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RECYCLING INITIATIVE SET TO PAY OFF FOR GREEN THINKING SEMBCORP EMPLOYEES
The pioneers of a major UK green energy development have turned their attentions to environmental matters on a smaller - but no less important - scale.
Employees at Sembcorp UK, the company behind a carbon neutral biomass power station at the Wilton International site, are determined to reduce the amount of general waste disposed of by employees.
The company, which employs around 600 staff, is responsible for providing key utilities and services to customers on the Wilton site, near Redcar.
Sembcorp has a superb track record of recycling hundreds of tonnes of waste materials a year, including metal, wood, redundant electrical items, confidential waste paper and waste oils and ash from the Wilton Power Station.
However, until now it has not recycled general office waste and last year sent almost 500 tonnes to landfill from its operations at Wilton and Billingham.
“We are determined to make big inroads into that total,” said Dave Sigsworth, Environmental Manager for Sembcorp.
“Our employees have been asking about this and even apart from the environmental considerations, which are just pure common sense, it just doesn’t make business sense to continue disposing of our waste in this way.”
Sending waste to landfill cost Sembcorp more than £90,000 last year.
The types of wastes now being targeted include office waste paper, newspapers and magazines, tin and aluminium cans, glass, plastics and cardboard.
Attractive and clearly marked recycling bins have now been set up in key locations and employees are being encouraged to remove their office bins and make the effort to dispose of their waste in the general bins instead.
“In some cases this has resulted in people having to get up from their desks and physically taking their waste to the various segregating bins so there’s a health benefit too!”
Sembcorp is working closely with its cleaning contractor, ISS and Redcar and Cleveland Council to ensure the initiative, currently in pilot form in the headquarters building, Stores and Environmental Services areas, is a success.
Added Dave: “It’s very early days but already we can see that people are thinking about the waste they produce and questioning whether they need to print as much, for example.”
“We hope to be able to halve the amount of waste we generate and halve the amount it is costing us each year and we intend to update our employees on their progress towards that target on a quarterly basis.”
Recycling In Redcar and Cleveland Love Food Hate Waste”
A third of all the food we buy in the UK ends up bring thrown away.
That’s right, we throw away a third of the food we buy, most of it is perfectly good food that could have been eaten – if only we had used it in time or not made too much. That’s why Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council are supporting WRAP's (Waste and Resources Action Programme) new, Love Food Hate Waste campaign to help reduce the amount of good food that is being thrown away.
In the UK we throw away 6.7 million tonnes of food each year. Most of this ends up in landfill sites, which contributes to climate change because it emits methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas. Not only are the environmental implications huge but the financial ones are too - we spend, and then waste, around £8 billion on food that could have been eaten.
“Love Food Hate Waste” is a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the food waste problem in the UK and providing us all with helpful and practical hints and tips on how to enjoy the food we buy, and cut down on the amount of good food thrown away. Here are some ideas we thought we’d share: •When cooking for a family - take a few minutes to measure food out - perhaps into a favourite cup - so you get the right portion per person.
• Meals made from leftovers can be delicious and timesaving– whether its food from the night before or food left in the fridge or cupboard. Do your own ‘Ready Steady Cook’ and see what meals you can make.
•Check what’s in your cupboard or freezer – not forgetting the back of your fridge – before you shop for more.
•Make good use of the fridge and freezer to keep food better - for example, most ripe fruit can be kept in the fridge to make it last longer.
And the answer for the peelings and cores - home composting is a great way to prevent unavoidable food waste such as peelings, cores and teabags ending up in landfill and can do wonders for the garden You can purchase a home composer at a reduced rate, starting from just £8 including free delivery,
For more information on how to cut down on your food waste or would like more information on the Home Composting Scheme please come along to the recycling surgeries held at the local libraries or call 08456 126 126 or log onto www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk
REDCAR CLEVELAND BOROUGH COUNCIL RECYCLING
Biodegradable Bags
Summer is the time when garden waste bins are incredibly useful due to the high growth rate of grass and plants, along with increased rates of people with green fingers. The council can collect materials which over spill the garden bin sob long as they are placed within biodegradable sacks. These are available from your local library, priced at £1.20 for 10 sacks. These bags will degrade within 5-6 months. Please don’t use black bin liners
Box Hats
If you need a box hat for your recycling box you can purchase one priced at £1 from libraries.
Recycling Surgeries
Due to their popularity, more recycling surgeries have been booked at the Boroughs libraries. Feel free to pop along to these events and have any questions regarding recycling and waste management answered by a member of the team.
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