Residents of Hertfordshire are being encouraged to begin dropping off redundant batteries at specific drop-off points as a means of boosting recycle efforts for battery waste. The scheme, scheduled to begin sometime this month, will require battery disposal to be handled at specific drop-off bins by all residents. Hertfordshire County Council approved the scheme after a study released the figures that only three percent of all batteries across the UK were being re-used. Executive member for waste, as well as the chairman of the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership, Derrick Ashley stated that batteries are comprised of important chemicals and materials such as ... Full Story

Ella's Kitchen, a leading manufacturer of organic baby-food, is launching a programme for the collection of non-recyclable baby-food containers. The company, which claims they are the first to launch such a programme, will be targeted towards kids, parents, and teachers attending preschool, nursery, or toddler groups. By saving the packaging from Ella's Kitchen baby food containers, customers of the popular baby-food suppliers can receive up to 2p per pouch to be donated to either charity or a local school of the customer's choice. Participants can simply download a Royal Mail label for free and send the pouches into Ella's Kitchen. The collected ... Full Story

A new report published by Secure IT has indicated that NHS computers have previously been dumped in Ghana where child labour is being used under hazardous conditions. According to experts, information which was previously stored on those dumped computers can still be extracted and used for blackmail, hacking into bank information, and extortion. In light of this new information industry insiders are warning computer owners to make sure that any redundant ICT equipment is properly wiped clean of all data prior to disposing of it. Deleting old records is particularly important when hard drives contain financial or personal information. UK and other ... Full Story

Students at Arnot St Mary's Church of England Primary School are leading the forefront in creative posters designed to get dog-owners to clean up after their pets. Although the city council's street cleaning crews have tried to crack down on owners allowing their dogs to foul on the school grounds, the students continue to have deal with the foul mess. Now, the youngsters are leading a crusade of their own making to get irresponsible pet owners to keep their dogs' messes off the school lawn. The posters are designed to educate the inconsiderate dog owner's on what happens when they allow ... Full Story

Across the UK pro-privacy groups are lashing out at city councils wanting to adopt the microchip wheelie bin system. A new report has surfaced warning the public that up to 2.6 million chips have already been installed in an effort to monitor households which are throwing out waste which could be recycled. Supporters of the move to implant chips into wheelie bins are saying that the move will promote better recycling habits across the UK, however opponents of the tactic claim that its too Big Brother-esque, and they fear the government will use the microchips to punish those who do not ... Full Story

A train station in Bromley will be the site for a new recycling scheme trial designed to help commuters recycle cans and plastic bottles. Three new recycling units will be placed at the station and Bromley Council will be in charge of emptying and recycling the waste collected there. Southeastern will partner with Bromley South station for the scheme set to began March 2. For the first time, commuters at this station will be capable of separating out their paper, plastic, and metal can garbage avoiding sending such waste to a landfill. The Bromley Council has said that it will be responsible ... Full Story

A new recycling scheme which could pave the way for more effect recycling methods could receive Government funding within just a few weeks. Bristol City Council has put through a motion for approval for funding for placing microchips into wheelie bins. Currently the funding decision is under review by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). If the volunteer-based rewards scheme is approved, Bristol will be the first district to approve such a measure. The scheme calls for black wheelie bins to be outfitted with microchips which will weight the amount of waste being recycled per household. Incentives ... Full Story

Last week at the Geneva motor show, VW announced plans to break into the expanding electric vehicle market. The German carmaker attended the auto show along with every other major industry player, each of which were showcasing a new hybrid or electric model. Chief executive for the new project, Martin Winterkorn, said that the automaker was hoping the car would expand from zero to three percent in the cars' share portfolio by the year 2018. Along with the electric vehicle announcement, VW also used the show to exhibit several new models including the Seat brand's sporty, all-electric model, the IBE. Other carmakers ... Full Story

The British Plastics Federation issued a statement in the wake of the Government's Consultation publishing their paper 'Implementing the Packaging Strategy" in which they proposed that 56.9% of plastic packaging be recycled by 2020. In the statement the British Plastics Federation claims that the target, which would constitute a 32% increase over the course of under ten years, is unachievable and sets an impossible standard. They continued stating that even if the amount of funding needed was given to build adequate facilities to up the recycling infrastructure, the goal could still not be reached in time. The statement continues to criticise the ... Full Story

Mayor of Houston, TX Annise Parker joined with Solid Waste Management Department Director, Harry Hayes, to announce that 54,000 new households in the Houston area will be the recipients of 96-gal recycling wheelie bins as part of a new community scheme, rewards-for-recycling by RecycleBank. RecycleBank runs programmes across the US designed at helping jumpstart neighbourhood recycling in cities across the nation. The company rewards residents with points for every time they recycle. The more points a household earns is dependent upon how often that household recycles. Points can be redeemed for items at retailers, grocery stores, chemists, and restaurants. Houston City Council ... Full Story

WEEE, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, will be the focus this year at the Recycle Week campaign scheduled for June. This will mark the first time one particular waste issue has been given priority over others. WRAP's Recycle Now Partners announced the theme on their website just before a March 1st spring drive will launch to promote greater residential recycling in areas such as WEEE. Recycle Week is held annually since its inception in 2004, but normally it focuses on general reuse, reduce and recycle issues. The change in focus is indicative of WRAP's urgent need to get UK households to recycle ... Full Story

Aggreko, a Scottish based supplier for emergency power equipment, was able to avoid the economic downturn and is now reporting a staggering 28.7% rise in profits as demand for electrical equipment surges in the developing world. Chief executive for the company, Rupert Soames also announced that the Glasgow-based company saw an increase in capital expenditure guidance from £20 million to £200m for 2010. This new capital will be used to build a multi-million pound facility in Dumbarton. The new plant will help bring 113 jobs to the region as well as be a major expansion for the Clydeside town branch of the ... Full Story