Recycling Equity Fund Opens for Business

A £5.5m equity fund, the first in Europe to focus specifically on the recycling sector, has opened for business 50% oversubscribed by the private sector.

The Recycling Fund, established by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) and managed by Impax Asset Management, has been developed to address the gap between the availability of investment capital and the demands of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK's recycling sector. Providing leadership to the financial community, the pilot fund will also offer investors the opportunity for early sight of a high-growth sector and establish the merits of a larger, commercially-sized fund in the future.

The fund has received very positive buy-in from the private sector, with £1.5m of investment secured from WastePack, Barclays and Partnerships UK, which is a public private partnership. The Recycling Fund Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of WRAP has committed the remaining £4m. WRAP originally set out to secure £1m investment from the private sector, to comply with the terms of its state aid approval, but received such strong interest that it decided to increase the size of the fund.

Jennie Price, WRAP's Chief Executive said: 'The positive response from private sector investors is a clear signal that there is money to be made in recycling. Our co-investors recognise that this is a rapidly growing sector of the green economy, and they want to be part of that success story.'

Already worth £12 billion a year, the sector's turnover - driven by major policy and regulatory drivers - is expected to grow to between £20bn and £30bn within 15 years. Studies conducted by WRAP indicated that recycling SMEs will require £1.5 billion in funding between 2003 and 2018, including significant levels of equity investment that the market is currently failing to supply.

Running for up to 10 years, with investments being made during an initial three-year period, the fund is expected to provide equity finance to between 10 and 15 early stage recycling or waste management SMEs. Qualifying companies will be those that can demonstrate an economically sustainable market for their products or materials but face difficulty in raising commercial equity finance. Co-investment will be sought wherever possible - to act as a catalyst for engaging other investors - but the SMEs will not be required to secure the match funding which has often been a major barrier in the past.

An official launch of the fund will be held in the Autumn and WRAP's Business Development Service will hold a series of events around the country to enable businesses to engage with the fund.

Ian Simm, managing director of Impax Asset Management, commented:
'We would like to congratulate WRAP, Wastepack, Barclays and Partnerships UK in completing the launch of The Recycling Fund. This is a very exciting moment to be active in the UK recycling sector, and the Impax team has already started work to identify and analyse investment opportunities for the fund.'

£1/2 Million Glass Recycling Facility gets Underway

Work has begun on a new £1/2 million plant in Scotland to process recycled glass into high value filtration media for the treatment of drinking water. On Friday 16th May, David Hamilton, MP for Midlothian, turned the first sod at the ceremony at Dryden Aqua's site near Dalkeith. Part of a project supported by WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme), the development could significantly change the UK water filtration market in the future and has received considerable political support in Scotland.

'We are delighted to see a progressive Midlothian-based company leading this innovative venture, and receiving financial and technical support from a UK-wide programme such as WRAP,' said Mr Hamilton.

Specialists in water and effluent treatment technology, Dryden Aqua has developed a new water filtration media using recycled green and brown glass. The new plant will be the first commercial-scale facility in the UK for the production of high quality Advanced Filtration Media (AFM) for the filtration of drinking water and other applications, including municipal and industrial wastewater treatment and swimming pool filtration. It is expected to reach full capacity in 2005, and will produce 20,000 tonnes of AFM a year.

The project has received funding totaling £237,500.00 from WRAP under its R&D funding programme, with additional funds from the EC Life-Environment Programme, Midlothian Council, Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian and Scottish Water. Landfill Tax money from Viridor Credits and the ShanksFirst Fund has also been made available through the Business Environmental Partnership in conjunction with REMADE Scotland.

In addition to building the production facility, the other aims of the project are to achieve product certification from the Drinking Water Inspectorate and to establish market acceptance by the UK's water companies of the suitability of high quality AFM as a filtration media for drinking water and wastewater treatment. Involving further research and trials, this would allow AFM access to a potential market of around 230,000 tonnes a year, according to the latest estimates, as well as opening up significant export opportunities.

Research to date indicates that AFM could offer substantial benefits over traditional media at a competitive cost. Trials conducted under a previous pilot programme at Scottish Water's Fairmilehead site in Edinburgh showed that AFM performs as well as sand, and offers additional advantages including longer life and the ability to remove both colour and particles below 15 microns. This improved filtration action reduces the need for additional chemical treatment and offers the potential for significant cost savings.

