The North West Region Waste Management Group (NWRWMG) has moved a step closer to completing its public procurement exercise to deliver new waste infrastructure for the north-west region.

The Joint Committee of the Group has recommended a preferred bidder to deliver the half billion-plus pound project, one of Northern Ireland’s largest procurement deals.

The Group’s constituent Councils will now receive and decide upon the recommendation of the Joint Committee. Cllr. Evelyn Robinson, NWRWMG’s Chair, said:

“Today’s decision brings us another step closer to finalising one of the largest and most complicated public procurement exercises in Northern Ireland.  It has the potential to revolutionise and revitalise the way we handle our waste.

“Environmental considerations and EU regulations highlight that we should send much less waste to landfill.  The proposed new waste facilities will maximise recycling rates and provide renewable energy from the region’s waste.

“The technology being proposed, a combination of mechanical biological treatment (MBT) and gasification, represents best practice.  The facilities will create jobs, provide value-for-money to ratepayers, ensure that the region avoids potentially punishing EU fines for failing to divert waste from landfill and safeguard our environment.”

The consortium being put forward is made up of local and national expertise in the waste sector.  The companies involved are Brickkiln, Sisk and Shanks.  Brickkiln is a Derry-based firm specialising in waste management and civil engineering, Sisk is an international construction company while Shanks is an international waste management business.

The consortium has already secured planning permission to develop a MBT facility and gasification plant at Brickkiln’s Enviropark at Electra Road, Maydown, Derry.

MBT is a pre-treatment process that will allow Councils to maximise their recycling by extracting additional useful materials from the waste stream while gasification, an advanced thermal treatment for non-recyclable waste, will produce renewable energy.

The site will handle 120,000 tonnes of waste annually, supplying 30 Giga Watt hours of renewable electricity to the grid, enough to support the energy needs of 6,000 homes for a year.  The facilities will create 200 construction jobs and a further 40 full-time posts when they become operational.

NWRWMG’s Vice Chairman, Cllr. Michael Coyle, said:

“By 2020 the NWRWMG must ensure that less than 35% of bio-degradable municipal waste goes to landfill.  Failure to do so could lead to EU infraction fines which will ultimately have to be met by ratepayers.

“The solution recommended today will enable local Councils to meet those targets and treat non-recyclable waste in a more environmentally friendly manner.  The new facilities will complement our focus on the ‘3Rs’ of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle and help us reach a recycling target of 60%.

“It is no longer an option to keep sending so much of our rubbish to landfill.  Apart from the harmful greenhouse gases which it creates, it is a waste of a renewable energy source.  MBT will boost recycling rates by 6% while gasification will help Northern Ireland reach its renewable energy targets and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

“This is an important stage in the decision-making process, but it is not the final decision.  Over the next few weeks local Councils will have the opportunity to assess and review the recommendation.  If all parties are satisfied we can move towards officially awarding the contract in early 2013.”

If NWRWMG’s constituent councils accept the recommendation of the NWRWMG Joint Committee, construction work is likely to begin in the next 12-15 months with the facilities becoming operational in 2015.

A video, ‘The Future of Waste Resource Management’, which explains the new technologies in more detail, can be viewed on this website.

There is also a round-up of the work being carried out by the NWRWMG’s constituent councils, as well as an update on the £500m public procurement exercise to deliver new waste management facilities for the North West region.

To read Waste Watch, please click on the link below:

www.northwestwaste.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Waste-Watch-Autumn-2012.pdf

EWWR aims to raise awareness of waste reduction by encouraging businesses, educational establishments, voluntary organisations, charities, retailers and householders to make a change to our everyday behavior to reduce the amount of waste we produce.  Even the smallest changes in our daily lives can make a big difference in our local environment and help Northern Ireland to move towards becoming a more sustainable and resource efficient society.

Last year EWWR was a great success in the North West and this year we are encouraging even more people to get involved.

EWWR 2012 in Northern Ireland will be running with the theme of food waste and promoting the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. Wasted food is wasted resources.  Wasting food costs the average household £480 a year, rising to £680 for a family with children, the equivalent of around £50 a month.  With rising food prices, reducing the amount of food waste you throw away really can help you save money every week.

