into tradable commodities, potentially enabling 100% recovery rates.  Nanotechnology and 3D printing will be embedded into supply chains, enabling more flexibility with production and more efficient use of resources.

“Meeting humanity’s rapidly growing consumption needs, with finite resources on a planet that is already under stress, requires more than greater resource efficiency. With three billion new middle class consumers anticipated by 2030, new business models must be explored if we are to continue to thrive.” Dr Nick Voulvoulis, Reader in Environmental Technology, Imperial College London

Businesses in the pharmaceutical and chemical sector have around £800 million of hidden value in unutilised resources. Designing efficiency into products at a concept stage and new dynamics, including new financial models, will enable medicines to be produced more efficiently. A move to individually treating patients rather than illnesses could also become possible, whilst 3D printing technology could enable the production of drugs on a mass scale at a local level.

“We’re likely to see greater collaboration between these specialist businesses and also with outside partners.  Brands like Google are already moving into this space.” Dr Linda Hilton, Innovation Process and Business Consultant.

Food production cost pressures will bring about major changes across the food and beverage sector, with companies needing to reimagine the by-products currently thrown away with around £460 million of unutilised resources. New technology will enable better use of energy for the sector and help minimise costs. Although what we eat may not change, where it comes from will be radically different, with cultured meats and insects playing a greater role in our diets.  Our emotional investment in food products will be deeper – purchases will be about relationships and trust.

“We’re already growing enough to feed the future world. We just don’t feed people with it. We don’t need to grow more stuff; we just need to stop throwing away the edible stuff that we do grow.” Dr Steve Evans, Director of Research, University of Cambridge

View the report in full here

The post Veolia Report Highlights £4bn Hidden Value In Key Sectors appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Veolia has highlighted its progress in delivering the circular economy in the UK following the launch of its most recent Sustainability Report.

In less than two years, the company has transformed from an energy, water and waste services provider to one that manufactures green products and energy and develops tailored solutions for resource efficiency.

Over 25% of Veolia’s business is already circular and the company is aiming to reach 40% by 2020. Growth is being supported by a £750m investment in the UK over the next five years as well as increasing revenue from sustainable innovation projects.

At the launch of the report, Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice-President of Veolia UK & Ireland said, “We need to be even bolder in realising that the circular economy presents for the UK right now. For our customers, tomorrow’s environmental challenges require action and innovation today and in the last year our activities have reduced carbon emissions by 2.15m tonnes.

“We need to be even bolder in realising that the circular economy presents for the UK right now.”

“As Responsible Business of the Year this emphasises our progess, and the future opportunities for our customers and the communities we serve.”

In the UK, Veolia diverts up to 98% of customer waste from landfill, generates sufficient low carbon and renewable energy to power the equivalent of over 1.5m homes and produces over 200,000 tonnes of compost.

Over 350 apprentices are employed, 65% of procurement spend is with small to medium-sized enterprises, and in the public sector up to £4 of social value can be achieved for every £1 spent.

To preserve water resources the company is using the latest data driven technologies to reduce water leakages from an industry average of 22% to below 4%, and helps industry to recycle around 300 million litres of water for reuse. Customers and communities get the energy they need from 590MWe of low carbon and renewable energy which includes releasing the potential from transforming household waste, sewage and food waste into heat and electricity.

The environmental and social advances made by the company have been widely recognised through a number of leading awards including Business in the Community’s (BITC) Responsible Business of the Year, BITC Sustainable Products and Services Award, and the Queens Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development.

To see a copy of the report visit http://www.veolia.co.uk/sustainability.

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The Veolia and Peterson partnership has been awarded two platform decommissioning contracts for recycling at their facility in Great Yarmouth.

With an aim of reaching 96% recycling rates the work to recycle materials and assets is expected to begin in Spring 2017 when the platforms arrive onshore.

The contracts include the onshore receipt and disposal of offshore materials and several assets for a major gas producer. The work will cover disposal options for a number of production complex and surrounding satellite platforms currently located around 40 miles off the coast of Great Yarmouth. Recycling is expected to start this year and will take around four years to complete.

