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

  Controversial bin tax plans that would have seen households charged for the waste they throw away have been scrapped by the coalition government. The laws, proposed by Gordon Brown’s former Labour government, would have allowed local councils to force residents to pay for rubbish collections and enabled them to fine families who were over filling bins or not recycling properly.   The immediate axing of the scheme was announced last night ... Full Story

White van men in Oxfordshire are to have their trips to the tip limited in a bid to stop tradesmen using household recycling centres to illegally dump waste. The clearing of commercial rubbish dumped at the county’s recycling centres costs the taxpayers around £250,000 a year, according to local newspaper the Witney Gazette.   In an attempt to save money and tackle the growing problem, Oxfordshire County Council has announced that it will introduce to ... Full Story

In an effort to smarten up their tired-looking streets, Cardiff Council has announced a new waste strategy, including the introduction of 100 new recycling bins into the city centre. The bins will be dotted around the city by next year and will have similar compartments for different waste as those already used by residents.   There will also be extra measures to prevent fly-tipping as well as a new intensive cleaning programme for the capital’s ... Full Story

According to new guidelines released by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), fuel oils coming from recycled waste that have met the correct specifications will no longer be treated as waste. The new guidance, the Production of Processed Fuel Oil from Waste, states that across Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England there is consistency within waste treatment methods. It also ensures that waste oil meets certain set parameters as laid out by the British standard. Namely, the fuel waste poses no risk to human health or the environment. SEPA has said that with proper treatment, waste oil can be processed as replacement ... Full Story

UK residents could face council tax hikes of up to £50 a year unless more is done to boost recycling. The Local Government Association has warned that the UK is the worst in the European Union when it comes to the amount of rubbish is thrown into landfill, and that it will fail to meet key targets if things continue as they are.   Multi-billion pound fines for sending more items to the tip will ... Full Story

Assembly members in Wales were voting yesterday on a proposal which could see certain types of waste being banned or restricted from landfill. Councils could also be set legally-binding targets by ministers for composting and recycling, and be hit with penalties if the targets are missed. Plastic carrier bags could also be charged for under the measures, as the assembly government believes waste management is “vital” to the future of Wales. Under the plans, ministers would ensure that any profits gained from the sale of carrier bags would be passed on to environmental projects. A proposed charge of 7p a bag ... Full Story

It came out recently that householders in the UK are slapped with heavier fines that shoplifters. The controversial 'bin criminal' fees, which can cost homeowners up to £110, are steeper than the standard fine,  £80, that police hand out to those nabbed shoplifting. Just last year, local authorities issued up to 1,240 penalty notices for households caught over-filling bins or placing rubbish bins out during the wrong times. An additional 24,914 statutory notices were issued threatening homeowners with fines if they continued to violate the strict bin rules. Furthermore, 45,010 warning letters were sent out to individuals that had 'allegedly' violated the ... Full Story

The European Union will provide technical advice for the Indian Government as it looks to improve upon its waste management policies. According to Daniele Smadja, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union in India, the cooperation between the two will be a key component to the nation reframing its policies for e-waste management and remedial measures at contamination sites. Speaking at a two-day FICCI Environment Conclave, Ms. Smadja said that the adaption would be a mix of current EU policy mixed with regulations that are suitable for India's situation. A study tour for Indian official to Europe has also ... Full Story

By 2012 current EU recycling laws requiring that a quarter of all batteries be recycled. According to Scott Butler from the European Recycling Platform (ERP), it will require everyone getting involved to achieve this goal. In a three minute film segment, the ERP has created an educational opportunity for teachers across the country to utilise when informing students of the importance of recycling. The video, a response to the 1 January 2010 European directive, follows 12-year old Ollie Osman as he use batteries in his toy car and then takes them to school to be recycled. The new European Directive states that ... Full Story

An European Parliament committee has begun to push for a steep rise in recycling and reuse of plastics within the EU by urging green collection schemes to handle more electrical waste during pickups. The move comes the parliament's environment committee makes amendments to the EU's waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) directive. According to the amendments, EU member states will be required to collect at a minimum 85 per cent of WEEE generated in their country in time for 2016 targets. The increase would be a large jump from the previous expectation of 65 per cent of WEEE collected by 2016. The ... Full Story

A spokesman speaking on behalf of the London Assembly has incited the mayor's office to improve upon available recycling facilities for London's public transport system. According to Mike Tuffrey, environment spokesman for the Lib-Dems in the assembly, Transport for London's free morning newspaper deal was required to provide fully-integrated recycling facilities. However, Mr Tuffrey says that those services were never rolled out throughout the city, and are now seriously lacking. He added that each day more than 1.5 million newspapers are given away fro free across the city. Commuters do not have access to the facilities to properly recycling unwanted newspapers, ... Full Story