Swift Removals Coventry

19/07/2023

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sR-asAcqsn0

Fly tippers caught red-handed.

12/04/2023

How To Run a House/Office Clearance Business In The UK?
If you are looking for a business opportunity that is in high demand, has low start-up costs and can be done with minimal experience, then you might want to consider running a house/office clearance business in the UK. A house/office clearance business involves removing unwanted items from properties, such as furniture, appliances, clothes, books, etc. and disposing of them in an environmentally friendly way. You can also sell or donate some of the items to generate extra income or help a good cause.

In this blog post, we will give you some tips on how to run a successful house/office clearance business in the UK, covering the following aspects:

– How to get started

– How to find customers

– How to price your services

– How to manage your finances

– How to deal with challenges

https://www.quickwastecollection.co.uk/blog/how-to-run-a-house-office-clearance-business/

21/01/2023

How some plastic ends up in rivers and oceans all over the world?
Plastic ends up in rivers and oceans primarily as a result of littering and improper waste management. Plastic waste that is not properly disposed of in landfills can be carried by wind and rainwater into nearby rivers and eventually out to sea. Additionally, plastic waste that is not properly secured in rubbish trucks or at waste management facilities can be blown or washed into nearby bodies of water. Climate change also plays a role in this phenomenon, as heavy rainfall can wash plastic waste into rivers and oceans. Furthermore, plastic debris can also come from ships and boats, both commercial and recreational, through intentional or accidental discharges.

Here are a few examples of plastic pollution in rivers and oceans that have been reported:

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch: This is a massive accumulation of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean, located between Hawaii and California. The patch is made up of an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic and is believed to be twice the size of Texas.
The Ganges River, India: The Ganges River is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, with a significant amount of plastic waste contributing to the pollution. Plastic bags, bottles, and other debris can be seen floating in the river and washing up on the banks.
The Thames River, UK: Plastic waste has been found in high concentrations in the Thames River, including plastic bottles, bags, and microplastics. The river has been designated as a “priority area” for plastic reduction efforts.
The Niger Delta, Nigeria: Plastic waste is a major problem in the Niger Delta, where it washes up on shorelines, clogs drainage systems, and harms wildlife. The region has become a dumping ground for plastic waste from both local sources and imported waste from developed countries.
The Citarum River, Indonesia: The Citarum River is known as one of the most polluted rivers in the world, with plastic waste being a major contributor to the pollution. Plastic bags, bottles, and other debris can be seen floating in the river and washing up on the banks, which have significant impacts on the local community and environment.
These are just a few examples, but plastic pollution in rivers and oceans is a global problem that affects many different bodies of water in various countries.

Has anyone been prosecuted and charged for these plastic pollutions?
It can be challenging to prosecute individuals or organizations for plastic pollution in rivers and oceans, as the source of the plastic waste is often difficult to determine. However, there have been a few notable cases where individuals or companies have been charged with polluting bodies of water with plastic waste.

In 2019, a man in Thailand was arrested and charged with littering after he was caught on video throwing plastic bags into a canal.
In 2020, a company in Indonesia was charged with polluting a river with plastic waste, and the company’s director was sentenced to two years in prison.
In 2021, a shipping company was charged with violating federal environmental laws after it discharged plastic waste into the ocean from one of its ships.
In 2021, another shipping company was charged with violating federal environmental laws after it discharged plastic waste into the ocean from one of its ships.
These are just a few examples, but it is important to note that enforcing laws and regulations that address plastic pollution can be challenging, and many more cases go unreported and unprosecuted.

There are also initiatives like clean-up campaigns and plastic reduction movements that are being carried out by non-profits, governments and individuals. Some governments also have policies in place to reduce plastic waste and increase recycling, such as bans on single-use plastic items and taxes on plastic bags, and promoting clean energy alternatives.

What would be the best way to entirely stop this plastic pollution?
Stopping plastic pollution in rivers and oceans is a complex issue that will require a multifaceted approach. Here are a few strategies that could be effective in reducing and eventually eliminating plastic pollution:

