Aluminium foil recycling rate reaches 40% in the UK

When it comes to recycling in your home, most people are aware that they can recycle items like glass bottles, newspapers and aluminium tins. However, it can be easy to get confused about other less commonly used materials.

With the rise in popularity of ready meals, especially with many supermarkets and convenience stores stocking high-end ‘luxury’ ready meals, a need has arisen for materials that can be used to adequately contain them.

Aluminium foil trays are commonly used for this purpose and often house meat, poultry, fish and even pet foods. As well as being used at home, they are also increasingly being used in the catering and food service industries as they can easily be disposed of and are very hygienic. They are also favoured for use as disposable BBQ’s and take away restaurants.

Thanks to national campaigns, more and more consumers are beginning to understand that while aluminium foil may look metallic and possibly too dense to recycle, it is perfectly fine to be recycled.

The latest data shows that the recycling of aluminium foil trays has risen from 50% to 55% throughout Europe from 2010-2013 with 85% of aluminium foil recycled in Germany and 40% in the UK.

Here at LSPS recycling is a major consideration and one of our key aims is to reduce the amount of waste that ends up at landfill sites. We operate our own site waste transfer station with an extensive range of specialist, state of the art equipment. Please click here for further information: http://www.lspsskiphire.co.uk/waste-services-leicester.html or contact us on 0800 083 7807 to find out how we can help.

What happens to your recycled scrap metal?

One of the many strengths of metals such as steel, iron, aluminium, brass and copper is that they can be recycled many times to make new products. Reusing metal in this way not only reduces the amount of raw materials that need to be mined but it also decreases the amount of waste we produce. Recycled scrap metal can form many household products and the repurposed material is also widely used in the manufacturing industry.

In its purist form, scrap metal can be found in modern art sculptures or decorative metalwork which gives items a new lease of life once they are no longer usable. While this is not to everyone’s taste, recycled scrap metal can be found in furnishings, fixtures and lighting while metal roofing is commonly made from recycled metal.

Additionally, the packaging for canned food products is largely made of recycled materials and it is becoming more common for this kind of packaging to be made from 100% recycled metal. Furthermore, the production of recycled aluminium produces less greenhouse gases as well as being cheaper to manufacture when compared to the production of new aluminium. The process is so efficient that recycled metal food containers can be found again on our supermarket shelves within two months.

In the manufacturing industry, recycled scrap metal is widely used and can be found in new products such as home appliances, shipping containers, aeroplanes, cars and building materials.

If you have any scrap metal you wish to sell for recycling, please get in touch with LSPS who can collect your scrap metal from your premises and offer you a fair price. More information on waste disposal can be found on the LSPS website,  or alternatively you can call LSPS on our free phone number: 0800 083 7807.

Interesting Recycling Facts

Argos launch electrical waste trade-in scheme

With the UK’s population estimated to now have £1bn worth of neglected electrical equipment, Argos have recently taken a bold and responsible step by becoming the UK’s first major retailer to offer an electrical waste trade-in scheme.

This service will allow customers to earn Argos vouchers by trading-in their unwanted mobile phones or tablets which otherwise could be destined to end up in waste disposal sites. Items can now be traded in at any of the firm’s 788 stores around the UK and will either be refurbished and resold or recycled for parts.

The scheme has been developed and supported by WRAP, a charity who aim to help companies develop more resourceful business models. WRAP’s mission is to ‘accelerate the move to a sustainable resource-efficient economy’ and the ambition of this scheme is to reduce the amount of electrical items that are being sent to landfill.

Head of Corporate Responsibility at Argos, Amy Whidburn said: “As a leading technology retailer we know that our customers are looking for solutions to responsibly dispose of unwanted gadgets when they replace or trade-up devices. Our new scheme in conjunction with Wrap offers them a safe way to do this, in a really convenient location on their local high street or retail park, with the added benefit of receiving a gift card in return immediately.”

Argos are initially only accepting mobile phones and tablets but they hope to extend the trade-in scheme, depending on the response from customers, to include laptops, satellite navigation devices and cameras. When customers trade-in their devices in store they will receive an instant quote for the item or items and if accepted they will receive a gift card equal to the valuation.

More information on waste disposal can be found on the LSPS website, or alternatively you can call LSPS on our free phone number: 0800 083 7807.

How to dispose of unusual or bulky items

When making big changes to your home or upgrading appliances it can often be difficult to dispose of big or unusual items. This sometimes leads to unwanted items being left on the streets because it can be inconvenient or difficult to dispose of this large waste effectively. This kind of rubbish is not only an eyesore but it also creates a hazard for other people and wildlife.

One of the best ways to dispose of a large item is to donate it to charity so that it can be used by someone else. Alternatively, see if you can give the item a new purpose by upcycling or repurposing it. There are lots of ideas for repurposing on the internet with the DIY Network and Pinterest being great sources of inspiration. Alternatively, before replacing a broken appliance it is worthwhile attempting to fix the issue yourself. Again, there are many online resources that can help you maintain and fix items so you can continue using them. Doing this can help limit the amount of waste that is dumped in our landfill sites.

If your only option is to dispose of your bulky items you should do this as soon as possible to prevent them from becoming a hazardous eyesore. Your local council’s household waste recycling centre can usually dispose of the vast majority of items but before making the trip there you should check your local council’s website to see if they will accept your waste.

Alternatively, some councils now offer a bulk waste collection service. In Leicestershire, Leicester City Council is starting to help residents with the disposal of their unusual or bulky waste items by providing one free collection of up to five bulky items and one free collection of up to 15 items of garden waste every two months. If you live in Leicester and wish to use this waste collection service you can book a collection online here. However, if you live outside of Leicester you will need to contact you district council to arrange a bulky waste collection.

