Veolia and UK mineral wool insulation manufacturer, Knauf Insulation, have entered into a long term contract to construct a state-of-the-art glass cullet processing facility in St. Helens, Merseyside, UK. 

The facility will be constructed and operated by Veolia and will take glass from Veolia’s wide portfolio and process it to a “furnace-ready” quality. It will provide Knauf Insulation with a stable supply of high quality recycled glass from packaging, which is a key raw material used to manufacture energy saving insulation products. The facility will be built by the end of this year, Veolia says.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice-President at Veolia UK & Ireland, said: “This venture with Knauf Insulation provides a closed loop solution for glass packaging from our Material Recovery Facilities.

“This will save raw materials, lessen energy demand, cut CO2 emissions and reduce the amount of materials going to landfill. It is set to be the first of its kind in the UK and represents a significant investment in circular thinking, new technology and jobs and will ensure we keep the highest quality of glass in circulation.”

“It is set to be the first of its kind in the UK and represents a significant investment in circular thinking, new technology and jobs and will ensure we keep the highest quality of glass in circulation”

The new facility will dry and refine tens of thousands of tonnes of glass into a “furnace ready cullet”, a recycled standard of glass that has been cleaned and crushed into small fragments. The cullet is then fed into a furnace where it is melted and spun into glass mineral wool in order to manufacture energy saving insulation products.

This furnace ready recycled glass produces less CO2 and replaces the need to use virgin raw materials from quarries, Veolia says. The process itself uses less energy than traditional methods of manufacturing mineral wool insulation, with the associated energy saving generated from recycling a single glass bottle equal to powering a 100-watt light bulb for almost an hour.

It will ensure a full end-to-end sustainable solution for this infinitely recyclable material, saving raw materials.

The £10m investment by Veolia will create 18 permanent jobs in St Helens and will provide Knauf Insulation with a stable supply of high quality recycled glass.

John Sinfield, Managing Director at Knauf Insulation Northern Europe, addded: “Given recent shortages impacting the construction sector, our customers can be reassured that we are working proactively upstream to further enhance the security of our supply.

“The construction of the new facility should also help grow the local economy through the creation of new jobs and the use of local firms to carry out the relevant construction work”.

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The post New Veolia Facility To Turn Glass Into Energy Saving Insulation Products appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Veolia has signed a major new eight-year recycling and waste services contract spanning four South London boroughs.

The contract, worth over £209m, with two possible eight year extensions, has seen 330 staff join Veolia.

Starting today (3 April 2017), Veolia will be responsible for delivering a “new-look” collection service to households in Sutton, as well as a “no change” collection service in Merton.

This sort of cross-party, cross-boundary working is going to have to become the norm if we are to achieve the more harmonised approach to waste collections that regional and national government are advocating.

The new service will be introduced in Merton and Croydon in October 2018 and Kingston in April 2019. Veolia will manage recycling and waste collections, street cleansing, commercial waste, recyclate material sales, winter maintenance and vehicle management for one million residents over the four London boroughs.

The contract means 1m residents across south London are to receive a “harmonised recycling” and waste collection service, the South London Waste Partnership says, which acts on behalf of the four boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton.

The move will see services move from in-house at Merton and Sutton to all being operated by Veolia, similar to those already operated in Croydon and Kingston and will help each council achieve cost savings from measures including fortnightly refuse collections, which will help to boost recycling. Veolia says. Residents will be able to recycle a number of materials such as paper, glass, plastic and food waste.

These services will operate alongside the South London Waste Partnership (SLWP) Household Waste and Recycling Centres contract, which was awarded to Veolia in July 2015 to manage reuse and recycling of household waste across six sites.

Working Together

Councillor Phil Doyle, Chair of the South London Waste Partnership Joint Committee said: “These new contracts will deliver high quality services and save tens of millions of pounds – well in excess of the £30m savings target that was set. Working together, the four boroughs have negotiated excellent deals with two commercial partners who bring huge experience and expertise to the table.

“When we started out on this procurement in 2015, there were some who doubted we would ever get to this point. Recycling and rubbish collection in particular is such a sensitive and difficult service to be re-designing. Doing this across four London boroughs, with three different political parties in power, was seen by some as too difficult.

“But the four boroughs of the South London Waste Partnership have once again worked together in an effective and business-like manner. This sort of cross-party, cross-boundary working is going to have to become the norm if we are to achieve the more harmonised approach to waste collections that regional and national government are advocating. The South London Waste Partnership has shown that it can be done.”

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President, Veolia UK and Ireland said: “Through the Partnership, we have the opportunity to harmonise services across the four London boroughs to deliver significant cost savings and high quality, reliable services that will boost sustainability and preserve resources.

“As winners of Business in the Community’s Responsible Business of the Year, we look forward to the opportunity to put Veolia at the heart of these communities in south London and to support a more sustainable future for everyone.”

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Veolia is set to bring innovation to its vehicles with the aim of further advancing safety for other road users, pedestrians and cyclists.

The waste firm is making a £5m investment over the next two years in low entry, high vision vehicle cabs which will actively support Transport for London’s CLOCS programme to enhance road safety.

By working in partnership with the commercial vehicle design team at Renault Trucks UK, the new 26 tonne low entry day cab vehicle will significantly enhance direct driver visibility and urban safety using greater window areas and a nearside vision door.