“Our partnership has worked well at a number of sites and projects over the last ten years, and we are very pleased to secure the first important contracts into Great Yarmouth”

Recovering these platforms at the end of their operational life is essential, Veolia says. Now using the new facilities, the valuable materials that they contain can be carefully extracted and returned to industry for reuse, and where possible assets that have further operational life can be sold. This, in turn, helps boost the sustainability of the industry.

Simon Davies, Decommissioning General Manager of Veolia said: “The industry has been looking for collaboration and these new contracts show collaboration in action right down the supply chain. Our partnership has worked well at a number of sites and projects over the last ten years, and we are very pleased to secure the first important contracts into Great Yarmouth.”

Ron van der Laan, Regional Director, Peterson added: “We have been working hard on this development since 2013. These contract awards are a significant milestone and step towards establishing Great Yarmouth as a centre of excellence for decommissioning in the Southern North Sea”.

The partnership has been providing onshore decommissioning services for over 10 years. Set up to cover the full decommissioning of platforms the services include decontamination, deconstruction, waste management and environmental services together with associated integrated logistics, marine and quayside services. To date the joint venture has recovered over 80,000 tonnes of offshore materials and achieved ‘excellent’ environmental assessment ratings in the process. The new works will help create approximately 10 new jobs, with further expansion and employment as the projects develop.

Supported by Peel Ports Great Yarmouth, Local Enterprise Partnership, Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Norfolk County Council the new decommissioning site at Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour aims to establish Great Yarmouth as the centre for decommissioning, and to expand to meet the growing need for this type of work.

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Council leaders at Sheffield City Council are considering proposals to end the authority’s waste contract with provider Veolia, saying the contract no longer “compatible with the tough financial landscape in which the Government is forcing us to operate”.

At present, Veolia is responsible for collecting and disposing of waste, running household waste recycling centres, managing and operating the energy recovery facility at Bernard Road and the district heating network, bulky item collections and the collection and disposal of abandoned vehicles.

The current contract was signed in 2001 and is set to expire in 2036.

However, proposals are set to be discussed by Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet next week where members will consider alternative solutions to provide waste services in the city.

Councillor Bryan Lodge, cabinet member for the environment at Sheffield City Council, said: “It is no secret that we are operating in very tough financial times and we have to do things differently.

“Our contract with Veolia, which was signed 16 years ago, is no longer meeting our needs and is no longer compatible with the tough financial landscape in which the Government is forcing us to operate.”

“Our contract with Veolia, which was signed 16 years ago, is no longer meeting our needs and is no longer compatible with the tough financial landscape in which the Government is forcing us to operate.

“In last year’s budget we set out crucial savings targets and unfortunately we have been unable to achieve these savings from the existing contract. We need to find a best-value solution that ensures a quality waste service for Sheffield taxpayers.

“We also know that Veolia currently employs around 180 people in Sheffield. We are committed to consulting with the affected workforce on any proposed changes if they are approved by Cabinet next week.”

If the Council’s Cabinet agrees that the contract should be ended and new arrangements procured, the utmost priority will be to ensure that waste services continue to run smoothly throughout the process, it says. The contract with Veolia will continue until a new service provider is in place.

At the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday 18 January members are also being asked to consider changes to the way in which waste and recycling services are provided.

The main changes proposed include replacing the blue box with an additional recycling bin; charging for new and replacement black bins and green bins and changing collection times from 7am to 4pm Monday to Friday, to 6am to 9pm.

Other proposed changes include collecting bins at flats on weekends between 7am and 4pm; introducing the collection of plastic bottles for recycling at flats and the introduction of shared black bins and/or recycling bins, following local consultation, where steps or space makes it difficult for residents to store bins on their property.

There are no plans to introduce three-weekly collections of waste, it says, and the majority of changes would not take place until any new arrangements are put in place.

Cllr Lodge added: “We are confident that, by making changes to our waste policy, we can continue to provide a high-quality service to residents – and provide better value for money at the same time.”

