UK grocers have exceeded the targets that were set for them on food waste but are still contributing a large amount of package waste, research has shown. Official figures, taken from 2005-2010, show the results of an agreement between UK grocers and the country's Government's waste reduction body WRAP, or the Waste and Resources Action Programme as it is sometimes more commonly known. Over the last five years, nearly three quarter of a million tonnes of food waste, as well as over half a million tonnes of packaging waste, have been cut out. Although the latter figure suggests an improvement, it is ... Full Story

Green issues are beginning to take a hold in the UK manufacturing market. A survey by the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) found many more companies are going for businesses involved in low carbon products. The swing follows a worldwide trend in environmental and green commerce. Over 50% of the small and medium sized business questioned reported that they had adapted their business to the low carbon market. The survey also revealed that 56% were already investing in low carbon plant manufacturing procedures. Roger Parr, the National Network manager for MAS said these were encouraging times. It shows that manufacturers have started to ... Full Story

In a new report from the British Retail Consortium, it was revealed that retailers are sending under 25 per cent of all waste to landfill. Formerly criticised for the amount of waste they send to landfill, the report finds that since 2005, retailers across the UK have been able to increase the amount of waste diverted from landfill to nearly 75 per cent. Today, fewer than one quarter of discarded packaging, food, bags and building materials generated by retailers are now being sent to landfill. This is compared with 50 per cent of items being sent to landfill in 2005. The move, ... Full Story

As the construction industry returns after taking heavy blows during the economic downturn, the demands for sustainable waste management schemes has increased. With Government targets, WRAP's Halving Waste to Landfill initiative and new legislation coming into play, the sector has seen an increased momentum in the need for responsible waste reduction. Severnside Recycling, which has quickly become a market leader in waste management and recycling, announced that it will break into the construction waste management sector to meet the growing demand for sustainable waste service providers. Having already conquered the paper and retail industries, Severnside will brings its tried and true sustainable ... Full Story

De Bortoli Wines, which imports and distributes wines throughout the UK, has been slapped with a fine of over £8,300 from the Environment Agency. After failing to comply with the Agency's waste packaging regulations, the wine company pled guilty to failing to recover, recycle and register its packaging waste. According to the Environment Agency, the firm, based in Farnham, had failed to provide the required certificate of compliance leading to the fine, which includes costs - £2,128 - and compensation - £1,686. UK manager for the wine importer, John Thorne said that the firm readily accepted their error and had paid the ... Full Story

MBA Polymers has pledged $6.6 million to begin boosting recyclable plastic materials being used in household goods. With its base in recovering engineering plastics from items such as appliances, vehicles and computers, the firm has raised more than $6.6 million towards an overall goal of $25 million. The funding will be used to increase the firms recycling of plastic taken from household items. According to a SEC filing, the investments have so far been gleaned from Honeywell Capital Management, Citi's Sustainable Development Investments and Less Plastics Limited based in Hong Kong. Founded in 1994, the group maintains its operating facility in California. ... Full Story

Popular UK grocer, Waitrose is gearing up to roll out a brand new way of packaging its meat products that will help save the environment. Beginning next month, the food retailer will package all meat items in a way that could save up to 90 tonnes of plastic waste per year. The 'snip and slide' containers will hit shelves in October with its debut in minced and diced meat. The way it works is by allowing the package to simply be snipped open and the meat slides right into the pan. Waitrose has said that after the initial launch of the packaging ... Full Story

Popular UK retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) announced that it will host its first annual 'One Day Wardrobe Clearout". With the aim of raising £1 million in funds for Oxfam, the programme will help diminish the amount of clothing sent to landfill, while promoting a charitable cause. Beginning tomorrow, the highly successful M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange will host the event and customers are encouraged to drop by the nearest M&S outlet and donate any unwanted items. Those that donate M&S labeled items will earn a  £5 savings voucher to be used at the store. In a study funded by M&S, it ... Full Story

Welsh manufacturers could be poised to receive nearly  £50,000 to increase their recycled material use under a new scheme that was launched today by WRAP Cymru. According to research from WRAP, 78 per cent of manufacturing businesses in the small to medium enterprise sector believe that direct financial aid would help the initial costs of smaller firms transitioning to using recycled content. WRAP Cymru has responded by launching their own funding scheme. WRAP will now give away grants to funding applicants that can be used to equip existing facilities with new technology for recycled material use or be used to build new ... Full Story

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