'Creating efficient markets is the most important step towards improving recycling levels in the UK and this project will help to develop a high value end market for recovered glass,' explains Andy Dawe, WRAP's material sector manager for glass. 'In addition, the manufacture of AFM requires green and amber glass, and therefore complements existing recycling efforts by the glass container industry, which requires predominantly clear glass.'

Research on the markets, and the regulatory requirements with which AFM must comply, has progressed rapidly and some of the results will be published this week on the WRAP website (http://www.wrap.org.uk). Three interim reports, prepared by Dryden Aqua, cover the markets for AFM, the new plant and the manufacturing process, and a review of the specification requirements and certification process to obtain approval for AFM from the Drinking Water Inspectorate.

A fourth report will also be published comprising a detailed market assessment of the application of AFM in drinking water treatment. Prepared by Entec UK Ltd and funded through Biffaward and WRAP, with support from the Institute of Wastes Management and Northumbrian Water, the report reviews UK water filtration practices, and identifies market opportunities and barriers associated with the uptake of AFM. A Life cycle costing exercise compares AFM to traditional filtration media and an assessment is also made of the wider opportunities for AFM and recycled glass in water industry applications

Dekura at the Forefront of PVCu Recycling

The real challenge facing the UK PVCu window industry will be how to cope with the increasingly stringent demands for the cyclic use of society's waste products such as post-consumer windows, claims Dekura, the UK PVC recycling company.

The disposal of waste, in what are perceived as 'environmentally unfriendly' ways, will become increasingly non economical over coming years, acting as a driver towards controlled-loop recycling.

As environmental concerns have steadily climbed the business agenda, the issue of what should be done with PVC production offcuts and PVC installations which have come to the end of their useful lives has become a contentious issue.

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 stipulates that companies must take the best possible steps to ensure the safe disposal or reclamation of PVCu waste.

Land filling is the least preferred option and is being increasingly taxed off the list of disposal options with measures such as the landfill tax. So finding a cost effective method of recycling PVCu waste is rapidly moving towards becoming a commercial necessity with great ecological value.

The UK PVCu industry has already committed itself to recycle 25% of the collectable post-consumer window waste by the end of 2003, increasing to 50% of the total by 2005. While this commitment may currently only be voluntary, the BPF is formulating a policy for dealing with end-of-life PVCu windows and other waste profiles in the UK in the knowledge that legislation will follow if the industry fails to regulate itself.

Dekura is already at the forefront of PVCu recycling in Britain, working with Norwegian owned Hydro Polymers, who are pursuing a long term development strategy for the PVC industry based on The Natural Step, a scientifically based methodology for sustainable development.

Dekura is helping to fulfil The Natural Step's Challenge No. 2. 'The industry should commit itself long term to a closed-loop system of PVC waste management'. By eliminating the problem of efficient waste collection, (historically the major barrier to efficient recycling of PVC), Dekura is directly contributing to meeting this challenge.

Dekura operates by supplying its customers with empty cages, which are collapsible to reduce storage space, for the collection of waste PVCu. Dekura's pick up procedure has been developed using a system which predicts the frequency of waste collections required for each individual customer based on their anticipated manufacturing throughput.

The company already recycles some 16,000 tonnes of scrap PVCu a year, 70% of which is white profile and 10% reusable mixed coloured plastic. The remaining 20%, such as complete old PVCu frames, is currently too contaminated to be economically recyclable for today's market using existing equipment available in the UK.

This is the main issue for the recycling industry to address for a sustainable future, which will require significant investment in both recycling techniques and extrusion processing in order to ensure that mixed waste, which would have previously been too expensive to handle such as co-extruded profiles with pre-applied TPE gaskets, can be recycled by Dekura.

All Dekura requires to set up a collection contract are details of the business location, the profile supplier and the approximate weekly frame production. Fabricators are encouraged to sort waste, such as off-cuts and mis-measured frames, into white and coloured materials to maximise what can be economically recycled. Cages of scrap material are then collected for return to Dekura's Peterlee site where the plastic is reprocessed using a systematic cleansing, shading and quality sorting procedure. Depending on the eventual usage of the waste material, it is then processed into granules or powder.

