Low-carbon: making it a high priority for East of England businesses
July 20, 2009 by administrator
Resource Efficiency - Bizmapeast
A programme from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) will help businesses across the region to make bottom line savings by introducing ‘quick wins’ such as the re-use of materials and checking water leaks.
A £2.1 million business support scheme, Resource Efficiency East (REE), will provide small and medium-sized businesses with free advice on making financial savings through more efficient management of water, energy and materials.
The agency has granted £1.5 million to REE, with £600,000 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which is managed in the region by EEDA.
Kate Haigh, Senior Executive on Sustainable Development at EEDA said:
“A typical business can save £1,000 a year for every employee by introducing ‘quick wins’ such as the re-use of waste materials and regular checking for water leaks.
“Not only does resource efficiency make excellent financial sense, but it also has knock-on environmental benefits, reducing the use of our natural resources and carbon emissions.
“It is also good for business as customers are placing a greater emphasis on suppliers to reduce their environmental impact and prove their green credentials, as well as offering value for money.”
Specialist advisors from the REE team will work with businesses to offer commercially-orientated advice on how to implement appropriate changes. An on-site review can identify areas for resource savings by systematically examining the use of energy, water and materials. This will identify opportunities to reduce their use in key areas such as electricity consumption, power usage, heating and cooling, waste reduction and water conservation. Importantly, REE will also offer support on implementing the measures that can save businesses money.
Simon Chiva, of REE, said that businesses accounted for 18% of the region’s CO2 emissions: “The Resource Efficiency East project can help businesses use resources more effectively and efficiently, driving down costs and improving profitability. By encouraging businesses to reduce resource use and save money, we can also have a positive impact on reducing the region’s carbon emissions.”
For more information visit www.resourceefficiencyeast.org.uk
Other information about improving and growing your business through resource efficiency can be found on the environment line of EEDA’s Business Map - www.bizmapeast.co.uk.
Taken from: http://www.eeda.org.uk/4202.asp
New guide could cut waste costs by as much as 40% for builders
June 30, 2009 by administrator
Small builders working in challenging economic conditions could unlock valuable cost benefits by using a new waste-saving guide from sustainable business experts Envirowise.
The free guide, available online at www.envirowise.gov.uk/EN922 outlines a step-by-step review process that can help businesses identify the main causes of waste around their site and save up to 40% on waste disposal costs.
With as much as 89.6 million tonnes of construction waste generated across England alone each year1, the cost saving potential for the UK runs into millions of pounds.
Savings can be made by making simple low-cost or no-cost changes such as segregating waste at source. For example, by reducing waste by 20% a businesses can cut waste disposal costs by 40% and waste to landfill by 60%. With annual landfill tax rises confirmed until 2013, there is clearly a need for businesses to take action.
Envirowise Construction Specialist, Chris Hodgson, said: “The Federation of Master Builder’s latest State of Trade survey shows that economic conditions for small builders in the UK continue to be very challenging2. However, reducing waste costs is a straightforward, effective way to help improve the bottom-line and this new guide demonstrates how to secure significant cost savings with little or no up front investment required.
“Running a resource efficient business can also help builders to better manage their potential liabilities, reducing their exposure to costly fines from improper waste management processes, as well as ensuring they are well placed to make the most of the recovery when it comes.”
For more general advice regarding resource efficiency in construction builders can visit www.envirowise.gov.uk/construction or call the Envirowise Advice Line on 0800 585 794.
Footnotes
1. Defra - Estimated re-use, recycling and disposal of hard construction & demolition and excavation waste by region in 2005
2. FMB State of Trade Survey 2009 Q1
Green Festival 2009…it’s all about food!
March 10, 2009 by John Pickstone
The 18th Green Festival launches on Saturday 23rd May in Peterborough City Centre where the streets will be bustling with free activities, games and events for the whole family to enjoy.
This year the Green Festival theme is Food and the City Centre will host three activity packed hubs - grow it, cook it, eat it. Bridge Street will be transformed into a garden where people can plant vegetables and pick up tips from gardening experts. Step into the Cathedral Grounds and you’ll see cooking demonstrations using delicious locally grown produce. There will be games like ‘ready steady lunchbox’, cooking workshops, recipe cards from Riverford Organic Vegetables to take away, and the chance to win pots, pans and other kitchen equipment.
Finally, in Queensgate and Long Causeway you can taste local produce from East Anglia - think watercress soup, cheesy spinach and tomato tart, rhubarb crumble and elderflower Champaign! You’ll be able to meet local farmers and talk to them about why buying local is the best option for your health and your wallet.
