Refuse collections around Ceredigion have been stopped due to severe weather conditions. According to the Ceredigion council waste will not be collected for the remainder of this week, despite attempts to make collections on Tuesday in Aberystwyth. Workers would also make attempts on Christmas Eve to collect rubbish in the Cardigan town. Residents in other areas have had to store waste until next week’s collection date. A council spokesperson said that despite the priority highway network remaining open, many minor roads are impassable and could be dangerous for heavy vehicles. He added that the vast majority of ... Full Story

Ministers have been asked to consider launching a public review into a largely controversial decision by councilors in North Yorkshire to approve a £1bn waste contract, which includes a new incinerator. MPs opposing the proposal to construct a waste management plant between Harrogate and York are set to lobby the Government to prevent the scheme. The bid to have the approval overridden is being lead by Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams along with his Parliamentary peer Andrew Jones, both of whom have been vocal against the project. Yesterday, it was revealed that county councilors agreed ... Full Story

North Yorkshire County Council has awarded the controversial 25-year waste management contraction to AmeyCespa for North Yorkshire and York. The decision follows Government approval to use part of the funds allocated in PFI credits – a type of grant – to pay out the contract. The solution proposed by AmeyCespa will include recovery of nonrecyclable waste and will allow York and North Yorkshire to exceed their goal of 50 per cent waste recycled by 2020. Technologies proposed for the waste management include reclamation and mechanical sorting of nearly 20,000 tonnes of municipal waste each year. Anaerobic Digestion ... Full Story

Scottish ministers have approved a proposal for a £200m waste-to-energy facility in East Lothian. Viridor, the Scottish recycling firm behind the move, will build the plant in Dunbar after receiving approval from the Scottish government. The project, which will create 300,000 tonnes of capacity, will divert non-recyclable waste from ending up in landfill and create a ‘resource efficiency hub’. The site will generate 23MW of electricity, which should power around 39,000 homes in the area. It follows an application that was originally filed in May 2008, but refused by the council in November 2009. Scottish regional director ... Full Story

General Motors announced that it achieved its goal for global operations, which it had outlined in 2008, to convert 50 per cent of 145 existing plants to a landfill-free status before the end of 2010. At present, the company now has 52 per cent of its plants that operate on a zero-landfill policy. The equivalent of 76 of its facilities, worldwide, either reduce, reuse or convert the waste to energy or other reusable items. The first facility for GM to achieve a zero-landfill status was an engine plant in Michigan, which reached its status in 2005. On average, ... Full Story

In the wake of the BP oil spill disaster, thousands of workers have filed claims against the company for compensation. With the claims process underway, claims administrator Ken Feinberg announced Monday that the final phase was nearing completion. Claimants are set to receive an additional option to receive a quicker payment under a new compensation scheme, however, it offers significantly less money, but makes the process much easier. Both businesses and individuals have filed claims against BP for damages resulting from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which left thousands of tonnes of oil spilling into the Atlantic. ... Full Story

A Cardiff waste treatment project has announced its shortlist of proposals for a 25-year contract aimed at finding the best solution for the authorities municipal waste. Four waste treatment centres, including Viridor’s controversial Splott incinerator, all made the shortlist for the contract to deliver a practical solution for the city’s residual waste. Dubbed Prosiect Gwyrdd, the shortlist is part of a larger selection process to give one plant the long-term contract to treat residual waste for five Welsh councils, including Cardiff. Prosiect Gwyrdd, which means Project Green in Welsh, is seeking the most energy efficient, cost effective and ... Full Story

A firm in Utah is looking for permission to burn radioactive waste shipped from Germany at its Oak Ridge incinerator facility. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has opened up a forum for comments at the request of EnergySolutions, which wants to burn around 1,000 tonnes of German hazardous waste at its plant in Oak Ridge. It would then return the waste ashes back to Germany for further disposal. A spokesman for the NRC, David McIntyre said on Tuesday that the request was received on 30 November and the NRC would allow a 30-day window for comments. The public ... Full Story

The ESB has purchased a sharehold in a floundering UK company that produces small power plants designed to burn waste wood and convert it to green electricity. The state-owned power utility announced its investment of £4.5m to buy the stake saying that Yorkshire-based Bioflame had already received planning permission to build 17 of its small-time biomass incinerators. The firm can process nearly 30,000 tonnes of waste each year and generate enough electricity for 6,000 residences. Most of the plants are typically built alongside waste dumps and burn wood that otherwise would be sent to landfill. Bioflame will ... Full Story

York’s council chiefs are coming under fire for failing to adhere to a promise to oppose a proposed waste incinerator. The controversial £900 million facility would be built in North Yorkshire. City of York Council’s executive recommended approving the plant, which directly breaks his promise to oppose the incinerator. The facility, planned for the Allerton quarry landfill site, is under the control of the Spanish energy firm, Amey Cespa. Now, with the backing from the Council’s leadership, the matter will go before a full meeting of the council later this week. North Yorkshire Count Council have also supported ... Full Story

Recycling rates in Northern Ireland have increased just 1.2 per cent from 2008, according to new numbers released today. Household recycling is on the rise from last year according to the Northern Ireland municipal waste management statistics annual report. It further shows that recycling between April 2009 and April 2010 superseded targets set forth by quarterly waste management figures. The annual report indicates that household waste arisings in the area dropped from 879,846 in 2008 to 875,062 tonnes collected during 2009. The reduction represents a decrease of nearly 5,000 tonnes. However, the percentage of household rubbish that ... Full Story

The Government today said that industry work on increasing anaerobic digestion use around the country would be welcome. According to the invitation, the Government believes more steps need to be taken to aggressively launch widespread use of the new technology, which breaks down organic waste using microorganisms. AD can reduce food, farm and other types of organic material waste by converting it to fuel and other energy forms. The UK currently produces 100 million tonnes of waste per year, which if funneled through AD processes could generate up seven per cent of the UK’s required renewable energy for ... Full Story