This will substantially reduce blind spots and enable the driver to respond more quickly according to the latest research from the University of Leeds.

“By introducing this development for our fleet we will help to safeguard other road users and our crews and support the London Mayor’s new five-star rating Direct Vision Standard for HGVs.”

Highlighting this latest innovation, Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia’s Senior Executive Vice-President, UK & Ireland said, “Work safe, home safe, is our top priority for both our teams and for the communities where we work and as Responsible Business of the Year this emphasises our key commitment to safety.

“By introducing this development for our fleet we will help to safeguard other road users and our crews and support the London Mayor’s new five-star rating Direct Vision Standard for HGVs.”

John Avery from Renault Trucks National Fleet added: “By working with Veolia we have been able to gain a real insight into the complexities of their operating environment and to deliver an ex-factory solution designed around their urban cycle.

“This project has helped us to look at how, by working with our customer and taking an innovative, solutions-based approach, we can make significant, cost effective advances in safety and operational performance.”

With a central focus on maintaining health and safety and the environments where they work, the low level cab places the driver in a better position nearer to the road and increases manoevrability.

Now a standard online factory solution from Renault Trucks the vehicle provides a first step height 75mm lower than most traditional low entry cab models for easier crew access, and will also improve productivity and when vehicles only have a crew of two.

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Veolia Environmental Services was accused by Unite, the country’s largest union, of “hiding” behind Brexit by not incorporating overtime pay into annual holiday pay for its refuse workers.

According to the Union, the waste company cited “Brexit legal uncertainty”, for not doing so.

Unite hailed an employment tribunal ruling last week as a “landmark victory”, which will have implications for the union’s several thousand members working on French-owned Veolia’s council waste and refuse contracts across the UK.

Unite said that employment Judge Skehan found that the voluntary overtime worked on test cases pursued by Unite Legal Services was part of members’ normal pay, because there was an “intrinsic link between the overtime and their role”, and because it was “performed with sufficient regularity to be part of normal pay”.

Veolia did not put forward any legal arguments, the inion said.

As a result, voluntary overtime must be included in the calculation of the successful claimants’ holiday pay for the first 20 days of their holiday each year in accordance with EU law.

Contractually guaranteed overtime should also be included for the first 28 days based on long established UK law, which Unite said Veolia was forced to concede on day two of the hearing.

“This judgment will have widespread implications for the several thousand members we have working for Veolia Environmental Services across the UK, who should be getting average holiday pay and could be in line for backdated payments.”

Unite national officer for local government Fiona Farmer said: “This is a significant landmark case which exposed Veolia’s spurious reasons of Brexit and last year’s referendum for not conforming to European Union law.

“Unite Legal Services took test cases to the Watford employment tribunal which found in our members’ favour – and we will now be seeking a national agreement with Veolia covering all holiday pay issues.

“This judgment will have widespread implications for the several thousand members we have working for Veolia Environmental Services across the UK, who should be getting average holiday pay and could be in line for backdated payments.

“We do question why the company spent more than two years and enormous legal bills fighting this flagrant lack of acknowledgement of EU law.”

The ruling from Watford employment tribunal covers Veolia contracts for Bromley and Camden councils.

Unite said there are over a hundred more employment tribunal cases being handled by Unite Legal Services in different tribunals for members on other Veolia contracts.

Unite warned that there are thousands more claims that can and will be lodged, if Veolia does not “wake up and work with the union to resolve all members’ holiday pay issues”.

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Veolia is set to roll out its national coffee cup “solution” to make cup recycling possible in offices across the UK after finding 52% of regular takeaway hot drink consumers, those that buy at least four or more drinks a week, dispose of their cup at work.

With 84% of takeaway hot drink consumers still using disposable cups, Veolia’s coffee cup solution aims to collect takeaway cups as soon as the consumer has finished their drink to reduce cup contamination and increase recycling rates.

Supported by trials with partners such as Costa and Starbucks, Veolia’s coffee cup solution is now available to existing customers nationwide and to potential new customers, as part of a packaged service, and offers multiple service options.

These include a specialist designed in-house recycling bin, a bulk collection option and a post back service – which is available to all business types nationally.

By capturing cups before they enter the general waste stream, Veolia’s solution aims to get a higher quality of material that can be reprocessed into a new product.

“Over the last six months a lot of activities have been taking place with our customers, such as Costa and Starbucks to overcome our biggest challenge – contamination in the cups. As a result, we’ve worked on a solution that will separate the cup from the general waste stream as soon as the customer has enjoyed their drink.”

A staggering 88% of the public would use a purpose-built recycling bin to ensure their disposable paper cup is recycled, Veolia says. Almost half (47%) would even be willing to hold onto their cup for longer if they knew they would pass a purpose-built bin and nearly a quarter (24%) would go out of their way to use one.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice-President at Veolia UK & Ireland, comments: “Over the last six months a lot of activities have been taking place with our customers, such as Costa and Starbucks to overcome our biggest challenge – contamination in the cups. As a result, we’ve worked on a solution that will separate the cup from the general waste stream as soon as the customer has enjoyed their drink.

“The research highlights the integral role we all play in creating a sustainable future by ensuring our resources are kept in the loop for longer. When it comes to coffee cups, I’d like to take this opportunity to further encourage a mass collaboration between designers, manufacturers, vendors and consumers as we all have a part to play in the ultimate solution – as well as those less obviously involved in helping to recycle coffee cups, such as offices, campuses and train stations.”

