The number of single use carrier bags taken home by shoppers in Scotland dropped by 650 million after a five pence levy was introduced last year. The data, which comes from major grocery retailers, indicates use fell by around 80 per cent since the charge was introduced a year ago this week. Morrisons, the Co-operative and Waitrose say they have seen an 80 per cent drop, while Asda reported a 90 per cent reduction. Sainsbury's saw a 100 per cent reduction of single use bags as they no longer offer them to shoppers. Announcing the figures in Aberdeen, Scotland's Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said the charge has been a "major success". The results are similar to those in Wales, which saw a dramatic fall in carrier bag use after introducing a charge in 2011. "Previously statistics showed that people in Scotland used more than 800 million new single-use carrier bags every single year - more per head than anywhere else in the UK," he said. "I thank Scotland for embracing…

The UK's first program to offer free cigarette waste recycling was launched this week in a bid to tackle the scourge of cigarette litter and reduce the amount of cigarette waste going to landfill. The Cigarette Waste Brigade, which is the result of a partnership between US-headquartered recycling company TerraCycle and tobacco manufacturer Japan Tobacco International (JTI), will allow people across the UK to send cigarette butts and associated waste to be recycled. FURTHER READING The free scheme will be offered to both groups and workplaces, as well as individuals over the age of 18. Anyone who wants to participate simply needs to collect their cigarette or cigar butts and other waste and send it to TerraCycle, with ash, used and unused cigarette filters, rolling paper, inner foil packaging, and outer plastic packaging all accepted. Much of the cigarette waste will then be recycled into a range of plastic products, such as delivery pallets, while any remaining tobacco …

A new data destruction service has been launched to allow households and SMEs to easily send their electronic waste by post to be safely disposed of. Send & Destroy says it is the first company to offer destruction of individual data devices such as hard drives, USB sticks and tablets via post. Devices are sent through normal post or tracker courier to the company's Hampshire-based facility to be asset listed, destroyed and recycled. FURTHER READING Send & Destroy then provides an official certificate of destruction as proof of secure disposal. Company director Sam Mountain told BusinessGreen he realised there was a gap in the market for small-scale data destruction while talking with a family member who worked in a bank. With five or six hard drives that needed to be destroyed, he said, there was no low-cost easy option. "What we've always found within the waste industry is it's very corporate in a way - you have to go through quite a large company to have acce…

Whether you're sitting at your desk, kicking back at home or just about anywhere else, stop and take a moment to look around. How many things in your immediate vicinity are made out of plastic? From reusable coffee cups to computer keyboards to nouveau compostable plastic food containers, stuff made out of polymers is everywhere. The good news, from an environmental perspective, is that more and more products — running shoes and car interiors made from old water bottles, for instance — are the result of a new wave in unconventional plastic re-purposing. Amid the circular economy craze, under which business models provide for materials to be constantly cycled back into supply chains, plastics represent both a huge opportunity and a huge challenge. The world consumed an average of three per cent more plastic every year from 2005 to 2013, reaching 202 million tonnes annually by the end of that period, according to market intelligence firm ICIS Industries. Demand is expected to …

Residents of Windsor and Maidenhead are set to receive vouchers and discounts in local shops in return for recycling their food waste, in the latest initiative unveiled by Greenredeem. The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) announced last week it has expanded its partnership with Greenredeem to include food waste, which currently makes up 30 per cent of rubbish going to landfill in the borough. RBWM is the first borough to offer the food recycling reward scheme to all its residents. It operates on a points system that rewards local residents for their recycling, but has until now mainly focused on dry recyclables. Points can be converted into vouchers for use in local shops and businesses, acting as an incentive for residents. Councillor Carwyn Cox said he hoped the new initiative would encourage more residents to recycle their food and maintained the scheme was "simple and easy" to use. The new food waste scheme means residents will now be able to earn extra poi…

Up to 300 new sorting and recycling plants for plastic waste will be commissioned in Europe by 2025, according to a new study that predicts the continent's recycling industry is poised for a period of significant growth. The research by Cologne-based consultancy ecoprog GmbH predicts plants with the capacity to process 5.2 million tonnes of plastic waste will be commissioned over the next 10 years. The surge in investment will result in an increase of 25 per cent on the almost 1,200 plastic sorting and recycling plants active in Europe today. FURTHER READING The main market driver is expected to be the EU Waste Framework Directive, which introduced the "polluter pays principle" and requires member states to re-use or recycle at least 50 per cent of certain household wastes, including paper, metal, plastic and glass, by 2020. However, almost no EU member state has yet reached this goal and a number, including the UK, are thought to be at risk of missing the target. "With…