'When you consider that the combined hire costs of a general waste skip and landfill tax is £100+ per tonne, you can understand why our system is being taken up so enthusiastically,' comments Tony Moore, General Manager of Dekura. He continues: 'We can help fabricators to comply with the law at little or no cost to their business through a service that requires minimum inconvenience to their operation.'

'The time is approaching when the service offered by recycling companies like Dekura isn't just making a desirable contribution towards a more sustainable society, it's actually a necessity to make the PVCu industry commercially viable. That clearly demonstrates the long-term sustainability potential of a highly durable material.

Tel: 0191 586 2379

Construction Products from Papermill Waste

A new research programme aims to develop innovative construction products utilising papermill waste. The work will focus on three main product groups: renders, blocks and clays; wood-based joinery and industrial materials such as additives and extenders.

The project is funded by the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and will be carried out by a partnership involving the Biocomposites Centre (BC) at the University of Wales, the Bridgewater Paper Company and BRE.

A key project objective is to find viable alternative options to the disposal of papermill sludge to landfill or landspreading. The aim is to achieve this by identifying six products to be taken forward into production, following a market study and industry consultations.

The detailed chemical and physical composition of the papermill sludge will be determined. Using this information, potential applications will be identified and product samples produced. Small scale processing trials and testing of the sample materials will be followed by more development work if necessary.

The project will conclude in March 2004 with a workshop to present any prototype products developed and to highlight other key outcomes.

'We aim to demonstrate through this project how creative thinking and innovation can benefit both the industry and environment with the support of organisations such as WRAP,' says Wendy Thorpe of BRE.

For further information contact:
BRE - Dr V Enjily, 01923 664392, Email: mailto:enjilyv@bre.co.uk
BC  - Dr R Elias, 01248 370 588, Email: mailto:r.m.elias@bangor.ac.uk

Putting Wood Recycling on the Map

Producers of wood waste throughout the UK now have an important new resource at their fingertips - an interactive web-based map to help businesses and the general public to identify collection and recycling services in their area.

The new free to use map and information service (http://www.recyclewood.org.uk) was launched last week by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme), and pinpoints the location of collection, reprocessing and recycling services for commercial and post consumer wood waste throughout the UK. By entering their postcode, producers of wood waste can identify the nearest services and facilities and access information on each service provider, including opening hours, collection radius, and the type of wood waste accepted. The website also provides information on recycled wood products and identifies manufacturers of these products in the UK.

The web-based initiative has received widespread support from a number of key national trade organisations, including British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM), which represents domestic and contract furniture manufacturers, the Wood Recyclers Association and the Wood Panel Industries Federation.

Commenting on the new web service, BFM managing director Roger Mason said:
'This is a unique and valuable resource and BFM are delighted to have been involved with this initiative. The web-based map will provide furniture manufacturers with easy access to the information they need to find the most appropriate collection and recycling facility in their area and to deal with the waste they generate in a more sustainable manner.'

The UK produces approximately 2.0 million tonnes of post-consumer wood waste each year, of which 800,000 tonnes is recycled, mostly into panelboard products. The level of wood waste recycling has grown substantially since the introduction of Producer Responsibility legislation for packaging waste in 1997 and WRAP's remit under its wood programme is to stimulate a further increase in recycling levels and end markets by 2004.

'We anticipate that this new resource will help to significantly increase wood waste recycling in the UK,' says Tom Fourcade, head of WRAP's wood programme.
'WRAP has already identified more than 400 sites across the UK for wood waste collection or recycling, and the information on the website will put producers of wood waste, such as furniture and flooring manufacturers, in contact with recyclers quickly and easily.'

Web: http://www.wrap.org.uk

BPF Recycling Directory Available Now

The British Plastics Federation (BPF) has published a Directory of UK plastics recyclers. The Directory, available now, is sub-divided by region and lists all the UK plastics recyclers including location details and information on the types of materials dealt with.

The directory will be extremely useful for firms wanting to locate recyclers who can handle the scrap arising from their operations. It will also be of use to Local Authorities operating or planning plastics recycling facilities, retail companies who want to recycle back-of-store waste and all those selling or providing services to the recycling sector.

'This publication is just one of the activities the BPF undertakes to support plastics recycling in the UK.'commented the BPF's Philip Law 'The BPF places a high priority on the cost effective and sustainable treatment of used plastics, especially in light of recent legislative developments such as the Packaging Waste regulations and incoming EU Directives including those for End of Life Vehicles (ELV) and Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).'