Once the consumer has “Tipped-it, flipped-it and stacked-it” – a process to ensure any remaining liquid is drained and the lid, sleeve and cup are separated – Veolia undertakes a further separation process to guarantee all rogue items have been removed. This is key because it will help to ensure a higher quality of material that can be reprocessed into a new product, the company says.

After the cups have been debagged, separated, checked for quality and contamination and baled up they go on to further treatment at paper pulping facilities, which recover the fibres and separate the polymer plastic lining. Working with a number of outlets, the fibre could potentially be used to make a multitude of products such as egg boxes or cup holders given back out in stores or alternatively used in the manufacturing of cellulose-based insulation for homes.

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The post Veolia Rolls Out National “Solution” To Coffee Cup Recycling appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Veolia and Peterson have accepted the first offshore structure into their Great Yarmouth decommissioning facility. With a target of achieving a 97 percent recycling and reuse rate, the contract covers the receipt and treatment of offshore assets and materials from 50km off the Norfolk coastline in the Southern North Sea.

The Shell Leman BH platform accommodation block, known as the ‘topside’, arrived into the harbour on 11 July and the 50m-high steel jacket structure that supported the topside is due to follow later in July. The topside, which was previously used as living quarters for personnel working on the Leman BT and Leman BK platforms, has now come to its new home to be recycled.

The contract was awarded to the partnership by Boskalis which are responsible for offshore removal and transport operations.

The purpose built Great Yarmouth decommissioning facility will manage the deconstruction and recycling of both topsides and jacket structures that comprise around 1,600 tonnes of materials and assets. The Great Yarmouth facility is ideally placed to manage projects from the Southern and Central North Sea, supporting the local economy and supply chain. It has also provided employment opportunities through the creation of approximately 10 jobs, with further expansion and employment as the projects develop.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President, Veolia UK and Ireland said: “These are valuable assets in our seas and by decommissioning these platforms we can unlock resources to give them a second, third or even fourth life. This latest project will continue to show how we can maximise the recycling of these platforms and drive sustainability in the industry. Our partnership has successfully delivered a number of projects over the last ten years, this latest one will further the growth of the business and local opportunities in Great Yarmouth.”

Recovering offshore production platforms and facilities and decommissioning them in a responsible manner is routine business for operators as oil and gas fields reach the end of their productive life. Decommissioning is a step in the lifecycle of any oil and gas project. Making use of the assets helps increase the sustainability of the industry and by using the new facilities the valuable materials that they contain can be carefully extracted and reused or resold if they have further use elsewhere.

Set up to provide a full decommissioning service Veolia-Peterson 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 post First Offshore Structure Arrives For Decommissioning At Veolia Site appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

As 50,000 people celebrated at the London Pride event last week, more than 140 extra staff and vehicles cleared bottles, banners and flags so that the streets were left clean for the following morning, as well as using much of the waste collected to provide power to local homes.

Veolia, in partnership with Westminster City Council, cleared a total of 50 tonnes of waste in a non-stop operation until 3am on Sunday morning, as the party continued into Soho. An estimated 10,000 bags were collected by the team, the equivalent weight of four double decker parade buses!

To do this as quickly and effectively as possible, Veolia lined up extra resources, including 30 extra vehicles, such as mechanical brooms and hot flushing vehicles; a 25% increase in staff – totaling 550 people in total sweeping and collecting waste in the borough; and extra “elbow grease: using 75 additional brooms!

An overnight clean-up before the event was also undertaken to ensure London looked its best for visitors and parade participants of which there were 300 groups marching and more floats than ever before this year.

All waste collected was sent to the Veolia run energy recovery facility in south east London, SELCHP, to heat and power local London homes as a more sustainable solution to dispose of waste and supply much needed energy. The amount of waste collected is enough to power 620,000 London televisions for an hour while they watch the Pride Festival highlights.

Helder Branco, Senior Contract Manager for Veolia Westminster said: ‘We’ve been working in partnership with Westminster Council since 1995 to keep the Capital’s streets clean and we are proud to support the community in a number of special events throughout the year, such as the Pride Festival.  It’s great that we are able to use the waste collected as a resource, to add further value to London in providing power to local homes.’

Westminster City Council Cabinet Member for Environment, Sport and Community, David Harvey added: “Westminster hosts a full calendar of spectacular events every year which simply wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of our waste disposal teams. They are our unsung heroes who do an extraordinary job of tidying up after events like Pride, often through the night, to make sure our streets are back to normal as soon as possible.”

The post Pride Powers London Homes In 10,000 Bag Clear Up appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Veolia expects to reach a compromise with the Sheffield City Council over its waste handling contract in the coming months, following the announcement that the Council was seeking to end its contract with the environmental services firm 20 years early.

The Council threatened to cancel the 2001-2036 contract in January this year. Under the contract, 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.

At the time, Councillor Bryan Lodge, cabinet member for the environment at Sheffield City Council, said the council needed to find a “best-value solution” that ensures a quality waste service for Sheffield taxpayers.

“Negotiations are continuing with Sheffield. I am rather confident we can find an agreement in the next months.”

He said: “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 chief executive Antoine Frerot said on Monday (31 July), according to Reuters, “Negotiations are continuing with Sheffield. I am rather confident we can find an agreement in the next months.”