The Festival launch will also see Junk Band Green Beats, who regularly play at the Eden Project, perform for Festival goers. The band will be running workshops for the city’s youngsters to learn about making music out of rubbish. There will be fruit tree planting at the Green Backyard on London Road, and the chance to win a garden shed!
Janine Starling from Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT) is organising the Green Festival 2009, she says: “The food theme for this year is great because it’s relevant to everyone. The environmental and health benefits of eating locally produced food are no secret.
“People are starting to think about what they are eating and about the carbon emissions involved with flying food in from all over the world that could easily be produced on our doorstep.
“We want to get people growing their own food, buying local produce, eating more fruit and veg, and having fun with it. The Green Festival is all about free family fun for two weeks where people can get involved with nature and their local environment.”
After the launch on 23rd May people can enjoy two weeks of events and activities around Peterborough from an eco-supermarket sweep at Tesco in Hampton, to an eco-fashion show in Queensgate, bike rides round the Green Wheel, and nature walks for children.
Festival highlights:
- Launch event (free, ideal for families), Saturday 23rd May, City Centre.
- Wet and wild at Flag Fen (learn about nature, ideal for families), 24th and 25th May.
- Swishing (posh clothes swap), Tuesday 26th May, Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery.
- Eco-fashion show, Thursday 28th May, Queensgate Shopping Centre.
- Professional bike race, Thursday 4th June, City Centre
- Green Festival finale party hosted by Riverford Organic Vegetables, Sunday 7th June, Sacrewell Farm.
Find out more:
Visit www.pect.net to find out more or call Lisa Taylor on 01733 568408. You will be able to pick up your copy of the Green Festival programme at the beginning of April from Tourist Information, Peterborough Museum and your local Library.
New UK guidelines on production of rubberised asphalt roads
January 27, 2009 by Gareth Jones
Comprehensive research conducted by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) has proven for the first time that rubberised asphalt for UK road surfacing can be successfully produced using certain combinations of UK-sourced materials, including rubber crumb from used tyres.
This modified material has been found to offer a series of positive benefits when compared to conventional asphalt mixtures - but despite being used for highway construction in the US, South Africa, Australia and mainland Europe for many years, the material has never been applied in the UK.
In addition to providing a sustainable outlet for used tyres as a construction material, rubberised asphalt is also said to offer a selection of desirable qualities, ranging from increased durability and reflective crack reduction to increased skid resistance and improved flexibility.
Steve Waite, materials recycling project manager at WRAP, explained: “As the UK construction sector seeks more sustainable ways of working, there has never been a better time to identify new ways in which to incorporate recycled content into civil engineering projects. The findings of our research prove that rubberised asphalt can now be successfully applied as both a surface course and binder course in UK highways construction. This opens the way for more widespread use of the material in this country and anybody looking to specify rubberised asphalt now has all the background information and technical direction they need.”
Initially, researchers analysed the information that was already available; collating practical experiences and learnings from overseas and identifying the range of practical issues associated with rubberised asphalt. From this point, a series of rubberised asphalt and control mixes were manufactured using a wide range of materials readily accessible in the UK. The materials used included Venezuelan and Middle Eastern bitumen and recycled tyre rubber crumb of different sized grades - recovered from both truck and car tyres - along with limestone, granite and gritstone as the aggregate material.
Ian Walsh from Jacobs (UK) Ltd, who acted as an advisor to WRAP during the research, added: “These results prove - for the first time in the UK - that it is possible to blend recycled tyre rubber and bitumen to create a useable, valuable binder. This alone is a very significant finding. But the results of the testing go so much further, demonstrating as well that different types of bitumen and recycled rubber can be used to create a wide range of mixtures that have been proven suitable for use as both surface and binder courses in highways construction.”
WRAP’s research has been published in a report entitled Rubberised Asphalt Testing to UK Standards. It can be downloaded free from the WRAP website: www.wrap.org.uk
A new pilot service from Resource Efficiency East
January 21, 2009 by Gareth Jones
Could your company benefit from 2 days support from a resource efficiency expert to assist you to become more efficient, contibuting to productivity and long term competitiveness? A new regional programme, Resource Efficiency East, is offering a ‘pilot’ service which provides a resource efficiency site visit to help your company identify areas for improvement and potential savings. The visit will be followed up by a tailored report and an action plan which will make recommendations on how to achieve the identified savings and will provide further guidance and support in implementing those opportunities. The pilot is open to Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs: fewer than 250 staff/turnover under £10million a year) and as a pilot service we are only able to provide the service to the first 25 companies contacting us.
If you are interested in learning more or registering for a site visit please contact Simon Chiva at: Simon Chiva Resource Efficiency East Manager Renewables East Office: +44 (0) 1603 591 415 Mob: +44 (0) 7852 976 185 Email: simonchiva@renewableseast.org.uk
Peterborough City Council to back £250m incinerator
January 15, 2009 by John Pickstone
A £250 million plan to burn rubbish using the latest “green” technology has been given vital backing.