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HRH The Princess Royal opened the Battlefield energy recovery facility (ERF) in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

The site, developed by Veolia on behalf of Shropshire Council, has been built with the latest recovery technology to help transform residents’ residual waste into a resource.

The facility processes 90,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household waste from across the county generating 8MW of low carbon energy – enough to power 10,000 homes via the National Grid.

“This facility is part of a long-term investment in recycling and recovery infrastructure over the lifetime of the contract and will significantly contribute towards maximising landfill diversion.”

Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia senior executive vice president Veolia UK and Ireland said: “Over the past 10 years we have worked very closely with Shropshire Council to develop an integrated approach to the county’s waste management and recycling. This facility is part of a long-term investment in recycling and recovery infrastructure over the lifetime of the contract and will significantly contribute towards maximising landfill diversion.”

Councillor Ann Hartley, chairman Shropshire Council, said: “This excellent facility is at the heart of our commitment to sustainability and making the best use of our resources. It allows us to divert non-recyclable waste away from landfill and into a green energy and complements the new household recycling centres we have opened and the improvements to our kerbside recycling service.”

“All these developments have helped to increase our recycling rate, which for many years has been above the national average. As recycling rates go up, the amount of waste going to landfill has fallen hugely benefiting the county’s environment.  We have worked closely with Veolia in a partnership that has seen significant and notable improvements to the service that we provide to our residents.”

The plant began construction in October 2012 and became fully operational in May 2015. At its peak more than 180 construction workers, worked on the building and it now employs 24 members of staff in highly skilled positions.

The ERF Facility is part of a 27-year contract between Shropshire Council and Veolia.

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As part of its strategy for growth and customer development, Veolia has acquired energy services company and Energy Performance Contract (EPC) specialist, Cynergin.

Over recent years, Cynergin has enjoyed a number of Hospital Trust and public building energy projects, such as the Yeovil and Warrington & Halton Hospital Trusts and Somerset House and has a strong business pipeline, Veolia says.

The acquisition provides a complementary set of skills to the existing Veolia business in bidding, delivering and maintaining EPCs and will further extend the capabilities and expertise of the existing energy efficiency teams in the UK, it says.

The new team will remain focused on delivering under the procurement frameworks to which it is accredited including CEF, Essentia, RE:FIT, NDEE etc.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President, Veolia UK and Ireland said: “We believe in the development of the energy business and this latest acquisition demonstrates our commitment to increasing energy efficiency and sustainability. We share Cynergin’s commitment to delivering innovative solutions and long term business value to customers, and our first priority will be to ensure all customers within the recently acquired portfolio continue to receive a high quality service.

“With the addition of Cynergin’s expertise and bidding approach, Veolia is further strengthening its service offering to the healthcare and public sectors to ensure we maintain the existing growth in the management of Energy Frameworks and address the needs of these dynamic markets, providing not only energy, but water and waste solutions.”

“With the addition of Cynergin’s expertise and bidding approach, Veolia is further strengthening its service offering to the healthcare and public sectors to ensure we maintain the existing growth in the management of Energy Frameworks and address the needs of these dynamic markets, providing not only energy, but water and waste solutions.”

Delivering energy management to hospitals since 1938, Veolia currently provides energy management to over 100 hospitals in the UK and Ireland, which support the energy requirements for around 7.9m patients each year.

This increases sustainability of the healthcare sector by annually saving 119,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The company also recently helped Whitfield Clinic in Waterford to become the first hospital in Ireland and the UK to achieve the new ISO50001 energy management accreditation.

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Sheffield City Council leaders have agreed to re-procure the authority’s waste services currently provided under a contract with Veolia, 20 years before the contract was originally due to end.

At a meeting held yesterday (18 January) at Sheffield Town Hall (pictured), Sheffield City Council’s cabinet committee voted to re-procure waste services, with a view to securing a new and improved service arrangement.

The priority now will be to ensure that the service continues to run smoothly, throughout the process of procuring new arrangements for waste services.

“Our contract with Veolia, which was signed 16 years ago, is no longer meeting our needs and is no longer compatible with the tough financial landscape in which the Government is forcing us to operate.”

