Householders across North East Lincolnshire were told to begin recycling their rubbish this week, in an attempt to slash current costs of sending the area's waste to landfill. According to North East Lincolnshire council, over £10m was spent just collecting and then disposing of household waste ever year prior to 2012. Apparently, over 60 per cent of residents that have dedicated sorting bins aren't currently recycling any waste at all. The council is tightening up its measures on bin collections, with fines issued to people who repeatedly fail at recycling. Tony Neul, the head of the neighbourhood services  department at North East Lincolnshire ... Full Story

Changes to rubbish and recycling collections in Cornwall have resulted in thousands of residents contacting council helplines. Cornwall Council has started to standardise collections across the county and a special helpline has been overwhelmed with calls from over 35,000 people who either haven't received their new bags or are confused over the "colour" system. A Cornwall Council spokeswoman said that additional staff have been employed to help clear a backlog of queries. The waste and recycling department's Esther O'Bearagh insisted that the council hasn't underestimated how many calls there would be and always planned to employ more people to deal with demand ... Full Story

A village in France has come up with a novel way to reduce household organic waste. Officials from Pince, in the country’s northwest, have suggested giving two chickens to each family. It is believed that the unfussy birds could consume up to 150kg (330lb) or rubbish each year, massively reducing what households throw out. As well as keeping waste out of landfill, the chickens will also help families save money by providing eggs for the breakfast table. Officials say that anyone interested in the scheme can apply to receive chickens in September this year. Speaking to France 3 TV, the village mayor Lydie ... Full Story

A pilot project in Powys which has helped two communities reach national recycling targets ahead of schedule will be extended across the county. Presteigne and Norton have managed to recycle 75 per cent of municipal rubbish and have been a part of the Zero Waste Wales scheme ever since April 2010. Lessons already learned will be used to create a Newtown hub for businesses that wish to either recycle or re-use materials. The Welsh government expects its native Wales to recycle at least 70% of its waste, with the zero waste scheme's aim being to reduce refuse amounts that communities send to ... Full Story

Two Welsh councils have agreed to a contract they hope will transform people's leftover food to renewable energy or fertiliser. Both Powys and Ceredigion councils intend to reduce the current amount of waste that is being sent to the landfill site they share near Llanidloes, Powys. Any scraps are to be collected from households and then taken to the special conversion plant already up and running. The councils agreed to a 15-year contract with Agrivert Limted, of Oxfordshire, and will recycle at least 10,000 tonnes' worth of food waste per year. The deal comes after the end of a two-year-long bidding process ... Full Story

The councils of Monmouthshire and Cardiff are to joint the list of the first local authorities in Britain to send nappies to recycling. These councils will collect disposable nappies, as well as other absorbent hygiene products, from 2,500 households. Over a trial period of six months, the waste is to be sent to West Bromwich's Knowaste Absorbent Hygiene Products Plant. In the past, around 200m disposable nappies per year have been thrown away by parents in Wales, as alleged by Waste Awareness Wales - a promoter of green issues. Sterilising materials before they recover plastics for re-use, Knowaste Ltd said that the ... Full Story

Southwark council has launched a new mobile recycling centre for residents to recycle any items that can't be included in usual household recycling collections. A specially designed vehicle is being used by the local authority. Each week, the vehicle will travel to various housing estates around Southwark and residents will be able to deposit items including textiles, wood, cardboard, small WEEE and batteries for recycling. Southwark's council developed the service with help from Veolia Environmental Services after receiving a grant of £50,000 from LWaRB - the London Waste and Recycling Board. Councillor Barrie Hargrove, the cabinet member of Southwark's transport, environment, and ... Full Story

A Derbyshire council is looking to boost recycling rates through personal calls to local residents. Two advisors from South Derbyshire District Council are scheduled to call at houses over the next five weeks with a view to discussing recycling face to face. Authorities say that they hope such a move will help residents in finding out what they need to know about recycling and composting scheme work in their local area. According to sources, the advisors will also gather views on new cardboard initiatives and plastics collections. South Derbyshire District Council wishes to see novice and existing recyclers becoming more knowledgeable after ... Full Story

UK Councils will retain their freedom to collect household recyclables in a commingled approach that comes under proposed amendments of regulations which implement a revised Waste Framework Directive. Commingled collections are only to be permitted where there are separate collections that aren't practical or that meet material standards that are required by reprocessors. Because of the developments, the quality of materials collected under already-commingled schemes are to become more important than before. The amendments to English and Welsh Waste Regulations were unveiled at the start of a seven-week consultation that was launched on 24 February by Defra and Welsh officials. The amendments ... Full Story

A Leicestershire charity has successfully recycled over 10 million pounds' worth of unwanted medicine to help save the lives of needy Africans. The latest figures, published by the National Audit Office, have suggested around £800m worth of medicine dispensed to patients in Britain is unused and goes to waste. Based in Syston, an organisation named Inter Care has been sending surplus medicine to those currently living in conditions of poverty in rural Africa. The charity continues to recycle quality in-date medicine that has been returned by UK patients to in excess of a thousand GPs around the country. Were it not for ... Full Story

Public consultations on recycling have been started in the city of Hull and its county East Yorkshire while efforts are stepped up in an attempt to cut how much waste is sent to landfill. Councils of East Riding of Yorkshire and Hull City are looking at methods waste can be managed with in a joint venture. The two authorities wish to have householders and businesses recycling up to 65 per cent of all their waste by the year 2020. Last year, in 2011, 128,000 tonnes of household waste was recycled - representing an increase of 58 per cent when measured against the ... Full Story

A new process aimed at recycling road sweepings will hopefully save seven councils money. According to Warwickshire County Council, around £400,000 per year will be saved over seven years while the the area's recycling rate is boosted by three per cent at least. The scheme covers Coventry and Warwickshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, and Worcestershire. Run by SITA UK from Wolverhampton, a new processing facility will handle a whopping 30,500 tonnes a year that will come directly from seven authorities, namely Warwickshire County Council,  Staffordshire County Council,  Worcestershire County Council, Coventry City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Leicestershire County Council and Herefordshire ... Full Story