The latest numbers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show that in the age of austerity Britons are throwing away less food. Figures from the most recent data collected by the state department show that food waste fell last year by 2.7 per cent dropping to 23.6 million tonnes. According to experts the downwards trend comes from people becoming increasingly conscientious of waste and making things last. As trends move towards sustainable living and growing your own food, more people have set-up compost heaps in their backyards and begun buying fewer groceries at the store. Even celebrity chefs ... Full Story

Burntwood’s household rubbish recycling centre has been saved in the wake of controversial plans to shut down the facility. The recycling centre, which was originally set to close its doors in July, was given temporary permission to stay open after local residents began campaigning to save the facility. Residents claimed that closing the centre would lead to increased amounts of fly-tipping in the area. In a bid to halt the closure, local residents handed in a 12,222-signature petition to the local authority. Today, Staffordshire County Council confirmed that the centre will remain open after it had reviewed original plans to scrap the ... Full Story

In a recent analysis by the government’s waste quango, it was revealed that changing current rubbish collection schemes could result in almost 1.5 million tonnes of recyclable material sent to landfill. The controversial new plans from the coalition government to reinstate weekly waste collections have been met with discord from popular environmental groups. In a government-sponsored review, it showed that increasing waste collection could cause more than one million additional tonnes of recyclables to go straight to landfill each year. Should the scheme go ahead, it could actually cause the UK’s recycling rates to decrease by several points. Additionally, the scheme could ... Full Story

London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority chair, Brian Coleman has expressed fears that malicious rubbish blazes will be on the rise in the wake of local councils switching to fortnightly collections. Citing his concern over the likelihood of arson incidents increasing in waste bins if collections are less frequent, Mr Coleman said that the move could pose a real threat to taxpayers pockets and safety. The fire chief warned yesterday that decreasing collections could lead to an increase in vandalism. According to figures, bin and refuse fires account for nearly 50 per cent of all outdoor blazes. Mr Coleman told councillors yesterday ... Full Story

A massive multi-million pounds scheme is being launched to help Wakefield manage its growing piles of rubbish. Set to create hundreds of jobs, the initiative will receive Government funding of up to £33m and begin later this year. The VT group was selected as the preferred bidder for the scheme three years ago, and has since been acquired by Babcock International Group plc, which is in talks with the local council to seal the deal. With the potential to create up to 350 jobs, Cllr Olivia Rowley said that initially the project saw a series of setbacks mostly due to the economic ... Full Story

A new eco-friendly project in the North East will see thousands of tonnes of rubbish diverted from landfill in the region. Household waste collected from Gatesheas, Sunderland and South Tyneside will now be converted into energy as an alternative to landfills. In the plans announced last night, the South Tyne and Wear Waste Management Partnership revealed that SITA Consortium had won the bid to construct and manage the facility. The energy created per year at the facility – which will handle around 190,000 tonnes of waste each year – will be enough to power the equivalent of 37,500 homes. The Partnership also ... 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

According to Friends of the Earth, more than 50,000 new jobs could be created across the UK if the country increases its recycling rates. In a report published today, the environmental group urged the government to not waste any opportunities to boost recycling and economic opportunities by raising recycling targets. Entitled, More jobs, less waste, the report states that at least 51,400 new jobs could be created if the UK was able to recycle 70 per cent of all its municipal household waste. Additionally a further 18,000 jobs would be available if commercial and industrial waste was recycled at similar rates. Currently, ... Full Story

Plans to ban certain materials from being sent to landfills, which would have included food, metals and paper, have been scrapped by ministers after a government report warned that doing so could increase fly tipping. Householders will no longer be faced with the requirement of having to install slop buckets within their kitchens in the wake of the government report indicating that forcing people to separate out food waste could lead to more fly tipping instances. Furthermore, the year long consultation culminating in the report found that by forcing households to collect food waste councils would have to use more taxes ... Full Story

According to survey data from recycle body Recoup, the UK has recorded a six per cent rise in plastic bottle recovery. Recoup's 2010 UK Household Plastics Packaging Collection Survey is set for publication next month and will reveal that nearly 260,000 tonnes of plastic bottle waste was collected for recycling in 2009. Previously at a rate of 39 per cent, the UK has increased its PET collection rate to 45 per cent for a six per cent rise in collection rates. Marcel Arsand, Recoup's senior project manager, said that the group was encouraged to see such a positive increase in progress in ... Full Story

A Devon resort has launched a controversial new recycling initiative that will require around 60,000 householders to sort through their own rubbish prior to kerbside collections. Tor2, the firm responsible for the scheme, said that it aims to recycle 50 per cent of all waste by 2012, for an estimated savings of £14m in landfill costs per year. However, residents are claiming that the programme is too complicated. The Torbay Council'c call centre has been inundated with complaints since the scheme was put into circulation. The council has said that the majority of savings will be seen in cutting fines and taxes ... Full Story

Residents in Dudley have been advised that changes to bin and waste collections will be taking place over the next few weeks. Each household in the borough will be receiving a 26 bin bag-roll along with a series of leaflets detailing the upcoming changes. In early December, householders will receive a further 52 bin bags, roughly the equivalent of one bag a week, in which they will have to use for the remainder of the year. Residents who run out of bin bags before the one year time frame will be required to purchase new bin bags with their own money. After ... Full Story