Frerot said that Veolia had told the city that cancelling the contract would lead to a claim for compensation for the depreciation costs of the investment as well as for earnings on which it missed out.

A Reuters source at Sheffield city management said the contract costs the city about £30m per year.

Waste handling costs in Sheffield are among the lowest in Britain, Frerot said, adding that the city wants to reduce the cost of the contract significantly to help ease the pressure on its budget.

According to Veolia, a compromise could take the form of a lower price, possibly by extending the contract duration so that the investments are depreciated over a longer period.

Mr Frerot said that treating waste from other areas in the Sheffield facilities could also be a way to reduce costs.

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The post Veolia “Confident” Over Sheffield Waste Contract Negotiations appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Veolia has been confirmed as preferred bidder for a ten-year municipal waste and recycling collection contract by Stafford Borough Council.

Worth around £35m, the contract includes the processing of dry recycling which will advance services to help the Council meet its environmental objectives. Set to commence in February 2018 Veolia, working in partnership with the Council, will be looking at a series of initiatives to increase recycling, reduce contamination and help improve the environment.

The contract will provide services to over 57,000 homes including recycling and household waste, garden and commercial waste collections as well as ‘Bring Sites’ – which are additional recycling points located in key areas across the Borough.

Backing these operations is investment in a new fleet of frontline vehicles and Veolia will be introducing new efficient routing based on the Borough’s topography and road network. This aims to reduce collection route miles and avoid traffic sensitive areas to help ease congestion during collection times.

Furthermore, Veolia will be implementing its municipal smart technology ‘ECHO’ providing the ability to track vehicles, confirm tasks, change routes and add collections into the system in real-time, facilitating the delivery of a tailored service that can react to day-to-day occurrences.

“Our teams are dedicated to providing an efficient service to the communities we serve, and this new contract will help increase recycling rates across the borough enabling it to better realise the value of its recycling as a valuable commodity.”

As part of its plans to drive continuous improvement across all aspects of the service, the Stafford-Veolia partnership also has plans to improve services, reduce contamination and curb fly tipping through a ‘Hotspotting ’approach. Intelligence gathered by the Echo system will identify service challenge ‘Hot Spots’ and this insight will be used to help carry out targeted education and engagement campaigns – a more efficient, effective and appropriate option to address these challenges than Borough wide campaigns.

Commenting on the contract, Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President, Veolia UK and Ireland said: “We are very pleased to have been confirmed as preferred bidder for the contract to deliver recycling and waste services for Stafford Borough Council.

“Our teams are dedicated to providing an efficient service to the communities we serve, and this new contract will help increase recycling rates across the borough enabling it to better realise the value of its recycling as a valuable commodity.”

Veolia is also investing in its people with a Professional Development Programme being implemented to help staff develop new skills. This training will be arranged through Veolia’s very own training and development campus located in Staffordshire, with the aim of enhancing social value via Third Sector partnerships.

Veolia has a strong and established presence in the Midlands region. It has local offices in Four Ashes and Cannock and provides services to the communities in Staffordshire, and the neighbouring areas in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.

Additionally, in 2014 Veolia’s Energy Recovery Facility opened in Four Ashes, which converts non-recyclable residual waste into green energy that can power 66,000 homes. This delivers tax savings of about £10 million a year to the residents of Staffordshire and has created 40 jobs.

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The post Veolia Preferred Bidder For Stafford Council Waste Contract appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

The clean-up operation by Westminster City Council, in partnership with Veolia, had 170 staff and 30 vehicles poised ready to clear the waste left behind by carnival-goers in time for the morning commute on Tuesday. 

Ten tonnes of waste was recycled and the remaining waste was converted into green energy and sent to the National Grid and then on to power and heat local homes within London.

It is estimated that somewhere in the region of 20,000 kWh of heat and 100,000 kWh of electricity was produced. That’s enough for 80,000 hot showers or to make 700,000 cups of tea.

The recycling and waste collected from this year’s carnival was mainly plastic bottles, beer cans and food packaging a long with additional props used by carnival-celebrators including sequins, inflatables, costume parts and much more.

The council offered a free cleaning service to front gardens and basements of households along the carnival’s route to remove litter dropped by partygoers. Over 150 brooms and shovels were used by a team of sweepers over 100 streets.

Councillor David Harvey, Westminster City Council Cabinet Member for Environment, Sports and Community said: “While the clean-up operation represents a logistical challenge, our Council officers and Veolia have done us proud. The transformation is staggering and I know our residents and visitors appreciate their dedication. It is hard to imagine that only yesterday our streets were lined people celebrating  Europe’s biggest street festival.”

Helder Branco, Senior Contract Manager for Veolia in Westminster added: “While the clean-up following Notting Hill Carnival represents a sizeable challenge, it’s one we relish because it’s a real team effort. We deal with the waste in the most sustainable way possible and are pleased to be able to use it to power and heat local homes.”

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The post Notting Hill Carnival Clear-Up Sees 10 Tonnes Of Waste Recycled appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

The results of a new YouGov survey, released by Veolia, show that British consumers are demanding more packaging to be both recyclable and made from recycled material. Over half, for example, would favour a new drink – of a similar price, quality and flavour – in a recyclable bottle over their regular choice, if its packaging was unrecyclable, it revealed.

