3 million tonnes of waste material reclassified to by-product.
A Steel making by-product, Blast Furnace Slag (BFS), will no longer be classified as a waste, a move that will cut red-tape and allow the construction industry easier access to more than
3 million tonnes of the material produced annually, according to the Environment Agency
This decision applies to England and Wales and is effective immediately. As part of the Waste Protocols Project run jointly by the Environment Agency and WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), the change in classification for BFS emerged during the consultation process with the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) involving members of industry.
Martin Brocklehurst, Head of Environmental Protection External Programmes for the Environment Agency, said: “Considering all the information available about Air Cooled and Ground Granulated BFS produced in the UK we have been able to conclude that this material can be classified as a by-product and not a waste. This is good news for the industry, which contributed greatly to the technical report that helped inform this decision, and has believed for some time that BFS is a by-product not a waste.”
For further information visit
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/waste/1019330/1334884/1844839/?lang=_e
ENVision – environmental maps at hand in Ireland.
Mr. John Gormley, TD, Irish Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government, has launched a major new enhancement on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website. ENVision provides environmental maps at your fingertips, the online viewer allows people to access environmental information about their locality, or any region in Ireland, according to the EPA.
The EPA says that ENVision is an interactive map viewer – similar to sites like Google Earth – with an Irish environmental focus. It allows easier public access to environmental data that has been gathered by the EPA.
Information provided includes that on waste management facilities.
Speaking at the launch, Dr Mary Kelly, Director General, EPA, said:
“ENVision places environmental data where it belongs, in a local setting, and so acts as a window to the environment. This new online viewer is the culmination of extensive work by EPA staff on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and layers of underlying data, to provide the public with a ‘what’s in my backyard?’ view of EPA data.”
For further information visit http://www.epa.ie/news/pr/2007/name,23340,en.html .
Access ENVision on the EPA website by going to EPA Maps in the top right hand corner of the home page at www.epa.ie.
York gets thumbs up for waste management
There have been ‘significant improvements’ in the waste management services provided by York since the last Audit Commission inspection in 2004, according to the City Council.
The report based on an inspection carried out in June of this year, concluded that the council has adopted a 'structured and effective response' to the findings of the 2004 inspection.
The report indicated that seven priorities established following the 2004 inspection have either been completed or progressed, and that joint corporate priorities agreed by councillors since the May election have set more challenging targets for waste management services, according to the City Council.
York says that during the last year the council has significantly enhanced the range of recycling services that it provides for residents, including the creation of a new cardboard recycling collection for homes across the city and the opening of the Hazel Court Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC), and seen the total recycling rate reach an impressive 42 per cent.
John Goodyear, Assistant Direction of Commercial Services, said:
"We are delighted that the inspection has shown that real progress has been made in a number of key areas over the last three years. We'd like to thank local residents who have really embraced the recycling services that we have put in place, helping us to push the recycling rate up further. However, we recognise that there is still work to be done and won't be resting on our laurels.
For further information visit http://www.york.gov.uk/news/latestNews/PR2016 .