It’s not only the money we waste when we throw away good food, it’s also the water that’s been used to grow and produce it. Not to mention the energy and effort that’s gone into bringing the food to our table.  There’s an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables around at this time of year so why not make the most of them? Enjoy delicious harvest fruit and vegetables now and use our Love Food Hate Waste tips to store the rest to enjoy later in the year.

If you would like to get involved you can:

• Email ewwr2012@wrap.org.uk; or
• Phone the NI EWWR Coordinator on 07515 598332; or
• Check out www.rethinkwasteni.org/ewwr

• Provision for the treatment of NWRWMG collected commingled waste from HWRC’s and from other council services, (OJEU # 2012/S 101-138790) to:

-       Brickkiln Waste Ltd

-       North West Recycling Consortium

• Provision for the haulage, treatment and disposal of  NWRWMG collected Local Authority Residual Municipal Waste (Short Term Contract) (OJEU # 2012/S 101-168791), to:

-       North West Recycling Consortium

www.northwestwaste.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Waste-Watch-Spring-2012.pdf

Conveniently located at the back of Dungiven Sports Pavilion with access through the existing Sports Centre and Health Centre entrance on Chapel Road the HRC has been designed to maintain traffic movement with a one way flow system and spacious set down areas to deposit materials. Staff onsite will be available at all times to assist and direct customers to the various collection points in what will be a fully lit, secure facility. A 20 year Landscape Management Plan has been drawn up to reduce visual impact and integrate the development with the surrounding vegetation.

In order to meet stringent recycling and landfill diversion targets it is necessary for council to continually explore new ways of providing residents of the Borough with convenient user-friendly infrastructure. Increasing taxes on land-filled waste and fines for exceeding landfill targets alongside our desire to protect natural resources have driven this requirement for council to provide residents with the most up to date facilities possible. Dungiven HRC will be a welcome addition to the currently available wide range of recycling options in the Borough.

Caption: From left to right

William Doherty of William Doherty Construction, Mayor Sean McGlinchey Limavady Borough Council, Donal Doyle RPS Consulting Engineers, Philip Greer William Doherty Construction, Noel Crawford Director Environmental Services Limavady Borough Council.

This represents a modest increase of 0.7% percentage points on the previous year’s rate and around 10 percentage points more than that achieved in 2005/06. It also exceeds the current Waste Management Strategy target of a 35% recycling rate to be achieved by 2010.

Let’s Get Wasted – Students turning Trash into Treasure

The Department of the Environment’s Rethink Waste campaign is sponsoring an innovative programme of free ‘Rethink – Revamp – Restyle’ workshops for students across Northern Ireland. The award-winning Fashion Souk is set to deliver the series of free workshops to raise recycling awareness amongst 18 – 25 year olds, and the students get to take their completed works home after the workshops, so they benefit in a practical way by restyling furniture for their homes.  Following the success of the first series of workshops that took place at the start of 2011, this batch of creative classes entitled ‘Let’s Get Wasted’ will take place in Belfast during the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) from 19-26 November and in the North West from 07 November – 07 December. 

Upcycled furniture is becoming increasingly current, not only because of the growing popularity in shabby chic interiors, but also because the recession has led young people to seek out alternative methods to furnish their home.  Not only are vintage items often better quality with interesting design features, revamping items helps reduce waste to landfill and sets the trend for smarter shopping.  

Environment Minister Alex Attwood said, “The Rethink, Revamp, Restyle workshops are an inspiring, innovative and fun way to communicate and demonstrate the benefits of upcycled furniture. Reusing an item of furniture saves the energy associated with manufacturing a new one, which has an enormous and positive impact on reducing CO2 emissions. 10 million items of furniture are thrown away in the UK every year, 3 million of these items could be easily reused; more could be repaired. I would encourage students to attend these workshops and discover how furniture upcycling can help reduce waste sent to landfill.” 

