Major UK mobile service provider, O2, has launched the first ever sustainable rating system for mobile handsets. In the wake of survey results indicating that 44 per cent of the mobile giant’s customers would be influenced by environmental factors when deciding on a mobile phone, O2 has designed a new scheme that will allow it to rate mobile handsets produced by various firms. The newly founded Eco Rating will score phones out of 5, and currently the Sony Ericsson Elm has received top marks with 4.3. The scores will be published both online and in the service provider’s retail outlets. Eco Rating was designed ... Full Story

UK Corporations are starting to realise the environmental and monetary benefits of recycling old company mobile phones. It has been estimated that over 3 million firms in the UK will give out company or company-paid mobiles as part of upgrades or new handouts this year. With the large excess of redundant phones in the corporate sector, businesses are beginning to appreciate the value of recycling phones that employees exchange for new ones. Actions being taken by these firms include setting up recycling drives in building lobbies or forming partnerships with online recyclers. Not only do corporations receive environmental accolades for responsibly recycling, ... Full Story

Every Can Counts teamed up with Manchester-based creative agency Studio North to promote workplace recycling at last week’s V Festival. The annual festival hosted a ‘Can you kick it’ football challenge in order to promote the Every Can Counts initiative, which encourages concert goers to exchange at a minimum one empty can and be entered to win VIP campaign tickets to attend next year’s V Festival. Studio North has also been developing ‘on the go’ recycling schemes as well as adding a social media aspect like blogging to Every Can Counts’ website. The campaign has also been featured on Twitter and Facebook ... Full Story

Westfield Shopping Centre announced today the launch of its new recycling initiative, which will see an expected 675 tonnes of beverage containers diverted from landfill per year. The scheme, which will be rolled out on a national level, could collect enough recyclable material to fill nine Olympic swimming pools per year. The Parliamentary Secretary for the NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Angela D’Amore MP was on hand to official kick-off the campaign at the Westfield mall in Burwood, NSW yesterday. According to Ms. D’Amore the coordinated recycling plan was a first for Australia and that it would significantly ... Full Story

Earlier this year, Sunny Delight’s six manufacturing plants spread out between Spain and the US became zero waste facilities. The Ohio-based firm said that it had made progress in its environmental goals as detailed in its 2009 referendum – Sustainability Report. The report was released to the public this week and spans several topics including sustainability plans for transportation, operation, energy and water use, waste management and packaging. The popular beverage group said it had made the most progress in diverting waste from landfill and reducing overall waste generation. Originally sending 1,140 tonnes of waste to landfill in 2007, the ... Full Story

Straight, a recycling group based in Leeds, will begin to manufacture its own kerbside recycling boxes after its acquisition of an injection moulding firm. Purchased by Dyro Holdings, owner of Powell Plastics based in Hull, for £2.9m, the purchase will see Straight manufacture its own products internally. However, the purchase was incurred by Straight roughly one-third of it in-house. Dyro, which maintains around 60 staff members, made the bulk of its £10m annual profit selling plastic recycling and waste containers to Straight. The business operates over 20 injection moulding machines and earned £1.12m in profits during 2009. Chief executive at Straight, Jonathan Straight ... 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

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Europe's second biggest water firm, Suez Environment reported more than double its first-half profit this quarter raising its financial targets with a recent acquisition in Spain and a surge in waste treatment business. In addition to a rise in price for recycled materials, the company has enjoyed increases in business, particularly on the waste management and treatment side. The utility will now increase its original financial targets to reflect the sudden boom in business for a sales growth goal of at least seven per cent for 2010. Additionally, the new targets will seek a nine per cent gain for earnings before ... Full Story

Cheshire-based Pochin PLC's construction arm, Pochin Construction announced that it has completed Tesco's new £16m fit-out for its chilled distribution and recycling facility in Widnes. Originally contracted for the project in 2009, the firm was hired to construct a 350,000 sq ft chilled distribution building along with a 134,000 sq ft recycling plant for the Stobart Group. The £22m contract, however, was transfered by Stobart Group when they leased the property to Tesco. Tesco then retained Pochin to build the existing facility in a separate contract measuring at £16m. The chilled distribution centre has been built in sections to cater to Tesco's ... Full Story

The government announced a wide-ranging review of issues surrounding policies on waste and the question of burning waste to generate power is a prominent point to be covered. Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman yesterday announced a major review of waste policy and options for the handling of waste. The review is to be carried out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The review will aim to gather information on and the views of the public, as well as other stakeholders, towards a range of issues involving waste. Though the study will consider how recycling rates can be boosted ... Full Story

Alex Salmond, Gordon MSP and First Minister, heaped praise on Scottish firm Keenan Recycling recently for the work it is doing recycling food waste into compost. Mr Salmond was speaking while on a visit to the Aberdeen offices of Shell Upstream Europe. Shell Upstream Europe is one of about 30 companies that use Keenan Recycling’s Food Waste Collection Service. While getting to see Keenan Recycling in action collecting food waste from Shell Upstream Europe, Mr Salmond called on Scots to end the country’s throwaway culture. He said people are taking an increasing level of responsibility regarding recycling but they continue to ... Full Story