Released to coincide with the official opening of Veolia’s Dagenham Plastics Facility, the survey added that 30% of adults now consider recyclable packaging ‘important’ when choosing a drink to buy… more important than the brand (26%) and the aesthetics of the bottle (9%).

Veolia says that what this reveals is, whilst innovations in packaging represent incredible breakthroughs in technology that keep food and drink fresher for longer and perishables undamaged, the lifecycle of the packaging is becoming increasingly important. It’s important that when separated films, laminates and composites are also considered as currently they are often contaminated or are simply too complex to recycle – highlighting the need for manufacturers, retailers, regulators and experts in the recycling sector to work together to make more packaging easily recyclable.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President of Veolia UK & Ireland, said: “In the UK we fail to capture 44% of all of the plastic bottles we use but imagine if we collected and recycled all of these. This would save approximately 300,000 tonnes of materials and we’d be well on our way to being a truly sustainable society.

“I’m a firm believer that the solution to making all plastics easily recyclable and increasing the percentage of recycled material in packaging lies in collaboration. And as the public’s awareness of packaging and recycling continues to rise we hope to see more of the supply chain working together to solve the packaging puzzle –  and our doors are open to any manufacturer wishing to discuss how we can recycle packaging more easily by working together.”

Part of London’s Aims

Speaking at the official opening of Veolia’s Dagenham Plastic Facility (which produces approximately 10,000 tonnes of high quality food grade HDPE pellets annually), Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor of London for Business, said: “London continues to be the leading destination for European companies looking to scale up. There are many opportunities for businesses in London’s outer boroughs and Veolia’s investment in Dagenham will bring jobs and prosperity to the area. Clearly, London remains open to talent, investment and business from around the world.

“The Mayor is committed to helping Londoners recycle more and waste less, as we aim for 65 percent recycling by 2030. This facility is an example of the circular approach to using resources Sadiq has adopted. By taking London’s plastic bottles and reprocessing them in the capital we’re keeping valuable resources circulating and creating value in the local economy. What’s more, this research is encouraging news and shows that messages about reducing the amount of materials we waste are changing consumers’ attitudes.”

The post Consumers WILL Pay For Recyclable Packaging, Says Veolia appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Different coloured wheelie bins for waste and recycling can work for most people, but they are not an effective aid for people with a visual impairment.

Two visually impaired sisters from Sutton are now able to easily identify their wheelie bins and recycle as much as they can after holes were drilled into their containers for easy identification by the waste collection service provider, Veolia.

Mary Philips and her twin sister, Jane, live together and they contacted Veolia in May about the new waste collection service changes and their concerns in using the new containers.

“We are keen recyclers and have been for many years. When the new waste and recycling service was introduced, we contacted Sutton Council to ask for more information about how to use the new containers”

Veolia’s recycling advisers visited the sisters to explain the service and solved their identification problems by drilling different number of holes in each of the bins they use.

This month Veolia’s Recycling Advisers re-visited the sisters to check the solution was working for them and that they were managing to use the collection service without any difficulties.

Mary and Jane said: “We are keen recyclers and have been for many years. When the new waste and recycling service was introduced, we contacted Sutton Council to ask for more information about how to use the new containers.

“Two Recycling Advisers explained the service and made it very practical for us to use the service. The idea with the holes is great and it is so much easier now.”

Jane added: “I’ve sent a note to the Talking Newspaper, for the visually impaired, to talk about this new approach in identifying the bins, raise awareness and share my experience. People that have any problems identifying the different bins should contact the Council and they will help. We definitely recommend this.”

The Philips sisters have recommended Veolia to two of their friends who have also benefited from this simple but effective approach.

Visit www.sutton.gov.uk/recycling for more information

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The post Identification Holes Help Visually Impaired To Recycle appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Hertfordshire County Council’s Development Control Committee has approved plans for Veolia to build an energy from waste facility in Hoddesdon. 

Ian Reay, Chair of the Council’s Development Control Committee, said: “We’ve reached this decision after a lengthy debate on the pros and cons of Veolia’s proposals.

“We’ve heard representations on the impacts this facility will have on the local area – including concerns about noise, pollution and traffic as well as the potential impact on the local air quality.

“But on the other hand, we’ve heard about the urgent need for a waste treatment facility in the county, the lack of suitable alternative sites and the positive impact the proposal will have on the local economy.

“It hasn’t been a straightforward decision – and I know it won’t be universally popular – but overall the committee felt that the negative impacts of the facility are clearly outweighed by the benefits, and therefore we’ve resolved that planning permission be granted for the proposal subject to appropriate planning conditions and the prior conclusion of a Section 106 agreement.”

A Veolia spokesperson added: “In December 2017 Hertfordshire’s Development Control Committee resolved to grant permission for this much needed treatment infrastructure. The Rye House planning application is a long-term and sustainable solution to handle Hertfordshire’s residual waste challenge and this decision allows us to move the project forward subject to a review by DCLG. This represents a significant investment in the UK’s delivery of low carbon energy and benefits the environment allowing waste to be treated locally and maximising landfill diversion.”

The Secretary of State may now choose to call in the application for his determination. If he doesn’t call in the application, the council will issue a formal decision notice granting planning permission upon the completion of the Section 106 Agreement.

