Rotorua has just received a $1 million grant to construct its new human waste processing plant. New Zealand Environment Minister Nick Smith announced that the funding would be granted to the council from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund. Making a statement at Scion yesterday, the Minister said that the project would benefit both Rotorua and the country overall. He added that the nation prided itself in using methods that were 100 per cent pure and said that Rotorua would have a challenge in that a large portion of the population lives away from the coast. The minister further said that New Zealand ... Full Story

A Cardiff-based company is gearing up to recycle construction waste and timber in order to produce biomass fuel. Cardiff Landscaping and Maintenance Services will be the first company in South Wales to earn an award from WRAP Cymru ( Waste & Resources Action Programme in Wales). Set-up back in May 2009, The Taffs Well-based landscaping firm has received a grant totalling £15,763 from WRAP Cymru in order to construct the green waste recycling centre. The company will begin recycling green waste and timber collected from local businesses and all funding from the grant will be put towards purchasing new recycling equipment including ... Full Story

Residents in South Oxfordshire are being praised for their stunning efforts of recycling and composting 70 per cent of household rubbish – thought to be the best figures in England. The first full year of the area’s new rubbish collection and recycling service is estimated to have saved taxpayers around £355,000 as well as racked up £850,000 in recycling credits. The scheme was highly commended at the recent local authority's Municipal Journal Awards, where it was revealed that from June 2009 to June 2010, South Oxfordshire’s contractor Verdant collected 6,115 tonnes of food waste, 18,531 tonnes of dry recycling and 7,434 ... Full Story

Bidders from across the UK have been invited to submit solutions to the North London Waste Authority for the provision of future waste management services including fuel use within North London. Among the bidders that have placed an outlined entry into the running are Biffa Waste Services Ltd., FCC Skanska, SITA Len Lease, Veolia ES Aurora Ltd., E.ON Energy from Waste, SSE Generation, Covanta Energy Ltd and Urbaser SA. The announcement of potential bidders today is being hauled as a major step for the North London Waste Authority towards procuring a plan to be in line with government commitments stemming from March ... Full Story

A revolutionary new recycling scheme is set to receive a national excellence award in the wake of its monumental achievements. The brainchild of housing association, Cartrefi Conwy, the scheme involves recycling old bathroom and kitchen equipment and has been dubbed the UK's first recycling project of its kind. The programme has reached the final stages of selection for the Constructing Excellence in Wales Awards. The scheme has received high accolades being nominated for the Conwy Regeneration Award at the Pride of Conwy Awards as well. The project fell under a larger plan of Cartrefi Conwy's to foster a £30m housing improvement programme. ... Full Story

A new £60million scheme Government scheme is set to create over 500 jobs in rural Scotland. Richard Lochhead, the Rural Affairs and Environment Secretary said that the funding will go to a Fyvie recycling firm and a pig farm in Stonehaven, as well as other smaller projects. The funding has been made available through the Rural Priorities initiative, and will sustain a total of 430 jobs and create an additional 530. Mr Lochhead stated that during these difficult economic times, the creation of jobs across the nation was essential, particularly in the rural communities. In total, 4,500 projects will be receiving £330million ... Full Story

Across the board UK governments are working hard to cut down on rubbish sent to landfill and to increase household, commercial, and industrial recycling rates. As EU waste and recycling targets loom closer, it is becoming more important for recycling efforts to be pushed full throttle. Northern Ireland has just signed on to do its part to help meet UK recycling targets. Just recently Environment Minister of Northern Ireland Edwin Poots launched a £3.13 million scheme that will help make funding available to local authorities for the promotion of reuse and recycling. Dubbed, the "Rethink Waste Fund', the initiative is being launched ... Full Story

A new recycling scheme in Berkshire is being piloted to show that incentives rather than penalties are the best way to encourage recycling. In the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, 6,500 households have had their bins weighed and be allocated points based on the amount of rubbish being recycled. The scheme, which began last June, has proven successful and will now be rolled out across Berkshire in its entirety. Residents in the borough for the last year have been rewarded points that could be redeemed for goods or services. Wheelie bins were collected, weighed, and points were then dolled out based ... Full Story

May Gurney announced today a boost for its environmental business with plans in the works for two long-haul waste recycling deals. Over the next 14 years, the waste management firm will manage contracts worth up to £60m in conjunction with the North Yorkshire County Council. As part of the deals, May Gurney will oversee 17 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs). The contract, which will expire in seven years, is valued at at least £24m with the opportunity to extend a further three years at the contract's end. Also Offered as a long-term recycling and waste collections deal, the second contract will begin ... Full Story

Nokia Oyj and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB have been ranked again as the top two greenest major electronics producers by Greenpeace International. Finnish company Nokia, which remains the number one mobile phone maker in the world, was at the top of Greenpeace International’s quarterly list after reposting that their 2010 mobile phones would be PVC plastic and brominated flame retardant (BFR) free. The companies on Greenpeace’s list are ranked based on use of toxic chemicals, recycled materials and used products, as well as environmental protection. ... Full Story

Cardiff University is being honoured for its efforts in encouraging reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and leading by example. The university has become the country's first Welsh higher-education institution to receive the Carbon Trust Standard recognising the school for its efforts to cut its carbon footprint. The university decreased its emissions output last year by 1.3 per cent, and by 14 per cent since 2005. According to university execs, a total of £1.7m has been spent on energy reducing schemes over the past three years. It has become one of the UK's first institutions to receive the prestigious award from the Carbon Trust Higher ... Full Story

Blackpool and Lancashire County councils' Waste Action Grant funding initiative was relaunched earlier in the month with a £2,000 increase in cash from previous years. The scheme, which was launched two years back, originally gave out £500 to organisations operating recycling programmes. Now, the councils will give out £2,500 per project for the furthering of reuse, reduce, and recycle schemes. So far, grants have been given to over 120 groups to promote recycling and minimise waste initiatives. This year, applications will be processed in batches as the year progresses in order to bring a more competitive edge to the grants and ensure that ... Full Story