The Directory also includes a description of the current status of plastics recycling in the UK including statistics dating back to 1998. The statistics highlight that the UK has seen an impressive 103% increase in the amount of post-use plastics recycled between 1998 and 2001 and a 30% increase between 2000 and 2001.

The Federation also administers the BPF Recycling Council and has several recycling firms in direct membership.
'This directory is an essential read for anyone with an interest in plastics recycling in the UK' concluded Law 'Over several editions the Directory has become established as the essential tool for accessing UK plastics reyclers.'
The Directory is available now priced £50. Members receive the usual discount. An online discount is also available. Please contact Elizabeth Pohl at the BPF on 020 7457 5013 or email
epohl@bpf.co.uk or check out our online bookshop www.bpf.co.uk/bpf/books_online/bpf_publications/

Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental lmpact of Plastic Products

This new Rapra Review Report describes the process of life cycle analysis and its importance to the plastics industry. The factors to be considered, the terminology, organisations involved in developing these techniques and legislation are all discussed in the report.

Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental lmpact of Plastic Products

Rapra Review Reports, Vol. 13, No. 12, Report156, 2003
By T.J. O'Neill, Polymeron Consultancy Network

Summary:
Life-cycle analysis is a technique used to quantify the environmental impact of products during their entire life cycle. The different parts of the life cycle are examined from raw material extraction, manufacture, transport and use through to waste processlng. For each stage an inventory is made of the energy and material consumption and of any emissions to the environment. This makes it possible to identify components where improvement can be made to benefit the environment.

This type of investigation of products may bring economic advantages, as often material and energy consumption are reduced. Environmentally friendly products also have a marketing advantage, as consumers are becoming increasingly aware of 'green' issues. In addition, legislation is being introduded across the world to enforce environmentally friendly practices The concept of product responsibility is commonplace and manufacturers and end-users must now consider the cradle to grave pathway of each product.

This review describes the process of life cycle analysis in some detail. It describes the different organisations involved in researching and applying these techniques and the database resources being used to generate comparative reports. The Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe (APME) has been at the forefront in developing ecoprofiles for the plastics industry and users of plastic products. ISO has been active in generating new standards on environmental management, notably the ISO 14000 family of standards - a summary is included in this review.

Design for the environment is covered in the report, as one of the principal uses of life cycle assessment is to improve environmental performance from the first stages of product development. There are many factors to consider for each environmental impact assessment, so a system has to be used to highlight the most significant factors for comparisons to be made.

Life cycle analysis is a crucial technique for the plastics industry in the 21st Century. Manufacturers and suppliers need to demonstrate that they are acting responsibly towards the environment in all aspects of production, from the design phase through consumer use and abuse, to disposal of end of life components. This overview of the subject explains the factors to be considered, the terminology, the organisations involved in developing these techniques and the legislation which is driving the whole process forward. The ISO standards relating to environmental management are also discussed briefly in the document.

This review is accompanied by around 400 indexed summaries of selected papers on life cycle analysis and environmental impact from the Rapra Polymer Library database to allow the reader to search for information on specific topics.

Key features:

*Life cycle assessment
*Environmental impact
*Design for the environment
*Legislation
*Sources of information
*Key organisations

About the author:
Dr Tom O'Neill is chairman of the ISO/TC61 guidance committees on international standards covering environmental aspects and burning behaviour of plastics. He represents the British Plastics Federation on the UK Government's Environmental Chemical Stakeholders Forum and on BSI technical committees responsible for environmental and fire-safety standards for electro-technical materials and building products.

Format: Soft-backed, 298x210 mm, 134 pages (15 figures, 10 tables)
Price: £80 / US$128 /Euro 128
lSBN:1-85957-364-9

Rapra Technology is an independent organisation providing technology, information and consultancy on all aspects of plastics and rubber. It publishes and distributes books, technical journals, reports, business surveys, conference proceedings and trade directories.

Visit the lnternet bookstore at http://www.polymer-books.com for all the latest titles available from Rapra Technology. The website features special offers on selected titles, PDF downloads of a selection of Publications Catalogues and a free email service for updates on new books and offers.

