Pending the results of an investigation by The Environment Agency, a waste management company in the United Kingdom will no longer be allowed to put its industrial waste in the sewage system.  The ban came after the Agency was notified of a dire pollution incident in the River Trent.  The Agency is accusing the company, Red Industries Ltd. of possibly being responsible for a discharge of cyanide into the local sewer system.  This system eventually ends up in the River Trent, which is one of the largest rivers in the United Kingdom. Currently the water system treats sewage with organisms which ... Full Story

A recent report features seven companies who have developed solutions that will eliminate the need to use brominated and chlorinated chemicals in their products.  The report was part of a joint venture between ChemSec and Clean Production Action and hopes to illustrate that there are less harmful methods available which will still allow companies to become cost effective.  Of the seven companies featured in the report, Apple and Sony were shown to be industry leaders in ridding the world of harmful chemicals which are either brominated or chlorinated. Brominated and chlorinated chemicals gained notoriety when it was discovered that there was ... Full Story

The Environmental Agency has announced its approval of seven new battery compliance schemes in the United Kingdom.  Out of the eight applicants for approval, seven schemes were found to meet the needs of the United Kingdom under the battery recycling laws which will go into effect in the year 2010 in the UK.  The Environmental Agency hopes that the new schemes will help the United Kingdom meet the recycling and waste management goals outlined by the European Union for each of its member countries. The seven schemes which were approved by the Environmental Agency were all ones which met the strict ... Full Story

A recent move by Maylarch Recycling Ltd. has caused a stir in one town in the United Kingdom.  It was announced during a city council meeting that Andoversford could become a site for storage of asbestos and other hazardous waste material.   Maylarch has already applied to the Gloucestershire Council to use Andoversford as what it deems a waste transfer site.  Maylarch, which is an asbestos removal company, hopes to use the site in Andoversford to house the waste before it is permanently transferred to Wingmoor Farm, near Bishop's Cleeve. Although many in the town were not happy about the announcement, Maylarch ... Full Story

One supermarket in the United Kingdom is trying to promote both recycling and composting to young children in a variety of ways.  Morrison's supermarkets, which are a chain based in Bradford, has launched a scheme which will encourage local youth to recycle, as well as contribute to composting.  Youngsters will be encouraged to grow things as well as recycle things like batteries, as the UK tries to clean up its image as a nation which doesn't do its part in the recycling community. The United Kingdom has come under fire lately due to reports which claim it will not reach the ... Full Story

According to a study published by the European Battery Recycling Association, the rates of portable battery recycling have only risen by one percent over the last year.  This minor rise is not even close to the targets that were hoped to be reached in the European Union, which underscores how battery recycling may be one segments of the recycling industry that is largely overlooked.  When batteries leach and burst they allow for harmful chemicals to be released into the environment, which can cause a variety of problems and potential health issues. The EU Batteries Directive set specific targets for battery recycling, ... Full Story

The OSS Group, a UK waste oil recycling company, is protesting a new tax on recycled fuel oil scheduled to be introduced into law in November. Up until now, there has been no tax on recycled fuel oil but the government is seeking to add a tax of 9.29p for each litre. This is the same tax that is applied to virgin fuel oil. The OSS Group estimates that approximately 800,000 tonnes of waste oil is produced annually in the UK. The OSS Group collects waste lubricating oil which is collected from service centres and garages, to create clean fuel oil, ... Full Story

People in Bucks County, Pennsylvania flocked recently to the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology to drop off recyclable items that are often thrown into the landfill. Residents brought everything from car batteries to PCs as well as other regulated waste. The hazardous-waste management company Clean Venture sees the Household Hazardous Waste and Computer Recycling Program as a chance to educate while offering recycling opportunities. The firm has sponsored such drives in the area for ten years and runs a total of about 200 similar drives each year. Bucks County will have six such drives in 2008. All waste collected ... Full Story

Canada has been in the news a lot lately in regards to recycling electronic waste. There have been questions from places other than Toronto, however. The City of Ottawa has been addressing issues of another sort, such as where a resident can dispose of old tires, paint cans, and car batteries. While many facilities are equipped to accept simple recycling jobs, not many can handle the big or unusual requests. The City of Ottawa has addressed that problem with the Take It Back! Programme. The scheme includes 540 partners who will "take back" over 100 products - including everything from planting ... Full Story

OSS Group has opened a new hazardous waste fragmentation plant its site in Mersyside. The new plant has the ability to process all types of used fuel, oil and air filters along with metal and plastic waste including used containers up to 240 litres. These items are shredded and divided into groups of basic elements: paper, metal, plastics, and residual waste oils. The oil that will be recovered will be repurposed and used as a feedstock for its fuel oil product, CFO®. The rest of the various solid wastes will be cleaned until safe, packaged and sent off to various re-processors. ... Full Story

Albion Distillation Services (ADS), a chemical distillation and solvent recovery company based in Garston, has been purchased by Veolia Environmental Services. The acquisition will permit Veolia to provide "a wider range of solvent recovery options to its clients". ADS was previously a division of Albion Chemicals, a chemical distributor which is subsidiary of Brenntag, a global firm. In December 2006, Albion Distillation reported a profit of £282,000 on a turnover of £2.9m. Albion Distillation currently employs 23 people and provides various services including toll recycling services. Toll recycling is the process of purifying waste solvents and then returning them to the ... Full Story

A company in South Yorkshire recently launched a new recycling service for businesses, claiming to be able to efficiently recycle almost all of the waste it collects, including electronics and electrical items, for free. Barnsley-based SR Recycling has been in the business for over 35 years and aims to recycle 99 per cent of the waste it collects. The company was inspired by Japanese recycling techniques which use disassembly lines in order to separate waste. In the UK, a process called granulation occurs which makes it difficult and expensive to recover waste. According to SR Recycling, many of the chemical and metals used ... Full Story