Northern Ireland continues to fall behind other parts of the United Kingdom in recycling. Figures just released show households in Northern Ireland were recycling less than a third of their waste in the first quarter of 2010. By contrast, homes in England were already recycling at the rate of 34 per cent by 2007/2008. Northern Ireland’s domestic recycling rate in the first three months of this year was up by just 0.2 per cent over the same period in 2009. Meanwhile, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is forecasting England’s recycling rate will hit 40 per cent by the ... Full Story

  Plastic recycling in the UK is to be boosted with a massive £2m loan from WRAP. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is to support the reprocessing of the UK’s plastic food trays, margarine tubs and yoghurt pots with what is being called the Mixed Plastics Loan Fund (MPLF).   The aim of the MPLF is to aid potential investment in the recycling of mixed plastics, 90 per cent ... Full Story

Arsenal has become the first football club to have its strip made from recycled material. Bottles, otherwise destined for landfill, have been turned into the latest home kit for the London-based team.   The kit celebrates the club’s 125th anniversary next year and has been designed in a 1970s style. Retro fashion on the pitch is nothing new, but that fact that both the shorts and shirts of the new Gunners clobber are made out ... Full Story

A recent recycling accident resulted in the death of a man who has been described as a 'much-loved husband' and a 'loving daddy'. Richard Livingston, 35, was killed last Friday when a conveyor belt fell and crushed him at a recycling facility in Randalstown off Groggan Road. The industrial accident, which occurred at the Emerald Isle Recycling plant, will be investigated by the Health and Safety Executive pending a review of the events. Owned by Richard's brother Roy Livingston, the firm specialises in recycling plastic. In a Belfast Telegraph notice, Roy Livingston paid tribute to his late brother, who leaves behind a ... Full Story

Vacuum maker, Electrolux is jumping on the green bandwagon with its latest marketing campaign designed to offer consumers a contrast to BP's marketing tactics. Shortly before its recent environmental woes, BP switched its logo to a sunflower in green and yellow colours and changed its campaign slogan to 'beyond petroleum'. However, its ongoing ecological disaster has continually undermined its move to 'go green'. Electrolux, however, has decided to take a different approach with an impeccably timed scheme to take plastics from the ocean and use them as material in their vacuum cleaners. According to Electrolux CEO Hans Straberg, the oceans are filled ... Full Story

An innovative architectural firm will look to take on the creation of  'Recycled Island', a floating eco-paradise constructed completely out of recycled materials. The island, which will be fully self-sustaining, will be built in the Pacific Ocean and will help to clean up the area, create a home for climate refugees, and reuse the floating patches of toxic ocean-dumped plastic. Developed by WHIM architecture, the floating oasis will become a sustainable tourist destination complete with beaches, buildings, and farms. The firm is looking to place the island in between Hawaii and San Francisco in the Pacific Ocean. After the man-made island has ... Full Story

New recycling bins have been put in at the Newcastle Airport as a means of helping passengers dispose of plastic and paper waste in a more eco-friendly manner. The specially created bins were installed at 40 locations across the airport terminal during the past week as efforts across the country are being increased to boost recycling. Part of the larger, Recycle Zone project, the scheme will help passengers recycle in a more convenient manner. The Recycle Zone project is being managed in conjunction with WRAP, Coca-Cola Enterprises, and Recoup. Currently, the UK boasts over 50 set recycling zones, however, that number is ... Full Story

Householders in Wales are being encouraged to throw out less food waste in an effort to protect the environment and safe money. The Welsh Assembly Government said that a typical household waste up to £50 per month in unconsumed food waste. As part of its new waste strategy, the government seeks to get householders to stop being a 'throwaway society' in order to reach its targets of 70 per cent recycling by 2025. The Environment Minister is expected to give more details on new proposals including a recycling rewards scheme. Jane Davidson will also explain to businesses, local authorities, and householders what ... Full Story

In order to raise its green credentials, the Ritz-Carlton hotel group will begin to replace plastic bottles with plant-based, biodegradable water bottles instead. Implementing the new product at 40 of its 73 properties, the hotelier will be the first among major hotel chains to welcome the change. Hotels in the US and Caribbean will be making the switch. The bottled water is offered at the hotel's jogging stations, pool areas, and in guests' rooms. Vehicles are also outfitted with water bottles as part of the hotel's valet service. In total the company consumers around 5 million of the 16 oz water ... Full Story

AWS Eco Plastics has contracted with Waste Recycling Group (WRG) to provide collection and recycling services for baled plastic bottles from WRG's Luton and Carnaby sites. The contract, which furthers an existing agreement where AWS collects plastic bottles from WRG's site in Wrexham, comes in a long line of contracts recently secured by AWS for the collection of mixed bottles. All bottles are taken to AWS's plastic bottle recycling facility located in Lincolnshire. Materials are then sorted by polymer and colour with PET plastics being converted to AWS' signature purePET 78 pellet. Bottle manufacturers can then purchase the recycled pellets to produce ... Full Story

Popular furniture giant IKEA just launched a recycling initiative designed to encourage its employees to recycle more. The initiative, part of the retailer's overall zero waste to landfill programme, will aim to raise recycling awareness for its 700 employees that work in the firm's distribution centres. The scheme was launched at IKEA's Peterborough distribution centre last week in conjunction with Viridor. Viridor will be doing two roadshows, the first at the Peterborough site and a second in Doncaster later in the summer. The 'Recycle for IKEA' aims to improve recycling awareness, understanding, and efforts by offering employee training and awareness seminars. Viridor, ... Full Story

The European Plastics Recyclers (EuPR) has said that it is concerned about the tight supply of PET bottles in Europe. In a press release, the association announced that there was growing concern about the recycling capacity on the continent following increases in trends of using PET-based products. Despite recycling plants in the region producing PET regularly, the current combination of demand and market forces has reduced outputs of the material in European recycling plants. According to the release, there are several factors that have caused shortages of PET production. Some are exchange rates, weight reductions in bottles, longer, colder winters, and increased ... Full Story