To learn more about what Rapra Technology can do for your business, please ask for a copy of Rapra's Guide to Plastics and Rubber Technical Services and Products, telephone the enquiry bureau on 01939 250383, or visit http://www.rapra.net.

Email: mailto:info@rapra.net

Biffaward Helps Fund 'Smashing' Recycling Project

Freeform's glass recycling unit in Hackney, East London will soon be expanding its range of products made from 100 per cent recycled glass, thanks to a £178,571 grant from Biffaward, a multi-million pound environment fund managed by RSNC, which utilises landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Waste Services.

Freeform Arts Trust aims to research, develop, establish and operate a glass recycling production unit to develop new technology for the recycling of waste glass into blocks and tiles for urban design, paving and regeneration schemes. Its operation involves retrieval and processing of glass waste into a range of recycled products to be marketed to architects, designers, local councils and public arts project managers concerned with specifying environmental products and the retail sector for domestic markets.

Biffaward funding will help the unit to function as a community-based handmade and production studio, offering its facilities and services to local SMEs and community groups, as well as providing training and employment opportunities for local people and contributing to local community-based waste reduction initiatives. The overall project will also involve local schools and young people and will work in partnership with local authorities, planners, architects and landscape artists to demonstrate viable new uses for recycled glass. Work will also be undertaken with glass manufacturers and waste technology sectors to find ways of recycling industrial waste, that are a positive benefit to the community and the urban environment.

The £178,571 grant includes a £17,857 contribution from LRL Limited. Under Govemment regulations only 90 per cent of a grant can be provided from landfill tax - the remaining 10 per cent must come from another source.

Biffa provides a range ofpublic sector, commercial and industrial waste collection services including the management of 38 landfill restoration projects across the UK. The £14 million a year Biffaward fund has been set up, using tax charged on waste taken into landfill sites, to help finance environmental projects.

Martin Bettington, Chairman of Biffaward, said: 'ln effect, this project will meet all the requirements of Biffaward, the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS) and sustainability, with wide-ranging economic, environmental and social benefits.'

Martin Goodrich, Project Director, said: 'The Green Bottle Unit is delighted to receive this significant award which wiIl make a major impact on our research and development programme to produce 100 per cent recycled glass products for wider markets. To-date our products have attracted enormous interest which gives us confidence demonstrating that recycled gIass products can be .stylish and attractiveIy designed and adaptable for many applications. At the same time making a considerable contribution in the reduction of waste glass going directly to landfill.'

Tel: 0870 036 1000
Email: mailto:grants@rsnc.cix.co.uk
Web: http://www.biffaward.org

No strangers to the rubbish bins of West Oxfordshire, staff from the Centre for Environmental Studies in the Hospitality Industry at Oxford Brookes University are rolling up their sleeves again and picking through the contents of rubbish bins at licensed premises across the district.

The Glass Goes Green project, which aims to reduce the vast quantity of glass that is sent to landfill, begins this week by measuring the amount of waste glass produced by licensed hospitality outlets in West Oxfordshire. The waste picked up from the various bars, hotels and restaurants will be taken to a local transfer station to be sorted and weighed. The team will also record the origins of the glass by type of drink, such as lager, orange juice or alcopops.

The information gained from the audit will be used to run a trial glass collection service from licensed premises in West Oxfordshire - beginning in spring 2003.

Matt Todd, project manager of Glass Goes Green, said: 'Our research in West Oxfordshire showed that up to 90% of glass waste from the hospitality sector is sent to landfill, at an average cost to each establishment of £400 per year. Analysing the glass waste will help us to set up and run a trial glass collection service next year, which we hope will contribute towards a national scheme. We will also publish guidance on glass recycling for the hospitality industry.'

The current project, which has received £211,762 in funding from WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme), is being run in partnership with West Oxfordshire District Council, the Hotel and Catering International Management Association, and the International Hotels Environment Initiative.

Andy Dawe, head of the glass programme at WRAP, said: 'With waste disposal charges increasing and strong market demand for recycled glass, this project provides an opportunity to resolve the issue of how best to collect the estimated 400,000 tonnes of glass containers from licensed premises, particularly those based in rural areas.'

