Corus supports steel recycling in the North East
21 Jul 2004
Corus Steel Packaging Recycling (CSPR) is helping to ensure that steel can recycling stays at the top of the agenda in the North East by providing advice and equipment to Premier Waste Management, enabling them to expand their recycling activities in the region.
Local authority owned waste disposal company, Premier Waste Management, (formerly Durham County Waste Management) is currently developing large-scale kerbside collection schemes in Sunderland, South Tyneside, Gateshead, and County Durham. Since April, an estimated 410,000 households are now covered by the various multi-material kerbside collection schemes, demonstrating the sheer scale of the initiative.
Based on this, Premier Waste Management believes there is potential for a minimum of an incredible 1700 tonnes of steel (the equivalent of 42.5 million cans) to be recycled every year in the region from the kerbside collections schemes alone. Households will be encouraged to recycle all their steel packaging products - from food, drink or pet food cans, to aerosols, and even jar lids.
To be able to cope with this vast increase in volume of steel, the company identified a need for more advanced equipment at their recycling plants. After many years of working together with Corus, Premier Waste Management approached a division of the company, Corus Steel Packaging Recycling (CSPR), Corus’ centre of technical and communications expertise on steel packaging recycling, to ask for advice and support.
Corus responded by investing PRN revenue* to provide the company with high-powered magnetic sorting equipment. The equipment will enable Premier Waste Management to sort cans at a rate of 4 tonnes per hour, increasing the efficiency of Premier Waste Management’s sorting operations and allowing steel cans to be more quickly and easily separated from the other collected cans not made of steel.
David Williams, Corus’ Commercial Manager and Recycling Development Representative for the North and Scotland commented: "Corus has been working closely with Premier Waste Management for a number of years now and we have a very successful partnership. They are truly committed to increasing steel recycling in the North East and are constantly looking at ways to get the public and the business community involved in recycling schemes so we were keen to help them to further their good work.
"One of Corus’ key aims is to invest in local and regional initiatives which raise the amount of steel cans being recycled and in this case, the new equipment will help Premier Waste Management cope with the huge volume of steel cans that will be collected through the new kerbside collection schemes."
ENDS
* Packaging chain companies are obliged to hold Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs), as evidence that their legal responsibility to recover and recycle has been fulfilled. PRNs are sold by UK reprocessors (i.e companies like Corus which can recycle). They can be sold either to an obligated company or to a Compliance Scheme Activity on their behalf. Income raised by Corus from the sale of PRNs (Packaging Recovery Notes) is invested in initiatives, which enhance and develop the infrastructure for the collection of steel packaging from households and businesses across the UK.
For further information please contact Catherine Graham at Proteus Public Relations on 01295 279626 or email Catherine@proteuspr.co.uk
Notes to editors:
Corus Steel Packaging Recycling (CSPR) is Corus’ centre of technical and communications expertise on steel packaging recycling. It aims to facilitate and promote the recovery and recycling of all types of steel packaging in the UK. Its objectives are to provide an end market for the recovered material, to increase the recycling infrastructure through the strategic application of PRN revenue, to provide advice and technical information to public, private and not-for-profit organisations on recovery schemes and to raise environmental awareness among consumers and the commercial sector. For further information, please visit www.cspr.co.uk.
Valpak helps over 5000 UK companies to invest in recycling under the Packaging Waste Regulations. Projects such as Premier Waste Management are funded by revenue from Valpak members. Corus is a Valpak member and recycles millions of tonnes of steel every year. Valpak also runs the consumer recycling brand www.recycle-more.co.uk