The proposed development site is the grey building on the right hand aside of the above picture

The post Veolia’s Hoddesdon EfW Plans Approved By Herts County Council appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

IVECO has supplied three Daily Natural Power to Veolia to carry specialist equipment for removing graffiti, as part of its new contract with the London Borough of Camden.

Supplied by IVECO dealer, Northern Commercials, the Daily Natural Power light commercials feature purpose-built spark ignition engines, which deliver performance comparable to a diesel in terms of power, torque and response, VECO explained. Running on compressed natural gas (CNG) means they produce 12 percent fewer NOx emissions, 76 percent less particulate matter and up to 95 percent less CO₂ emissions using bio-methane.

The vehicles will be in operation whenever demanded and are also approximately 50 percent quieter than their diesel equivalents; they will refuel from Veolia’s brand new CNG refuelling station situated at its Alperton depot, which was built to service all the CNG vehicles in the Camden fleet.

Andrew Hope, Fleet Development Manager at Veolia, says: “Emissions reduction was a critical factor in Veolia’s decision making for this vehicle so the availability of a cost-effective CNG engine made the Daily our first choice when specifying the panel van. The team at Northern Commercials were great to work with and IVECO built the vehicles within the required time frame.”

The post Gas-Powered Vans Chosen By Veolia For Camden Contract appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

A number of waste and resources organisations, including CIWM, have this morning responded to calls from the Environmental Audit Committee for a 25p levy on disposable coffee cups, in its latest report, “Disposable Packaging: Coffee Cups”.

CIWM would like to see renewed efforts by coffee retailers to promote reusable cups to their customers, adding that and a government-backed voluntary agreement might be a sensible first step.

Chief Executive of the Resource Association, Ray Georgeson, “welcomed the attention” being placed on the issue, adding: “Infrastructure for the collection, sorting and recycling of ‘on the go’ disposable products has not kept pace with society’s demand for convenience food and drink. It is recognised that there must be investment to improve the nation’s limited ‘on the go’ recycling collection infrastructure and to support the technology and capacity investments that are needed to ensure that materials collected are efficiently recycled with quality at the heart of the process.”

CIWM Says…

Further sticking with the “on the go” theme, CIWM CEO Dr Colin Church added:“This EAC report provides a useful summary of the challenges we face in developing a more sustainable approach to both disposable coffee cups and, by extension, single-use ‘on the go’ food contact packaging as a whole.

“However, it also highlights the need now to reframe the debate so that we can move forward. As the report notes, coffee cups are becoming an iconic symbol of wasteful behaviour in the same way that plastic carrier bags did, but the issues here are significantly more complex.

“Prevention remains the best environmental option and as a minimum, CIWM would like to see renewed efforts by coffee retailers to promote reusable cups to their customers and a government-backed voluntary agreement might be a sensible first step. However, convenience is a function of modern society and a holistic, long term solution for ‘on the go’ packaging waste will still be necessary.

“The question we must answer is what outcome is best and what interventions will work most effectively to deliver this outcome. Is it about raising more money – from producers or consumers or both – to develop new, separate collection, sorting and treatment infrastructure for coffee cups and (surely) other forms of disposable food and beverage packaging? Is it is about incentivising new packaging solutions that are recyclable through our existing infrastructure? Is it about ensuring there are sufficient non-food grade end markets for the recovered material?

“Whether or not the Government is willing to consider a levy, there is still a lot more work to be done by all the stakeholders involved to develop a sensible solution to this very modern waste problem.”

Progress Already Made

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice-President at Veolia UK & Ireland, highlighted the progress it had already made in pioneering coffee cup recycling, working in partnership with Costa, Starbucks and McDonald’s.

“Our solutions, which have been rolled out nationwide, include in-house recycling bins, bulk collection and a post back service. This helps support better coffee cup disposal and reduces contamination, which is the biggest challenge in the recycling process.

“We want to see incentives for manufacturers which use recycled materials to give products a second life. More needs to be done and we believe the solution lies in collaboration.

“If the proposed levy were to be introduced, we believe it should be used to fund the collection of cups, since once they are separately collected they have a value and can be made into new products. Equally, the levy should be discounted when coffee shops do actually recycle – otherwise it presents no incentive and instead amounts to a general taxation.”

David Palmer-Jones, Chief Executive Officer of SUEZ recycling and recovery UK said: “Taxes on takeaway coffee cups may provide a helpful nudge to consumers to abandon a throw-away culture, but for lasting change, proposals like these need to be part of wider, joined-up reform that shifts the burden of responsibility for all forms of packaging content, recyclability and ultimately their collection, back to the producer.

Disposable coffee cups may only represent a small fraction of the national annual tonnage of card and plastics produced which are lost from our recycling streams, but they leave the worst taste reminder of how on-the-go consumption can result in needless waste of our precious natural resources.”

The post Organisations Respond To The EAC’s Calls For A “Latte Levy” appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Northampton Borough Council has awarded its new environmental services contract to Veolia as part of a new waste service.

The new service includes bringing street cleansing standards “up to scratch” and roll-out of new recycling bins within four months of the new contract’s June launch, the council says.

As part of the new bin collection service, many residents can expect to see delivery of a third lidded wheelie bin for all recyclables, replacing the boxes, though in areas where sack collections take place these will remain.

Cllr Mike Hallam, Cabinet member for environment, said: “Veolia is offering services at a level people deserve but we have been unable to provide through the current contract.