Contact: Jane Carlton Smith or Matt Todd
Tel: 01865 483894
WRAP - Tel: 01295 819928
Email: mailto:elisabeth.ribbans@wrap.org.uk

BPF Delegation Visits Veka Recycling Plant

Delegates from the British Plastics Federation Windows Group recently travelled to Behringen, Germany to visit the Veka recycling plant as part of the organisation's bid to formulate policy for dealing with end-of-life PVCu windows and other waste profiles in the UK. Eleven delegates made the trip, including senior representatives of a number of leading systems companies, and from the major UK recyclers.

The plant, operated by Veka group subsidiary Veka Umwelttechnik, was built in 1993 to re-process windows, doors, shutters and profile sections made of PVCu, recycling them in one of Europe's most modern plants. Frames, complete with glass and fittings, are fed into the system to be processed into separated component materials. The UK's recycling targets under the voluntary commitment are to recycle 25% of a predicted total of 2620 tonnes of post consumer window waste by end of 2003 and 50% of a predicted total of 3680 tonnes by end of 2005. PVCu at the plant is processed into re-usable material that may be combined with virgin polymer without further treatment, for extrusion into new PVCu products without any loss of quality. The glass, metals, rubber and other materials are forwarded on to other locations for further reprocessing.

Many of Vekas traditional competitors make use of the EUR25 million plant by participating in a joint initiative in Germany to promote recycling of PVCu. End-of-life, or 'post-consumer' frames and shutters, together with mis-measures and offcuts from an increasing number of extruders, fabricators and installers, are delivered to the plant in giant skips and containers, to be automatically processed by the plant.

Following a tour of the plant the BPF delegation then learned about the German recycling experience and initiatives from Norbert Bruns, managing director of Veka Umwelttechnik. Delegates heard that across Europe, with legislation on waste disposal becoming tougher and more costly, re-processing increasingly makes sound economic sense, in addition to the social implications of environmental protection.

Tel: 01282 716611
Email: mailto:salesenquiry@veka.com
Web: http://www.vekauk.com

Glass Industry Toasts 25 Years of Bottle Bank Success

Glass recycling officials past and present have revisited the site of one of the UK's first glass bottle banks for a 25th anniversary celebration.

Stanley Race, who launched the UK's first ever bottle bank 25 years ago, toasted the scheme's success alongside glass industry experts in South Yorkshire on August 20th.

The event, organised by recycling website letsrecycle.com, was held in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, at one of the original 11 sites opened a quarter of a century ago.

Stanley Race launched the original scheme in Barnsley while he was president of the British Glass Manufacturers' Federation (now British Glass) and chairman of Redfearn (now Rexam) Glass.

Raising a glass of champagne to glass recycling are (l-r): Kate Freeman from letsrecycle.com, Ron England from Glass Recycling UK, Stanley Race former British Glass president and Redfearn Glass chairman, Gerard Morris from the Environment Agency and Jan Knight from British Glass

Mr Race, who is now retired, said: 'We were very enthusiastic about this scheme. We felt that it would eventually capture the imagination of the public and the local authorities as they saw its benefits.'

Also attending were Gerard Morris of the Riding branch of the Environment Agency, Jan Knight, public policy manager for British Glass, Ron England, environmental manager for Glass Recycling UK and Kate Freeman of letsrecycle.com.

Commenting on bottle banks' success, Mr Race said: 'I thought we would make an impact in this area, where there are so many glass works, but I never thought that one day there would be a bottle bank in every town in the UK.'

On 24 August 1977, bottle banks were launched simultaneously in South Yorkshire - which now consists of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield councils - and Oxford. But while Oxford launched its scheme in the afternoon, Barnsley started in the morning.

Ron England organised the 1977 launch while working at Redfearn Glass. 'lt was a new type of partnership between the community and industry,' Mr England explained. 'The council provided the sites, the glass makers did the organisation and Glass Recycling did all the collections.

'At the time, I predicted that South Yorkshire would have collected 100,000 tonnes before the turn of the century. But we hit that target in 1994.'

Gerard Morris said: 'The Environment Agency is very pleased that bottle banks started in this area. The way the Landfill Directive is going, more and more recycling will have to happen around the country in order to take the pressure off sending things to landfill sites.'

The site where the celebrations were held was originally in the grounds of Barnsley Rugby Club. When the club moved, the bottle banks stayed on in the grounds of the new Tesco supermarket. They are operated by glass collectors Glass Recycling UK, who supply cullet to container manufacturer Rexam Glass.

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