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News in brief 13/11/15

Sims Metal Management releases profit warning

News in brief 13/11/15Global recycling group Sims Metal Management (SMM) has announced a profit warning in response to the deterioration of market conditions in recent months.

Shares in the company, which is domiciled in Australia, dropped by 19 per cent to AUS$7.76 (£3.63) following the trading update, which predicted that the company would only break even in the first half of 2015/16, having previously predicted that profits would grow in the period.

Sims, which operates across the world and has 42 metals recycling sites in the UK, said in August: “Despite external headwinds, due to the internal strategic initiatives, we anticipate continued underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) improvement in FY16 (financial year 2015/16).”

However, Chief Executive Galdino Claro told SMM’s annual general meeting, where the warning was made, that a 30 per cent fall in ferrous steel prices since August alongside weaker demand in China had altered the company’s outlook.

SMM’s EBIT for 2014/15 was posted as AUS$142 million (£66 million), and Credit Suisse has reportedly told clients that commented that “this is effectively a AUS$70 million (£33 million), 50 per cent downgrade in underlying earnings in the space of a few months”.

Find out more about Sims Metal Management.

 

Veolia supports FoodCycle’s Breadline Challenge

News in brief 13/11/15Waste management company Veolia is working with charity partner FoodCycle to support the charity’s Breadline Challenge initiative, which works to raise awareness of the rising level of food poverty in the UK.

The Breadline Challenge asks volunteers and the general public to live on a food and drink budget of £2.86 a day for a week next week (16-22 November) to experience the realities of food poverty and raise funds for FoodCycle. Veolia is supporting the initiative, and members of its staff will be taking an active part in the campaign.

An estimated four million people in the UK are affected by food poverty, and FoodCycle works to provide meals for vulnerable people across the UK using donated food and spare kitchen spaces.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia’s Senior Executive Vice-President UK & Ireland, said: “Through our partnership with FoodCycle we can all help improve the lives of vulnerable members in the community, and by taking part in the Breadline Challenge our, teams will help spread awareness of this need and support the cause. Our commitment is to improve the lives of our communities and help reduce the seven million tonnes of food waste that goes to landfill each year by turning it into a resource.”

More information on the Breadline Challenge can be found at FoodCycle’s website.

 

Public cardboard recycling suspended after meat contamination

News in brief 13/11/15
A cardboard recycling container contaminated with large quantities of meat
Cardboard collection has been suspended at all recycling sites in the Cumbrian borough of Copeland after recycling banks were heavily contaminated with non-cardboard items including meat and plastic.

Copeland Borough Council first appealed to residents to be careful when visiting recycling centres last month, after a large quantity of meat was found dumped in a cardboard unit. Following another large batch of meat being found in a different cardboard container this month, along with a ‘significant amount of general household and trade waste’ being found in other bins, the council has taken the decision to suspend the service ‘until they can find ways to stop individuals from abusing the facility’.

Copeland Borough Council’s Waste & Enforcement Manager, Janice Carrol said: “After people have spent time and effort to separate their recyclable waste and bring it to the centres, the irresponsible actions of a few people [result] in the materials being unfit for recycling… 

“Due to the quantities of meat found dumped, our enforcement team are now carrying out trade waste document checks in the problem areas. Our environmental health teams who visit food premises will also be checking how businesses dispose of their business waste. We are also looking at ways of adapting the cardboard banks, which have larger apertures than the banks for other recyclables.

“We are aiming to gradually reintroduce the service by Christmas, and in the meantime we ask residents, if possible, to store their cardboard for recycling until then. Any cardboard left at the recycling centres while the service is suspended will be treated as fly-tipping and appropriate action will be taken.” 

More information on waste and recycling in Copeland can be found on the council’s website.

 

Techlan wins sustainability award for composite innovation

News in brief 13/11/15
Techlan Director and Head of Innovation Mark Thompson receives the Composites UK award
Techlan Ltd, which recycles silicone release papers used in manufacture and treatment, has been presented with the Environment and Sustainability Award at the Composites UK Industry Awards.

Release paper is used to prevent a sticky surface from adhering prematurely. Techlan has developed a process that allows this paper to be recycled and supplied back to its original producer for up to two more uses, depending on the product’s specification.

Commenting on the award, which was presented by the Composite UK Association at a ceremony on 4 November, Mark Thompson, Director at Techlan, said: “Our innovative recycling of waste silicone release paper has taken many years to develop, so to be presented with this award makes all of the hard work and effort by our team incredibly worthwhile.”

Explaining the process developed by the company, which was established in 2009 and has been backed by the Welsh Government and the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), Thompson said: “Once it has been recycled and quality inspected, the silicone release paper is converted into reels or sheets, and packaged.”

Techlan’s recycled silicone release paper is up to 50 per cent of the cost of virgin paper, it can be supplied in small quantities of only 250 square metres.

“There are many companies that use silicone release paper but in relatively small quantities. To purchase virgin silicone release paper from a manufacturer you may have to buy 10,000 square metres or more. This ties up valuable cash in stock over long periods of time for orders that may or may not even materialise.”

Find out more about Techlan.

 

Toton Aggregates offers East Midlands construction firms sustainable solution

Toton Aggregates, a subsidiary of resource management and recycling company Wastecycle, has begun supplying construction and civil engineering firms in the East Midlands with locally-manufactured recycled aggregates for use in building and roadworks projects.

The company, which has sites in both Nottingham and Leicester, uses a specialist blending and screening process to convert inert materials into a reusable sub base for foundation, roads and trench reinstatements for new cables and pipes.

Paul Clements, Commercial Director for Toton Aggregates and Wastecycle, said: “We identified the opportunity to offer local firms a recycled substitute five times stronger than the granular sub base that is also much more environmentally sustainable.

“By investing in new equipment, Toton can not only offer pre-made structural materials for reinstatement, but also an on-site manufacturing service for larger projects meaning no transport or landfill costs and lower carbon footprints.”

Find out more about Toton Aggregates.