Latest news with #waste management
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Great Blackenham recycling facility refit could cost £12m
Upgrades to a recycling sorting facility could cost up to £12m, according to a county council. Suffolk County Council said the materials recycling facility (MRF) in Great Blakenham needed refitting due to upcoming recycling collection changes. The previous government told local councils they had to start collecting more types of recyclable items at the kerbside from 2026, along with weekly food waste county council said it was planning to invest £5.9m from current budgets with further funding to come. The council said paying the £5.9m up front could lead to savings in the future as the contracted firm that runs the site would have charged a fee if it had to initially spend the money overall cost of upgrades is estimated to be between £10m and £12m. Around 285 tonnes of material is sorted at the MRF every day. Separating and sorting the recycling involves 100 conveyor belts, and suitable material is packaged up and recycled elsewhere. The council said changes were needed to process materials like glass, some types of cartons and plastic film. The food waste collected is likely to be sent to a different facility, such as an anaerobic digester, which creates energy from the of the facility have been suspended in 2025 due to the upgrades. A Suffolk County Council spokesperson said: "With the government's new Simpler Recycling programme coming into effect across the country next year, the MRF in Suffolk needs a significant upgrade." Pressure on councils The county council will not be collecting the recycling - that role is carried out by the district and borough councils in Suffolk. Concerns about budgetary pressures and obtaining the necessary equipment have been raised by some local councils are planning to cut the frequency of general waste collections.A Defra spokeswoman said: "Our Simpler Recycling reforms will ensure that across England people will be able to recycle the same materials, without checking with their council."The government have said financial help is available for councils to help with collections. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Science
- BBC News
University's sustainable toilet unveiled at Chelsea Flower Show
A team of academics have unveiled an off-grid toilet in an exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower University in Bedfordshire said its Cranfield Circular Toilet was a self-contained system that could process waste on featured in the Gates Foundation's Garden of the Future at the prestigious horticultural show."It's not every day you see a toilet in a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show," admitted Prof Leon Williams, director of manufacturing and materials at the university. "This is a brilliant example of research and engineering which has a real-world impact and could have applications across the world to improve sanitation."He said the toilet drew on the university's expertise in advanced manufacturing, system integration and sustainable design. The toilet processes waste on site, without the need for connection to sewers or septic separates solid and liquid waste and uses advanced membrane filtration and thermal treatment to produce two useful by-products:Pathogen-free biochar fertiliser, a charcoal-like material that improves soil health and retains nutrientsClean, non-potable water, suitable for garden Matt Collins, senior lecturer in product design engineering at Cranfield University, said the toilet was "helping us reimagine what's possible as we advance our goal to enable widespread use of safe, sustainable sanitation services to help drive positive health, economic, and gender equality outcomes for the world's poorest people." The Garden of the Future - featuring the toilet - has already won gold at the show."Nearly half the world's population lacks access to safe sanitation – a crisis that impacts health, education and economic opportunity, especially for women and girls," said Doulaye Kone, director of water, sanitation and hygiene at the Gates Foundation."A warming climate is compounding these challenges, making the need for innovative, water-efficient sanitation solutions more urgent than ever." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
