Mayor of Houston, TX Annise Parker joined with Solid Waste Management Department Director, Harry Hayes, to announce that 54,000 new households in the Houston area will be the recipients of 96-gal recycling wheelie bins as part of a new community scheme, rewards-for-recycling by RecycleBank. RecycleBank runs programmes across the US designed at helping jumpstart neighbourhood recycling in cities across the nation. The company rewards residents with points for every time they recycle. The more points a household earns is dependent upon how often that household recycles. Points can be redeemed for items at retailers, grocery stores, chemists, and restaurants. Houston City Council ... Full Story

The Bristol City Council will conduct trials on a new recycling scheme aimed at boosting residential recycling efforts. Residents in three separate areas around Bristol will participate in the trial which will involve cash incentives for recycling. The scheme centers around reducing the amount of black bag waste produced by each household, and those households which produce the least will be rewarded with cash prizes. Residents who volunteer to participate will be given a chipped wheelie bin. New collection vehicles will be outfitted with weighing equipment in order to record the weights of the bins each week. Incentives will be given ... Full Story

According to a new report, the U.S. airline industry currently generates over 880 million tons of waste each year. Of that waste only a very small percentage is actually recycled by these airlines. The recycling report card, which graded each airline for recycling habits, revealed that no airline was doing an A job. Topping the list for best recyclers included Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, and Delta. However, United and US Airways managed to fail miserably. Even with some of the airlines coming in first on the list, not a single US carrier rated above a B-. The report, entitled What Goes Up ... Full Story

A new display in Liverpool is garnering a lot of attention as the artists hope to raise new awareness about the dire need for recycling across the UK. The sculpture of a bird, being nicknamed the Liverpool Liverbird, has been constructed entirely out of recycled rubbish. The artwork, which functions as a reminder of how materials can be reused as opposed to thrown out, is currently on display at the information centre at the Liverpool One shopping centre. Recycling rates over the past five years have gone up in Liverpool, increasing from 15,000 tonnes of waste recycled per year to 49,000 tonnes. ... Full Story

Halton, Cheshire has seen a huge increase in recycling efforts since the advent of a new programme which aims to make recycling easier for the local residents. The new rewards system offered by RecycleBank, a recycling initiative established by the Halton Borough Council, has helped to boost local recycling figures. Since the start of the new scheme in October of 2009, more residents have begun recycling to take advantage of the rewards systems resulting in a 20 percent increase in recyclable waste per each household. The first phase of the new scheme will conclude in April 2010, and then the local ... Full Story

South Ayrshire is currently heading the movement which is sure to put Scotland in line for top recycling nation in the world. The city's recycle figures, as revealed by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, are showing that residents in South Ayrshire are way above average in their recycling habits. Currently, South Ayrshire is holding the spot as the third biggest recycling centre in the country. Councillors in the city are praising its residents with the release of the figures. Councillor Peter Convery stated that it was exciting that the citizens of Scotland are appearing to be so committed to reducing waste ... Full Story

Recent figures just released indicate that a record number of households and businesses recycled cardboard during the Christmas and New Years holidays in North Devon. During the two week holiday, the North Devon Council collected up to 70 tonnes of cardboard to be recycled during a kerbside cardboard collection. Rodney Cann, councillor and a Lead Member for the Waste and Recycling, stated that the figures indicate that North Devon residents are taking steps to begin using the cardboard recycling services being offered. He continued saying that it was great news for the council to hear and that it was nice to ... Full Story

Plans for a new recycling centre scheduled to be built in Sunrise were denied by City Commissioners on Tuesday after upwards of 400 residents packed into City Hall to protest the recycling plant. Dozens of critics and local residents launched complaints with the city council after plans for a new recycling facility were put forth for the new Green Now project. Protestors of the plant included mayors from nearby Tamarac and Lauderhill, as well as parents from a nearby mosque school who believe the fumes from the plant could be toxic and emit cancer causing chemicals on the playground and into ... Full Story

According to a report conducted by Green America, airlines across the globe are producing over 800 million pounds each year in waste. Although 75% of that waste is technically recyclable, the report indicates that only 20% of it is actually being sent to recycle. The consumer watchdog, Green America, just released the findings from their Responsible Shopper report conduction a review on airline recycling habits and the findings may shock airline passengers. Victoria Kreha, one of the lead authors on the report, stated that it was vital the public be made aware of the negligence in airline waste management. She added ... Full Story

Recycling rates are continuing to be on the rise in Scotland, prompting the government to once again increase recycling target rates. Currently, the country is comfortably meeting their target recycling rate of 30%. A recent report released by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency indicates that currently recycling and composting rates are now at 35.9%. The government had set this target between October 2008 and September 2009, and reached their goal, even surpassing it by a little more than five percent. However, in order to keep improving upon recycling habits within Scotland, the country will now aim to have a 40% recycling ... Full Story

PAFA (Packaging And Films Association) has welcomed the UK government’s decision to award a grant to specialist recycler WES Greenstar of Redcar, for capacity to recycle an additional 20,000 tonnes per year of mixed plastic household waste by 2013 (PRW 2 February. The €1.36m grant was awarded by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme). Barry Turner, PAFA Chief Executive, mentioned that he hopes the grant will indicate a turnaround in UK recycling practice. Most local authorities leave mixed plastics at the bottom of the heap when it comes to collections for recycling because their performance has always been measured on weight ... Full Story

As the New Year began a variety of new recycling laws went into effect in the United Kingdom.  One of the most important ones revolves around the recycling of batteries, which is a major issue in the UK and around the world as batteries are recycled at very low rates which means most of them end up in landfills.  Now only do batteries take up valuable space in landfills but they often leak harmful chemicals into the environment which can lead to the contamination of water.  The UK decided to put the responsibility for recycling on the shoulders of the ... Full Story