Unless residents are specifically told of any changes, waste and recycling services will continue as normal and collection days will remain the same.

The contract with Veolia, which is due to expire in 2036, will continue until a new service provider is in place.

Councillor Bryan Lodge, cabinet member for the environment at Sheffield City Council, said: “We needed to find a best-value solution that ensures a quality waste service for Sheffield taxpayers, and this led us to the decision that was made yesterday.

“It is no secret that we are operating in very tough financial times and we have to do things differently.

“Our contract with Veolia, which was signed 16 years ago, is no longer meeting our needs and is no longer compatible with the tough financial landscape in which the Government is forcing us to operate.”

Veolia currently employs around 280 people in Sheffield. Sheffield City Council is committed to consulting with the affected workforce on these changes.

At present, Veolia is responsible for collecting and disposing of waste, running household waste recycling centres, managing and operating the Energy Recovery Facility at Bernard Road and the district heating network, bulky item collections and the collection and disposal of abandoned vehicles.

Dissapointed

A Veolia spokesperson said: “We are obviously disappointed by Sheffield City Council’s decision to seek to re-tender for its waste services. We have had a successful partnership with the Council, to date this relationship has lasted for sixteen years.

“During this time we have delivered state of the art treatment infrastructure, operated the flagship district energy network and significantly increased recycling.

“From the start of our contract in 2001, we have been a major investor in Sheffield, outperforming our contractual objectives and achieving close to landmark ‘zero waste to landfill’, whilst generating direct financial benefits to the city and providing value for money to the Council.

“Over £3m has been donated to community projects in the Sheffield area via the Veolia Environmental Trust.

“We will work with the Council to understand their timescales and ensure adherence to the full contractual implications of this decision. We’ll continue to keep our staff fully informed of developments as the situation becomes clearer.”

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Veolia has increased its capacity for generating renewable energy from food waste with a contract to design and manage a 520kWe biogas-fired combined head and power (CHP) energy plant for Rose Hill Recycling in Gloucestershire.

The CHP plant is fuelled by the biogas derived from mixed food waste collected from across the Cotswolds and will save around 1750 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year. The new CHP will increase the use of resources and make the site energy self-sufficient using renewable energy.

Based in Dymock, Rose Hill Recycling, is a composting and recycling facility which processes 35,000 tonnes of food and farm waste per annum. Already playing a key role in Gloucestershire County Council’s food waste recycling strategy the new CHP site is now be able to generate 4.56GWh of renewable electricity each year – enough energy to supply around 1400 homes.

“Reducing food waste is very important, but our unavoidable and inedible food waste still has a value as a resource. Current estimates show that if all the UK’s inedible domestic food waste was processed by AD, it could generate enough electricity for 350,000 households.”

The site’s anaerobic digestion facility will use the heat from the CHP to help turn the food-waste, animal waste and energy crops into biogas. This is then fed back to the cogeneration unit to provide renewable electricity and heat forming a closed loop energy solution, taking the power demand off the local Grid, and contribute to the Government’s target for 20% of the UK’s power to come from renewables by 2020. The CHP plant is now delivering renewable energy, and will add to Veolia’s existing 40MWe UK biogas electricity generating capacity.

Commenting on the latest biogas CHP project, Gavin Graveson, Veolia’s COO Public and Commercial said “Reducing food waste is very important, but our unavoidable and inedible food waste still has a value as a resource. Current estimates show that if all the UK’s inedible domestic food waste was processed by AD, it could generate enough electricity for 350,000 households.

“By effectively optimising all the opportunities for biogas CHP we will ensure we can capture this valuable resource and contribute even more to the circular economy. This latest project effectively moves nearer this goal and has already saved over 1300 tonnes of emissions.”

Mark Bennion, Owner and Director of Rosehill Recycling said: “Food waste sent to landfill gives off methane which is around 20 times more harmful to the environment than CO₂. By using these scraps and peelings as a renewable energy resource, rather than sending it to landfill, we can help reduce carbon emissions and save local taxpayers money by recycling. It’s a win-win solution that will help to protect our environment.”

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