More information on waste disposal can be found on the LSPS website, or alternatively you can call LSPS on our free phone number: 0800 083 7807.

Waste management around the world

The UK government has substantially upped its efforts to improve recycling over the past decade. With landfill sites filling up and space at a premium in the UK, more and more of us are being encouraged to recycle.

However, whilst many of us seem to have caught the recycling bug here in the UK, large scale change can only be achieved through worldwide participation in recycling practises, and whilst considerable improvement has been made, the UK is still a long way off meeting our EU target of 50% of our waste to be recycled. So what is the rest of the world doing when it comes to waste recycling, and is there anything that we learn from it?

Recycling policy differs from country to country and the amount each country recycles will ultimately depend on a combination of both the attitude of the government in place at the time and the amount of consumer pressure in that area. As of 2013, the UK ranked in 11^th place in the recycling tables at 39%. In contrast, fellow EU member Austria topped the world tables with a recycling rate of 63%. Austria has managed to make such considerable advances because of two main factors. The first is media presence. Austria has managed to use advertising and the media to cultivate really positive attitudes surrounding the recycling process, which in turn has diffused through the whole of Austrian society, encouraging more and more people to recycle. Secondly, with state of the art facilities and machinery available to companies, more and more people are being incentivised to go into the recycling business, which in turn has increased demand for recyclable materials.

However, whilst it’s important that we don’t dismiss the UK’s shortcomings compared to Austria, it is important to point out that the UK has undoubtedly made considerable improvement, doubling how much it recycles over the past 15 years, and there are still plenty of countries that the UK is vastly outperforming.

Nigeria is one example. Africa’s most populous country is one of those guilty of lagging far behind with what is expected when it comes to recycling. Their infrastructure is unequipped to deal with the waste that they are producing and many of it ends up in open landfill. Estimates suggest that only 13% of recyclable materials are ever recovered from city landfills, meaning that more and more new products have to be created in order to feed the demand for plastics and glass whilst recyclable materials lie unprocessed in landfill sites.

Romania is another example. The country has extremely lax laws when it comes to waste management. Despite agreeing to EU targets being set at 50% of its waste to be recycled, Romania has been guilty of badly failing in its recycling efforts. Without the right controls put in place, and a lack of investment in both facilities and schemes, meeting these targets has been made almost impossible. Estimates suggest that just 1% of waste is ever recycled.

So, whilst the UK is doing ok, it could still do much better, which could be helped by government intervention, more awareness campaigns, more financial incentives, and businesses having the equipment needed to recycle more. Recycling is a major consideration for LSPS in Leicester, and we are dedicated to recycling everything possible to reduce waste going to landfill. If more companies offered the same service, recycling as much waste as possible, then it could greatly help with the UK’s performance. For more information about recycling, please read our article, “Recycling: are we doing our bit?”

What can I put inside my skip?

One of the most common questions that comes up when people are inquiring about hiring a skip is what items are they allowed to put in it.

Whilst skips are an excellent choice for getting rid of most things, for legal or practical reasons some items, such as liquids, are not permitted to be put in skips and therefore need to be disposed of in other ways.

Different skip hire companies will often have different rules as to what can go in their skips, so if you have items that you are unsure about it is always best to ask first before hiring. However, this article aims to give a broad overview of the type of products that might not be allowed. Everyone has different reasons for choosing a skip, so to make it easier, we’ve divided this guide up into common uses for skips.

Skips for household use

If you’re moving house and getting rid of some old possessions, or perhaps just looking to de-clutter your home as part of a spring clean then hiring a skip can be a handy solution. But you should be aware that some items, such as fridges and freezers are not permitted to be disposed of in skips as they contain harmful gases. However, you can arrange for fridge freezers to be collected by the council; typically, this costs around £10-30, or alternatively you can look to transport the fridge to a designated fridge freezer recycling plant yourself. Other household items they may be forbidden include electrical equipment such as TVs and computer screens, fluorescent tubes and air conditioning units. Batteries are also not allowed in skips, but there are many places within local communities that now have battery recycling facilities.

Construction and decorators waste

The nature of the construction process typically requires a place to put lots of waste products such as concrete, stone, bricks and other rubble. For this reason, skips are commonplace in building sites across the UK. If you’re looking to renovate old buildings and houses, you should be aware that asbestos is not permitted to be disposed of in skips as this material is dangerous for anyone in contact with it. Furthermore, paints and solvents should not be placed in skips, as paint is a chemical compound and skip hire firms do not hold licenses to dispose of this type of hazardous waste. Plasterboard is often not allowed in skips either.

Garages

Oil, petrol and diesel are all products that are highly flammable and are not permitted to be put into skips as there is always a chance that they could ignite. The same applies to gas bottles and canisters. Tyres and vehicle batteries are also not allowed to be disposed of in this way as these materials are extremely toxic to the environment and need to be disposed of at a registered recycler. In fact, as a general rule of thumb anything that is considered to be a hazardous or toxic material is not allowed in a skip.

Clinical or medical waste

Medical waste cannot be disposed of in skips because these materials could prove hazardous to those who come into contact with them. As a result, this type of waste is subject to very tight controls and doctors, vets or pharmacies who want to get rid of this type of waste must contact a company that is authorised to recover and dispose of medical waste.

Most other items can be disposed of in skips, but if you have got any specific concerns about what you can or cannot put in a skip, or for other general queries then please call LSPS on 0800 083 7807. More information about hiring a skip can also be found in our article “Hiring a skip? Here are some ground rules”.