LAWR

NEWS November 2014 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 5 FOR MORE NEWS AND ANALYSIS VISIT www.edie.net /waste An Ayrshire-based recycling firm has been fined £118,000 after a worker lost his arm while clearing a conveyor belt blockage. Steven Dawson, then aged 28, was working as a line supervisor for Lowmac Alloys at its premises on the Oldhall West Industrial Estate in Irvine, when the incident happened on 8 February 2011, according to the Health Safety Executive (HSE). Last month, Kilmarnock Sheriff Court was told that Dawson was separating plastic and paper by hand on the conveyor belt when he was alerted to a problem with the conveyor belt and noticed a metal container had caught on the edge of the conveyor belt's pulley. He opened an unsecured hinged guard to access the blockage, but when he attempted to remove the container his left hand and arm came into contact with the moving belt and the bottom of the pulley – resulting in his arm being severed at the shoulder. Dawson was taken to hospital but doctors were unable to reattach his arm. Lowmac Alloys was prosecuted after a HSE investigation found that more could have been done to prevent access to dangerous moving machinery parts. The firm was also criticised for failing to provide effective supervision of workers. LAWR contacted Lowmac Alloys but nobody was available for comment as we went to press. Recycling firm fined over health and safety breach FEAD unveils circular economy strategy The European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services (FEAD) has unveiled its 'Driving the Circular Economy' strat- egy. For the period 2014 to 2020, the FEAD strategy reflects the role that Europe's waste and resource manage- ment industry will take in develop- ing a more circular economy, and help to deliver Europe's economic and environmental objectives. FEAD president and SITA UK chief executive David Palmer-Jones said: "The strategy which FEAD is pub- lishing ... sets out our vision of how the resource management industry can play its full part in achieving a more sustainable, prosperous and resilient European economy. "The first overarching theme run- ning through our strategy is partner- ship working with designers, manu- facturers and retailers. Joining up the start of the product cycle with its end point is the goal of the circular economy, and none of this can hap- pen without partnership. "The second key theme is coher- ence in policy making. We believe it is the duty of policy makers at all levels to assist the development of a more circular economy in Europe, which will create jobs and growth while improving resource security and protecting the environment. "In this context, FEAD welcomes the European Commission's (EC) pro- posals to revise EU waste legislation and targets, which set out an ambi- tious long-term vision for Europe's resources policy beyond 2020. We look forward to working with the EU institutions on the practical steps needed to turn these ambitious tar- gets into reality." FEAD wants the market for recovered materials to be stimulat- ed through a variety of measures. These measures include stronger rules on green public procurement at European level to promote the use of products with recycled content and transparency in extended producer responsibility schemes to encourage manufacturers to use recycled mate- rials. Elsewhere, the EC is exploring the possibility of applying a lower rate of VAT to second hand goods and green products, to promote waste preven- tion and reuse. It is also looking at eco-labelling rules to enable consum- ers to choose recycled products. Veolia links with Siemens HRH - The Duke of Kent (pictured left) officially opened SITA Consortium's new energy from waste (EfW) facility in Billingham, Teesside. Here, he is pictured with SITA UK EfW shift manager Kevin Clewes. Resource management firm Veolia, through its subsidiary Veolia Environmental Services, has signed a three-year contract worth just under £6m with Siemens to provide an integrated range of recycling and treatment services covering multi- ple waste streams including com- mercial, industrial and hazardous waste. The contract, that is designed to provide circular solutions for all its waste streams, is split over four contracted lots with Veolia supply- ing recycling and treatment services for up to 90 Siemens manufacturing sites and office locations across the UK. As part of the deal, Veolia will provide recycling and waste collec- tions to on and offshore wind power sites predominantly in Scotland. Veolia senior executive vice president UK and Ireland Estelle Brachlianoff said that Veolia shared a "common interest with Siemens in environmental thought leadership". Sita employee views recovered aluminium cans

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