LAWR

with Materials Works after citing concerns that the project could not be delivered "within a reasonable timescale". The plan was to turn 35,000 tonnes of black bag waste into a polymer for use in low-grade plastic products. The technology is sound, the council said, but "little progress" had been made in the two years since signing the conditional 16-year contract. NEWS May 2015 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 9 Political waste, van scandal and spot the difference In the 2010 General Election there were 4,150 candidates standing for 650 parliamentary seats. Given every politician's penchant for leafleting this could amount to 250 million flyers in circulation in the run-up to 7 May. Waste management specialist BigGreen.co.uk crunched the figures. In a statement, the firm says that "nobody they spoke to over the issue of election literature is looking forward to receiving it, and a massive majority say that if they could prevent it coming through their door, they would". A spokesman added: "Even with the most conservative of estimates, we reckon that 6,250 tonnes of paper will land on Britain's doormats before [polling day]. Heaven knows how much those in marginal seats will get. And with the UK's rather doubtful record of recycling its waste, up to 3,500 tons of this will go to landfill and be a complete waste." Here at LAWR, we were stunned to find out that recycling services specialist Wastesavers had been targeted by vandals last month. They caused £20,000 worth of damage to recycling collection vehicles at the firm's Esperanto Way depot, in Newport, Wales, according to the BBC. Wastesavers chief executive Penny Goodwin said at the time: "This is an act of pure vandalism that we cannot plan for. We will be working through the night to get as many of the trucks back on the road as soon as possible." As LAWR went to press, Gwent Police were investigating the incident and the damage caused. Wastesavers makes collections on behalf of Newport City Council from 64,000 homes and 300 businesses. Now you see them. Now you don't. Edinburgh City Council is gradually removing trade waste bins from city centre streets. Trials have resulted in 81% fewer bins in some areas. Throughout the process, council officers have worked with businesses to ensure compliance with collection windows, which were agreed after consultation on suitability, and to address difficulties over storage space, timing and cooperation from trade waste companies. Litter and fly- tipping has also been reduced, said one restaurant owner involved in the pilots. Recycling Bits and Pieces Educational to demonstrate the benefits of recycling to Birmingham school children. collection modernisation programme. More than 10,000 books will be distributed to the Dustcart, pictured, is the star of the book. THIS MONTH'S TOP STORIES ACROSS THE INDUSTRY NO LEFTOVERS – Love Food Hate Waste (LFHW) has announced a team of fi ve celebrity ambassadors to support the nationwide campaign to halve avoidable household food waste by 2025. Actress and director Sunetra Sarker joins celebrity chefs Rachael Khoo (pictured), James Strawbridge, Richard Fox and Shane Jordan in helping raise awareness to tackle the 4.2m tonnes of good food and drink wasted every year in UK homes.

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