Action on Plastics

Legislation changes for Plastic Recyclers

Rachel Brakes — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:48:00 GMT

Hi, I’m Rachel Brakes Manager and Sole Proprietor of Yorkshire Waste Permitting based in South Yorkshire, with 12 years experience in waste management and legislation. Yorkshire Waste Permitting provide technical advice and environmental permitting support to all waste sectors. I previously worked for the Environment Agency for 10 years as their Technical Specialist in waste permitting and more recently I worked for CO2Sense as their Planning & Permitting Project Manager before leaving in December 2010 to start my new venture! I would like to keep you informed of the recent legislation changes which relate to plastic recycling and reprocessing through this blog. If you need any further information I am happy for you to e-mail me at info@yorkshirewastepermitting.co.uk. Alternatively if you would like to leave a comment on this blog I will do my very best to respond.

New regulations which came into effect on 6 April 2010 will affect anyone who stores, recycles or reprocess plastic.

Who is affected?

• Any business or individual which hold a registered exemption for an existing recycling/reprocessing activity

• Any business or individual wishing to carry out a new plastic recycling/reprocessing activity

Why the change?

The Environment Agency and DEFRA have decided that some existing exempt activities are considered a higher risk because they have a potentially negative impact on the environment and human health. Therefore these activities they consider would be better controlled by an environmental permit. They have also recognised that some waste activities have been over regulated in the past and have therefore revised the whole exemption system.

Is my business affected?

If you can meet the criteria of any of the following exemptions given in the link below then you are able to register with the Environment Agency free of charge. However if the criteria cannot be met then it is likely that an Environmental Permit will be required to continue operating. Please feel free to ask any questions on this blog and I will be happy to advise.

New Exemptions Click Here

Exemptions specific to Plastic Recyclers/Reprocessors

Treatment

T1 Cleaning, washing, spraying or coating of relevant waste

T4 Preparatory treatments (baling, sorting, shredding etc

T10 Sorting mixed waste

Use

U3 Use of waste in the construction of entertainment or educational installations etc

U9 Use of waste to manufacture finished goods

Storage

S1 Storage of waste in secure containers

S2 Storage of waste in a secure place

These do not require registration with an authority

Temporary storage of waste at place of production

Temporary storage of waste at a place controlled by the producer

Temporary storage at a collection point

Call for NHS waste and recycling services - 21st Jan

Steven Ogden — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:11:07 GMT

The NHS CPC has advertised a regional contract in separate lots for waste management services. The intention is that wastes are collected and recovered by separate streams wherever possible. It is a framework contract, so NHS bodies can take up the framework option, or procure their own services, and it means that there are no fixed contract tonnages. The separate lots are:

Lot 1: General waste - North Yorkshire.

Lot 2: General waste - West Yorkshire.

Lot 3: General waste - South Yorkshire.

Lot 4: General waste - East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire.

Lot 5: Furniture - Yorkshire & Humber region.

Lot 6: Construction waste - Yorkshire & Humber region.

Lot 7: Food waste - Yorkshire and Humber region.

Lot 8: Organic/ Grounds Maint arisings - Yorkshire and Humber region.

Lot 9: Cardboard - Yorkshire and Humber region.

Lot 10: Vegetable/cooking oil - Yorkshire and Humber region.

Lot 11: WEEE waste, non IT related - Yorkshire and Humber region.

Lot 12: WEEE waste, IT related - Yorkshire and Humber region.

Lot 13: Oils, paints & solvents - Yorkshire and Humber region.

Lot 14: Batteries - Yorkshire and Humber region.

Lot 15: Fluorescent tubes & fittings - Yorkshire and Humber region.

Anyone interested will need to complete the Pre Qualification Questionnaire - instructions on what to do next are in the attached OJEU contract notice.

Note the deadline is 21 January 2011.

Recoup December Update - Recoup 2010 UK Household Plastic Packaging Collection Survey

Stuart Foster — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:41:00 GMT

We have launched this years edition of the Recoup Survey, funded by Nampak Plastics and PPS Recovery Systems. It shows an encouraging increase in the UK bottle recycling rate with 46% of plastic bottles now being collected for recycling.

The finalised data indicates a 7% increase in comparison to last year’s report, with over 303,000 tonnes of plastic packaging now collected. From this total, 263,000 tonnes was reported as plastic bottles; a further 40,000 tonnes was attributed to non-bottle plastic packaging collections. The data suggests that just over 19,000 tonnes of bottle were collected for recycling in Yorkshire and Humberside.

Kerbside schemes accounted for 215,500 tonnes of plastic bottles collected, which represents an increase of 46,600 tonnes from the previous year – growth in collection rates of approximately 28%. The total number of local authorities now offering a plastic bottle collection through kerbside is 360, providing the service for over 23 million households. The current bring collection tonnage for plastic bottles is now 47,000 tonnes.

Of the responding local authorities, 98 indicated that they are now actively collecting non-bottle plastics in addition to plastic bottles, via both kerbside and bring schemes. The total reported tonnage for other plastics is over 40,000.

The majority of local authorities that responded when asked how the plastic bottle collection scheme was working, indicated that their schemes were running smoothly (82%). This response suggests that the infrastructure and support required to launch and sustainably operate a plastics collection scheme is now available to most UK local authorities.

According to the data, over 54% of plastic bottles are still not recycled. Aside from the issues around reducing landfill reliance and needing to meet increasing recycling targets, there is genuine concern that without a focussed effort, the plastic bottle recycling infrastructure in the UK cannot be sustainably supported by UK bottle collections.

The survey responses suggest that kerbside schemes could potentially recover 271,000 tonnes of plastic bottles in 2012. If a yearly 10% increase in household kerbside coverage and also performance was applied, the estimated collection could reach over 350,000 tonnes. This suggests that a focus on increasing plastic bottle kerbside infrastructure and indicative performance per household will be essential to boosting existing recycling rates and achieve the step change desired.

Alongside this, Recoup believes that the introduction of other plastics packaging recycling can be considered. But only when commercially viable and sustainable end markets are defined, and the collection and sorting infrastructure is capable of effectively handling the mixed plastics without detriment to the operation of existing recycling systems, or affecting the resulting output quality of other recyclables, including plastic bottles.

The full report is available FREE from the Recoup website on: www.recoup.org

Have a good Christmas and new year

Stuart.