“A fundamental issue residents have had is with recyclables being blown out of boxes and littering the streets, so I’m sure those in wheelie bin areas will welcome the introduction of a single bin.

“The changes outlined in the winning bid demonstrate an understanding of the complex issues we’ve faced during the past decade and offer practical solutions.

“Veolia is offering services at a level people deserve but we have been unable to provide through the current contract… A fundamental issue residents have had is with recyclables being blown out of boxes and littering the streets, so I’m sure those in wheelie bin areas will welcome the introduction of a single bin.”

“Fine details of the contract will be worked out in the coming months to ensure the kind of excellent service we are expecting is delivered.”

The new contract comes as a result of strong opinions expressed by around 8,000 people to a survey carried out in 2016.

Residents made it clear that the new environmental services provision needed to be of excellent quality and the Borough Council has listened, allocating additional budget to the project.

In order to minimise the impact, the Council is able to borrow at significantly lower rates than the private sector so has decided to buy all associated vehicles direct, which will save taxpayers around £1m, it says.

As part of the new service, all dry recyclables will be collected together and delivered to a commingled facility where they will be sorted and packaged.

Grounds maintenance also forms part of the contract and will deal with all areas of public open space in the borough, with particular attention on Northampton’s premier park in Abington.

And a key part of the new service is to change behaviour, increasing participation in recycling and waste reduction and tackling littering, including gum and cigarette butts.

The contract will also see kerbside collections of small electrical items introduced and improved reuse of bulky items following collection.

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The post Veolia Awarded Northampton Waste Contract As Part Of New Service appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

Veolia has announced its set to launch a new service designed to provide a “complete and compliant” way of disposing of compressed gas cylinders.

To support this new service the company has invested in a dedicated facility, located at the Empire Treatment Plant in the Midlands, which safely removes and treats the contents of the cylinders to ensure full compliance with all statutory and environmental requirements.

The new solution is backed by a network of specialised facilities across the UK which have the capacity to safely manage gas cylinders, and covers all types of gas cylinder arising from a range of sources including research facilities, industry, healthcare, universities and recycling centres.

As gases are classified as dangerous goods all cylinders transported must meet current regulations and codes of practice. With incorrect disposal and treatment presenting a significant risk, and mistreatment potentially leading to fines, Veolia’s service delivers a simple solution with a national collection capability that guarantees compliance.

“As a complete recycling and recovery solution this new service represents a significant step forward for the treatment of pressurised gas cylinders.”

Some cylinders contain special gases that may have an impact on the environment and require particular handling and disposal processes are also covered by the Veolia service.

Before processing the technical teams review each consignment so that the contents can be carefully extracted, in a controlled environment, with the resultant gases either processed through Veolia’s licensed chemical treatment facility or safely destroyed. Empty cylinders are then repatriated to the original supplier or recycled if they cannot be returned.

Commenting on the new service Kevin Hurst, Veolia’s chief operating officer, Industrial Customers UK said “As a complete recycling and recovery solution this new service represents a significant step forward for the treatment of pressurised gas cylinders. This in turn will help our customers safely deal with unwanted cylinders, and meet regulatory and environmental requirements.”

Veolia’s new service adds to the company’s existing capabilities that can manage hazardous wastes ranging from aerosols and batteries to regular drum consignments and management of low level radioactive materials.

These specialist services deliver compliant hazardous waste collection and handling, advanced treatment recycling and recovery technologies along with site registration.

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The post Veolia Launches Gas Cylinder Disposal Service appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

A London Borough Council and waste company Veolia have been fined after a worker was crushed by a reversing dust cart, suffering significant injury.

Southwark Crown Court heard how, on 9 May 2016, an employee of London Borough of Croydon, working within the motor vehicle repair undertaking of Veolia ES (UK) Limited as a workshop cleaner, was struck by a reversing 17 and a half tonne dust cart.

The worker suffered multiple fractures to his right fibula, femur, knee, ankle, wrist and hand. He also suffered a degloving injury to his right hand requiring a skin graft.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the workshop cleaner was employed as a “supported employee” due to his learning difficulties with a recognised need for heightened supervision.

“This serious workplace transport incident could have been avoided if both duty holders had taken the appropriate safety precautions when planning this activity.”

Due to his work, he was often required to work in parts of the site, such as the workshop, where large vehicles with low rear visibility for drivers were manoeuvring. He was known to have a history of standing in the path of moving vehicles, an issue known to both duty holders which they failed to address adequately.

It was later found that London Borough of Croydon had relied upon a historical “agreement” from 2003 whereby their previous waste contractor had agreed to supervise the workshop cleaner.

The court heard that direct management or supervision of the individual had diminished over time and the worker was left with no active management. It was found that London Borough of Croydon failed due to their presumption that Veolia were managing the injured party and that they should have communicated with Veolia to keep their employee safe.

Veolia ES (UK) Limited did not recognise this “agreement” nor did they require the services of the workshop cleaner but, nevertheless, the worker continued to operate within their workshop and had done since their contract began.

It was found in court that Veolia failed to take reasonably practicable precautions to ensure the injured party was safe whilst working within their workshop due to a lack of implementation of adequate controls for workplace transport such as use of a banksman.

The court also heard both duty holders failed to take into account the specific capabilities of this vulnerable worker and to take reasonably practicable steps to ensure the safety of this individual working within a high-risk environment.