The student furniture and textiles workshops will demonstrate that, instead of blowing your budget to buy brand new furniture and clothes, with imagination and a little know-how you can restyle discarded furniture and soft furnishings and transform you oldest favourite T shirts, jumpers and skirts into something new, allowing them to live on in another form. Reusing and revamping will not only add personality to a dreary student flat, but will also save money.  All workshops are completely free of charge and once furniture and textiles are restyled and recycled, students are invited to take home their works of art to use themselves!

Creator and organiser Alyson McElroy said: “The reuse ethos is at the heart of everything we do.  This programme of student focused workshops is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate how easy it is to breathe new life into unwanted items and thus divert waste from our ever decreasing landfill sites. We provide materials for each workshop and participants will take home the furniture and textiles they have repurposed. Our facilitators will cover everything including how to revamp old-fashioned tables and chairs to transforming jumpers into scatter cushions & wine holders. It is usually said one person’s trash is another one’s treasure, but we want students to recognise the treasure in their trash and inspire them to get creative, find new ways they can make waste work for their pockets and the environment.”

Free Belfast workshops and showcase event will take place from 19 – 26 Nov (European Week for Waste Reduction) and from 7 November to 7 December across Coleraine, Derry (showcase event on 19 November), Ballymena, Ballymoney, Magherafelt, Limavady, Strabane and Newtownabbey.  Log on to www.rethinkrevamprestyle.com to register for a workshop at a college campus near you.  Let’s Get Wasted is sponsored by the Department of the Environment’s Rethink Waste campaign.

What is it all about?
The European Week for Waste Reduction week focuses on highlighting waste reduction activities across Europe and raising awareness of ways to reduce our waste. This year it is taking place from the 19th to the 27th of November 2011. There are prizes to be won! Six awards will be handed out to the most outstanding actions: one for each of the five categories plus the Jury’s Favourite Award for the most innovative.

Take Part!
You can take part with your own event by completing the registration form and sending it back to us. Please note the closing date for registration forms is Friday 4th of November by 5pm.

How can I get involved?
In order for your event to be part of the European Week for Waste Reduction it must focus on one or more of the following themes:

1. Too much waste: actions that aim to raise awareness about the urgency of reducing the quantity of waste we produce.
2. Better production: actions that raise awareness about the measures taken up by businesses and industry to reduce the amount of waste generated through their economic activity.
3. Better consumption: actions that aim to make the consumer think carefully about his/her choices; and think about the environment each time a purchase is made.
4. A longer life for products: actions that seek to remind the public that products can have a second life, by reusing them.
5. Less waste thrown away: actions that demonstrate different solutions to avoid having to throw so much in the bin.

Recycling cannot be promoted as part of the week as it strictly focuses on prevention of waste.

Examples of actions:

Businesses:

• Run a paper campaign to reduce paper consumption in your office
• Measure food waste generated in restaurants and canteens
• Engage staff in waste reduction activities, such as swap shops or waste free lunches

Local authorities:

• Recycling centre interventions for reusable items
• Office waste campaign
• Unwanted mail sign up sessions and waste reduction information sessions
• Swap days for reusable items

Community Groups:

• Open day
• Information stands in public places, promoting Love Food Hate Waste, Unwanted Mail, etc

Schools:

• Waste free packed lunch competition
• Craft making day from reused items

Register now!
You will need to register what you plan to do as part of the week with us, as Rethink Waste are organising the week for Northern Ireland. Please fill in the registration form and email it to ewwr2011@wrap.org.uk. After we have received your proposal we can then give you resources, such as posters, to help with your event.

For further information on the week visit: www.ewwr.eu or email ewwr2011@wrap.org.uk.

The publication includes information on how the public can help contribute to the waste management effort in their area by focusing the3Rs of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. There is also a round-up of the work being carried out by the NWRWMG’s seven constituent councils, as well as an update on the £500m public procurement exercise to deliver new waste management facilities for the North West region.

Please click on the link below for more information go to:

http://www.northwestwaste.org.uk/downloads/waste-watch-newsletter.shtml