LAWR

February 2015

Local Authority Waste & Recycling Magazine

Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/445532

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 8 of 27

NEWS February 2015 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 9 Blaming litter on 'poor people' and wonky vegetables A Sussex campaigner has called for six thousand pound fines for littering and appeared to blame 'poor people' for dropping most of the rubbish on UK streets, according to ITV news. Humourist and author David Sedaris from Horsham told a Government Committee that levels of litter in the region are "disgraceful" and he says children are also among the worst offenders. Sedaris later said he felt it was childish of committee members to suggest he was blaming poor people, but he had told the Government panel that he had only found one Waitrose bag when he was litter picking, whereas he found Tesco bags all the time. When asked directly if he felt wealthy people who shop at Waitrose were less likely to drop litter than poorer people who shop at Tesco's he said: "I haven't found any opera tickets". Asda is collaborating with TV chef Jamie Oliver to reduce food waste by selling a new range of misshapen fruit and vegetables at reduced prices. The initiative, called 'Beautiful on the Inside', is being trialled at five Asda stores. The trial started last month. The idea was reportedly born when farmers told Oliver on his Friday Night Feast TV show that a significant amount of fruit and veg isn't being sold as 'fresh' because it's 'wonky' or 'ugly'. Asda produce technical director Ian Harrison said: "We've been working very closely with our farmers to make sure we have excellent knowledge of our supply chain. Our growers are savvy and already use a large percentage of this 'wonky' crop for things like ready meals and juicing but we saw an opportunity to extend this even more. "There is still work to be done in encouraging customers to give 'wonky' fruit and veg a go, but we hope our campaign will break down some of those barriers and make 'ugly' food more accessible for shoppers and families." A new law has come into effect in New York making it illegal for residents to discard of some electrical items via kerbside waste collections. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), electronics are the fastest growing category of solid waste in the United States. However, as they often contain valuable resources (such as rare earths) as well as harmful materials, it is 'important that they are responsibly recycled'. As such, the NY State Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act law (enacted as Chapter 99 of the Laws of 2010) mandates that from 1 January 2015, any individual or householder my not dispose of certain electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) items, such as computers, televisions, DVD players, MP3 players, tablets, and e-readers, via kerbside waste collections. A similar ban came into force for manufacturers and retailers in 2011, and a year after for all other people other than individuals or householders. Recycling Bits and Pieces management container repair specialist UK Container Maintenance (UKCM) Emma Elston has been the company with her husband Julian in 1998, has been awarded an MBE for her Elston said: "I am extremely honoured, very proud and rather overwhelmed at the it." YOUR ROUND-UP OF THIS MONTH'S TOP STORIES ACROSS THE INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY DAY - Waste management company Viridor welcomed a variety of industry stakeholders at its Lakeside energy recovery facility, as it hosted its first 'Innovation and Technology Day' in December.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of LAWR - February 2015