London Borough of Croydon of Bernard Weatherill House, Croydon has pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and has been fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,842.83

Veolia ES (UK) Limited of Pentonville Road, London has pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and has been fined £250,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,359.83

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Megan Carr said: “This serious workplace transport incident could have been avoided if both duty holders had taken the appropriate safety precautions when planning this activity.

“Failing to identify the risks led to this man suffering serious life changing injuries.”

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The post London Council & Veolia Fined After Worker Crushed By Vehicle appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

CIWM, the professional body for the resource and waste management sector, has set out a new code of conduct that organisations affiliated with the body must agree to adhere to – or face possible expulsion – with an aim of encouraging excellence within the resources & waste sector.

The affiliated organisation code of conduct (code) applies to businesses that become official Affiliated Organisations (AO) of CIWM. When becoming an AO, companies are agreeing to adhere to the “standards and behaviours” of the code (full code below), which includes ensuring compliance with all relevant sector-related legislation and regulation.

The purpose of the code is so businesses can publicly commit to excellence in resource and waste management, demonstrating to customers and regulators the highest levels of professionalism and compliance.

“In a sector experiencing challenges and scrutiny around hazardous waste, duty of care, health and safety and waste crime, we all need a standard to which we aspire, giving confidence to those we work with,” says CIWM chief executive Dr Colin Church.

Dr Colin Church, CIWM chief exacutive – “In a sector experiencing challenges and scrutiny around hazardous waste, duty of care, health and safety and waste crime, we all need a standard to which we aspire, giving confidence to those we work with”

“Signing up to the brand new CIWM Affiliated Organisation Code of Conduct makes a powerful statement to your customers, regulators and the public about your commitment to excellence in sustainable resource management.”

If an AO has been discovered to have breached the code in any way, CIWM will decide whether a suspension, or even an expulsion, from the scheme is warranted.

CIWM says that it might be possible, if a firm has breached the code, for CIWM to offer advice and assistance in order to rectify any violation.

CIWM currently has over 300 AOs, including Biffa, Veolia, Simply Waste Solutions and Biogen. AOs receive a certificate, as well as various logos, which can be displayed to show a visible commitment has been made to CIWM’s standards. They gain access to business support, including technical advice from the CIWM professional development team, and also two affiliate memberships to support the personal and professional development of individuals in their own organisation.

AO Code Of Conduct

• To uphold the good reputation of CIWM, its members, and the resource and waste management sector as a whole by seeking to achieve and maintain the highest standards of professional expertise, operational and business practice.
• To ensure compliance with all relevant sector related legislation and regulation, striving to lead in using and establishing sector best-practice.
• To conduct all activity with honesty, professional integrity and diligence; treating staff with fairness, respect and dignity and complying with the laws of the countries operated in.
• To employ, develop and train staff so that they are fully competent in their role and equipped with the knowledge and skills to work to high professional standards.
• To provide products and services which are within competencies and expertise, and deliver these to the standards described and promised to customers.
• To address customer concerns promptly, with professionalism and courtesy, and seek to negotiate an equitable solution in the case of dispute.
• To share and contribute towards achieving the goals laid out in the ‘objects’ set out in CIWM’s Royal Charter: “To advance for the public benefit the art and science of wastes management worldwide and so to promote education, the protection of public health and the preservation of the environment, and for that purpose to further promote and maintain good standards of practice, competence and conduct by all its members”.

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The post New CIWM Code Of Conduct To Encourage Resources Sector Excellence appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.

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Knauf Insulation and Veolia have officially open a new high-tech glass recycling facility in St Helens.

Each year, over 60,000 tonnes of used glass bottles and jars will now be given a new lease of life as the partners join forces to clean, separate and refine household glass, before transforming it into high performance, energy-saving insulation solutions.

Veolia’s world-first facility uses the latest technology to sort and separate glass at a micro-level with exceptional accuracy, delivering an ultra-pure glass cullet. The state of the art machinery includes vibrating screens for size sorting, magnets to extract ferrous materials and eddy current separators for non-ferrous materials.

The new facility enables Knauf Insulation to secure its glass supply and maximise the use of recycled materials instead of virgin minerals. Also, the proximity of the new facility will save approximately 375,000 miles of road journeys.

The glass collected equates to over 350 million bottles thrown out yearly – which could otherwise end up in landfill or pollute our environment. With a £10M investment and a decade-long commitment from Knauf Insulation, both companies are demonstrating their dedication to sustainable and circular manufacturing.

“This is also a real boost for the circular economy and the fact we have delivered this in partnership with Veolia demonstrates what can be achieved when two leaders in their respective fields work together to achieve mutual goals.”

John Sinfield, Managing Director at Knauf Insulation Northern Europe, said: “Our insulation solutions play a key role in helping reduce carbon emissions and benefit the environment.

“We have been using recycled glass in our manufacturing process for some time already. As well as securing our glass supply, the quality and consistency that we are getting now from the new facility will enable us to increase further the percentage of glass cullet we use in the manufacture of our Glass Mineral Wool insulation solutions, taking us one step further in our sustainability journey.

“This is also a real boost for the circular economy and the fact we have delivered this in partnership with Veolia demonstrates what can be achieved when two leaders in their respective fields work together to achieve mutual goals.”

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