EDMONTON – Apartment and condo dwellers in parts of Edmonton will soon be serenaded by their recycling bins.

Motion sensors are being installed in 400 blue bins citywide. When the lids on the bins are opened, the sensors will trigger sound devices to play one of two 30-second blues tunes.

It’s part of a $160,000 “blue bin blues” campaign to get Edmontonians to stop dumping inappropriate items in the bins while also encouraging people to recycle more.

“When you go to recycle, you may hear your blue bin singing to you,” said Connie Boyce, the city’s director of community relations.

Typical items inappropriately dumped into blue bins include garden hoses, wires and Christmas lights, she said.

Boyce said the items get wrapped around machinery at the sorting facility, which can cause the whole plant to be temporarily shut down.

Paints, motor oils, butcher knives, needles and even guns have been found in blue bins, she said, posing a danger to the workers who must sort through the contents of the bins.

Boyce said the one-of-a-kind promotion was devised after the number of building dwellers who recycle recently dropped to 80% from 90%.

She said she’s not aware of any other city that has singing recycling bins.

Boyce acknowledged it’s possible some of the singing units may be stolen and some may not work at all times.

“But we’ve got a few hundred out there, so some people will definitely be surprised when they go out there to recycle.”

Motion sensors are expected to be installed in the bins by the end of the week. Each one costs the city about $10.

The campaign runs until the end of June.

There are about 1,600 blue bins at apartment, condo and townhouse complexes throughout Edmonton.

The tunes are sung by local musician Hank Leonhardt. More here.

Veolia Environnement logo

French utilities firm Veolia Environnement – which owns Veolia Environmental Services in the UK – has seen operating cash flows for its worldwide waste management divisions decline “significantly” due to the lower values for recovered materials and a fall in waste arisings.

In the UK, revenue was relatively flat at constant scope and exchange rates as the multi-annual municipal waste management contracts and the ramp-up of integrated waste contracts offset the decline in industrial waste and landfill volumes

Veolia Half Year Report 2009 The Paris-based company said in its half-year report for 2009 published yesterday (August 6) that its overall operating cash flows had fallen by 4.9% as compared with the figures for the first half of 2008. The decline was attributed to the firm feeling the effects of the economic downturn.

Among the worst hit by the decline in operating cash flow was Veolia’s worldwide waste management divisions, with the firm reporting a fall of 24.4% at a constant exchange rate across all its markets.

Veolia claimed that waste management divisions had been “characterised by a decline in the volumes of mainly industrial and hazardous waste processed” and also falls in the prices of recycled materials, most noticeably paper and metals. Veolia said this had a “significant impact” on the operating performance of the division.

Effect

Decline in the operating cash flow – which is the amount of cash the company generates from revenues from customers, excluding long-term investments – were most noticeable in Germany where it was down 18. 3%, North America, 10.5%, and, Asia-Pacific, 9.8%. The UK arm was, however, relatively unaffected.

The report states: “In the UK, revenue was relatively flat at constant scope and exchange rates as the multi-annual municipal waste management contracts and the ramp-up of integrated waste contracts offset the decline in industrial waste and landfill volumes.”

The major declines on the waste side of the company were seen in Italy, where Veolia had to write-down assets in the waste management business in Italy and incurred a €35 million (£30 million) impairment charge on assets, which came as a result of a business plan review in connection with ongoing contractual negotiations.

Veolia has now set itself an objective to create €180 million (£154 million) in savings in the remainder of 2009, which will be coupled with an ‘adaptation’ plan for its waste management division that intends to create €100 million (£85.5 million) worth of savings.

Future

Commenting on the results, Veolia Environnement chairman and chief executive officer, Henri Proglio, said: “During the first half we have met the objectives we set for the company. Veolia Environnement is weathering the economic downturn well and continuing its expansion.

“The company has taken a number of vigorous measures to improve its cash generation, an area in which we have already recorded the first effects. At the same time, we are pursuing our strategic development, as illustrated by the negotiations to merge Veolia Transport with [international public transport firm] Transdev.

“Overall, the actions taken and the strong support of all Veolia’s employees enable us to confirm our objectives for the full year 2009 and look to the future with confidence,” he added.

In March, the company revealed that it would look to cut-costs and rein in spending during 2009 to offset the challenges presented by the global economic slowdown. Veolia had reported that the end-of-year results for 2007/08 showed a decline from €928 million (£827 million) in 2007 to €405 million (£361 million) last year (see letsrecycle.com story).

However, the Waster especially commends WRG and it’s WRG’s Site staff for the survey in which; “…99% rated it as “good or very good” and 94% said that they had found staff helpful during their visit”.

Something really quite special is being achieved, and public recycling rates can only be improved as a result.

Press Release:
Public “thumbs-up” for Smallmead recycling centre

12/10/2008
The new state-of-the-art Smallmead Household Waste Recycling Centre in Reading has been given a huge thumbs up by the people that matter most – the residents who use it.

Earlier this year, as part of the PFI contract, re3 have also began redevelopment works at the Longshot Lane Civic Amenity Site in Bracknell. The works are due to continue until summer 2009, and have led to restricted opening times for residents using the site. Despite this, 82% of visitors to the site rated it as either good or very good. The full release is here.

Click to take the survey

For example, are you one of the 78% so far that see energy from waste as a no-brainer? Or are you in the minority that thinks the new Department for Energy and Climate Change will help clarify waste issues, rather than adding further confusion as to which Government department is truly in charge?

Visit http://tinyurl.com/ciwm-survey or click on the button on the CIWM homepage: www.ciwm.co.uk

Published Wednesday 20th August 2008 11:42 GMT

The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has said the government should do more to encourage businesses to recycle and reduce waste and take the focus away from householders.