Councillors voted in favour of the state-of-the art energy park, which would be built on a site off Storeys Bar Road in Fengate, saying it would bring a number of positive benefits including new jobs and new technology and will produce clean, green energy.
If the plan is endorsed by the council’s cabinet on February 2, it will almost certainly clear the way for the Government to give it the go-ahead. But, Peterborough could eventually have two incinerators just yards apart, as the council plans to build its own to cope with the city’s rubbish.
However, planning officers, while broadly in favour of the plan, said more information was needed in vital areas, including road access issues, safety concerns regarding the proximity to gas pipelines, and justification on developing the site in the countryside close to Flag Fen.
Councillor David Harrington said: “We are almost 10 years into the 21st century and have missed out on a whole generation of technology, including nuclear power, already. We need to support this scheme.”
Councillor Charles Swift said: “We should support this project unanimously and I hope the cabinet takes on board our comments.”
Speaking in favour of the scheme, Richard Olive, who is a member of Friends of the Earth, added: “I believe we have now run out of time to eliminate climate change and we have to embrace this technology.”
However, two members of the public stood up to express concerns about potential health problems from emissions.
Mr Donne Buck, of Gildenburgh Avenue, Eastfield, Peterborough, said: “A great number of vulnerable children would be subject to the discharge that would come from the chimneys and other airborne toxins.”
Fiona Radic, who is a member of the Green Party, added: “We have a landfill problem; soon we will have a sky-filled problem.”
Today, managing director of PREL Chris Williams said: “We felt that last night’s meeting was a great success.
“We will work night and day in the coming weeks to ensure that the information and clarification asked for on matters such as transport and highways, gas and environmental detail are provided in full.
“Only in working together can Peterborough realise its goal to become the environmental capital of the UK.”
Despite agreeing to the energy park proposals, councillors were still in favour of £38 million plans for a council incinerator, which would be built just 400 yards from the PREL site.
If everyone in the world were as wasteful as we are in the UK we would need 8 worlds to keep going
December 3, 2008 by News Service
Peterborough Energypark has been designed to remove our reliance on landfill and reduce the amount of pollution created by our daily lives.
The energypark is a 66MW electrical power generating station that incorporates technology before and after electrical generation to ensure that the power produced is clean and green and that value from all materials is gained with nothing being wasted.
The thermal capacity of the plant is 234MW. The park will include a combined heat and power distribution grid to feed power and heat to the research and design building, the administration and vehicle maintenance and Compass Re-Use buildings.
The power and recycled materials produced from the park comes from its ability to process up to 650,000 tonnes of material per year. This material will be a mix of wastes such as municipal, commercial and industrial. In the case of municipal waste the waste received will be that left over after recycling has taken place. Along side wastes the energypark will support local agriculture by providing markets for their straws for use as a renewable fuel. The park will also take agricultural waste, and elements of the construction and demolish waste. Based on pre development discussions with waste providers, the Energypark will be processing in the region of 460,000 tonnes of material from local sources.
Revolutionary Russian Thinking in Bid to go Green
November 28, 2008 by John Pickstone
High-profile officials from ProProsperity, a major player in the regeneration of the Moscow are in Peterborough this week (10-14 November 2008) for talks with Peterborough’s Renewable Energy company PREL about an initiative to develop an energypark in the Russian capital.
Moscow may be the capital of the world’s second largest oil exporter and major gas producer but city bosses are aiming to be part of the climate solution rather than part of the climate problem by reducing Moscow’s own dependence on fossil fuels. Harnessing bio-energy power from waste and the clean technology solutions PREL offers for alternative energy are what have brought the delegation to town.
PREL‘s plans for alternative energy generation in Peterborough (currently being considered by the UK’s Department of Energy & Climate Change) are sparking interest not only in Russia but across Europe, not least because of the ability to provide a tidy solution to waste, produce enough power to support 60,000 households and cut CO2 emission by over 600,000 tonnes a year.
PREL MD Chris Williams says:
“The Russian delegation showed strong interest in exploring alternative energy strategies to power clean development. They were particularly keen on our integrated, cost-effective approach as demonstrated in our energypark concept.”
Energyparks provide space for the incubation of green businesses and communities around a smart grid that provides continuity of energy supply at a time when ageing conventional power infrastructure is decommissioned and blackouts are a real and increasing fear.
Chris adds “Moscow, in common with many Local Authorities in the UK and across Europe are attracted to the idea of having waste to energy plants on their doorstep and we will be following these initial meetings with continuing dialogue.”