Recent attempts to reduce domestic waste by weighing dustbins and banning carrier bags should be scrapped in favour of changing the VAT regime so British firms do more to tackle waste. But British “throwaway” society also needs to be addressed, the Lords said.

Witnesses told the committee that consumers were often confused about the overall environmental impact of products, for instance focussing on packaging which usually makes up only a small part of the total enviromental impact of a product.

In its sixth report the committee accepted that the landfill tax is useful to counter business waste, but also recommends changes to VAT to encourage more sustainable products. More…

Officials in Norwich, England, have tagged a man as a repeat recycling offender for placing cabbage stalks in his waste bin, the 73-year-old says.

Barry Freezer said after he placed the stalks of his homegrown cabbage into his garden waste bin, trash officials refused to empty the refuse container and he was cited as a problematic recycler under current regulations, The Daily Mail said Sunday.

Current recycling regulations state that any garden waste cannot be mixed with any kitchen waste which could have come into contact with meat.

Freezer maintains the fact his cabbage his homegrown should be proof enough that the stalks never made it into the kitchen.

“When did you last buy a cabbage with a stalk at a supermarket? It should be obvious that this was garden waste that never came into contact with the kitchen,” he said.

Freezer told the Mail that local authorities had not responded to his letter regarding the situation, which he says has become commonplace.

“The system is ridiculously complicated. People like me will be making ‘mistakes’ all the time. I could burn my garden waste but it’s not good for the environment,” Freezer said.

The French utilities company which owns Veolia Environmental Services UK has posted strong financial results for 2007 – despite “unfavourable” market conditions.

Veolia Environnement has reported that in the year up until December 31 2007, its global revenue increased by 14% – from the equivalent of £21.7 billion in 2006 to £24.7 billion in 2007.

In the same period, the company’s net income grew 22.3% – from the equivalent of £584 million in 2006 to £705. 9million million Euros in 2007.

In the company’s waste division – which is the second waste management player in the world- operating income meanwhile increased by 23.9% to the equivalent of £610.9 million in 2007.

Veolia Environnement put the growth down to “strategic choices” by the company and by its focus on long-term contacts within a wide geographical area.

In the UK, the company paid particular credit to the performance of its integrated waste management contracts and to winning a long-term PFI contract with Shropshire (see letsrecycle.com story).

It also recognised the successful consolidation of Cleanaway into Veolia, after the company was taken over in 2006 (see letsrecycle.com story) and to the acquisition of German waste giant Sulo.

More…

“In a period in which the Group has implemented substantial changes in preparation for the pre-treatment regulations which came into effect at the end of October, we are pleased to report good growth in revenues, operating profit, adjusted earnings and free cash flow in the first half of this year”

Martin Bettington, Chief Executive Officer of Biffa Plc

High Wycombe, Bucks, England:  Waste management group, Biffa has continued to deliver good growth during a period of significant change as the UK waste management industry has been preparing for the new pre-treatment regulations, the company said today in its interim report for the 26 weeks ending 28 September 2007.

Biffa confirmed on Monday, that it had rejected an approach from a grouping of private equity companies.

The interim situation shows that revenues for the Group are up 4.9% at £395m (2006-07 £376.5m) and operating profit is up 7.2% at £52.4m (2006-07 £48.9m).

Biffa says that it has benefited from strong operational performances in both its Resource Recovery and Landfill and Power Generation divisions.

The company considers that the pre-treatment regulations, effective from October, have been “one of the most significant legislative changes to affect the UK waste industry over the last ten years, encouraging our industry to make an important step from waste disposal to resources management”.

In response to the new regulations, Biffa has expanded its recycling collection services to offer national coverage for card and extensive coverage for paper and glass.

Biffa is also extending its Material Recycling Facilities (MRFs) capacity through further development of existing facilities and by establishing new ones.

Resource Recovery and Landfill
The company’s strategy has been to achieve the best balance between capacity and demand which has resulted in a growth of 5% in average unit revenues before landfill tax.  There has also been a 10% volume increase which is essentially due to the opening of a new landfill site at Cottonmount in Northern Ireland in November of last year, according to the company, exceeding Biffa’s expectations at this stage.

Biffa’s second soil remediation clinic was opened in October at the Colnbrook site, near Heathrow.  This followed a pilot study last year at the company’s Risley site, near Warrington.

Power generation
The company has successfully negotiated the termination of less profitable NFFO (Non-fossil fuel obligation) contracts at Roxby and Trecatti sites early, with the released capacity qualifying for ROCs (Renewable Obligation Certificates).

Output that qualifies for ROCs attracts a substantially higher revenue package than the revenues earned under NFFO contracts.

The Power Generation Division wholly owns 66.6 MW of installed capacity, of which 66.7% now qualifies for ROCs compared to 31% in 2006/07.

Biffa says that it also has interests in a further 40.6 MW, primarily held through joint venture and royalty arrangements.

Two weeks ago Councillor Martin Elengorn, Richmond Council cabinet member for environment, strongly denied materials put out for recycling were being tipped into the ground.

But this week he said Veolia, which collects rubbish and recycling for Richmond Council, took three loads of mixed recycling to a waste transfer station in Brentford rather than to Greenwich, where it would have been sorted and recycled.

Coun Elengorn said the contractors had acted against instructions and it would not happen again, as a section of the council depot in Twickenham had been set aside to leave materials if time was short in the future. More …

The Waster at first wondered whether there was some devious re-routing of recycling materials taking place here. However, as so often in local press stories, there was nothing untoward taking place at all.