Plastic reduction: One of the most effective ways to stop plastic pollution is to reduce the amount of plastic produced and used in the first place. This can be achieved through measures such as banning single-use plastics, increasing the use of reusable products, and promoting sustainable packaging.
Improved waste management: Improving waste management systems, including increasing recycling and properly disposing of plastic waste, can help prevent plastic from entering rivers and oceans. This could include increasing the number of waste collection points, expanding recycling programs and increasing fines for littering.
Clean-up initiatives: Clean-up initiatives like beach clean-ups, river clean-ups and ocean clean-ups can help remove existing plastic pollution from rivers and oceans. However, it’s important to note that these initiatives should be done in conjunction with other strategies to prevent plastic pollution in the future.
Education and awareness: Raising awareness about the impacts of plastic pollution and encouraging individuals and communities to take action is essential to stopping plastic pollution. This could include educating people about the dangers of plastic pollution, the benefits of reducing plastic use, and the importance of proper waste management.
Government policies: Governments can play an important role in reducing plastic pollution by implementing policies such as taxes on single-use plastics, regulations on plastic production and disposal, and incentives for companies to adopt sustainable practices.
It is important to note that it will take a collective effort from everyone to stop plastic pollution, from individuals to governments and private sectors. A combination of all these strategies will be the most effective way to ultimately stop plastic pollution in rivers and oceans.

How some plastic ends up in rivers and oceans all over the world? Plastic ends up in rivers and oceans primarily as a result of littering and improper waste management. Plastic waste that is not properly disposed of in landfills can be carried by wind and rainwater into nearby rivers and eventually....

21/01/2023

Balkan river known for its breath-taking scenery becomes floating rubbish dump
The Drina River in Bosnia-Herzegovina has been left crammed with rubbish following wet weather. Waste from poorly regulated riverside landfills has left a vast carpet of pollution which stretches across the width of the water.

Tonnes of waste - including plastic bottles, used tyres and fridge freezers - has turned a river known for its emerald colour and outstanding scenery into a floating rubbish dump.

The Drina River in Visegrad in eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina has been left crammed with rubbish following wet weather.

Waste from poorly regulated riverside landfills has accumulated behind a barrier in the river, leaving a vast carpet of pollution which stretches across the width of the water.

Rusty barrels, household appliances, driftwood and other rubbish picked up by the river from its tributaries have all been trapped by fencing installed by a Bosnian hydroelectric plant, a few kilometres upstream from its dam.

Environmental activists say the resulting blockage has turned the town into an unofficial regional waste site.

Heavy rain and unseasonably warm weather over the past week have caused many rivers and streams in Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro to overflow, flooding the surrounding areas and forcing scores of people from their homes.

'Huge inflow of garbage'

Temperatures dropped in many areas on Friday as rain turned into snow.

This is not the first time the area has become full of rubbish, with the same situation occurring in 2021, endangering the local ecosystem and people's health.

Dejan Furtula, of the environmental group Eko Centar Visegrad, said: "We had a lot of rainfall and torrential floods in recent days and a huge inflow of water from [the Drina's tributaries in] Montenegro which is now, fortunately, subsiding.

"Unfortunately, the huge inflow of garbage has not ceased."

The Drina River - which has an intense green colour due to the limestone terrain and is often enjoyed by rafters - runs 346km (215 miles) from the mountains of north western Montenegro through Serbia and Bosnia.

Around 10,000 cubic meters (more than 353,000 cubic feet) of waste are estimated to have collected behind the barrier in recent days. The same amount was pulled in recent years from that area of the river.

Health hazard

Removing the waste could take up to six months and will end up as landfill.

Mr Furtula said the local waste site "does not even have sufficient capacity to handle [the city's] municipal waste. The fires on the landfill site are always burning."

He called the conditions there "not just a huge environmental and health hazard, but also a big embarrassment for all of us."

Three-and-a-half years of brutal warfare in the 1990s, which left 100,000 dead, has left the Balkans lagging behind Europe both economically and environmentally.

Despite seeking membership in the European Union and adopting some of the EU's laws and regulations, the countries of the region have made little progress in building effective, environmentally sound waste disposal systems.

In addition to river pollution, many countries in the western Balkans are facing extremely high level of air pollution, with some towns among the most polluted on the planet.

https://news.sky.com/story/balkan-river-known-for-its-breath-taking-scenery-becomes-floating-rubbish-dump-12791685 #:~:text=Data%20%26%20Forensics-,Balkan%20river%20known%20for%20its%20breath%2Dtaking%20scenery%20becomes%20floating,the%20width%20of%20the%20water.

12/04/2022

Fury as waste disposal firms are given £35million of taxpayers' money to burn unused PPE bought at the height of the pandemic

Waste disposal companies have been handed up to £35million in public money
Department of Health contracts awarded to firms Suez and Veolia to recycle PPE
Both companies will be able to 'incinerate' surplus PPE at sites across the UK

Department of Health contracts awarded to firms Suez and Veolia will allow them to 'recycle' unused PPE bought at the height of the pandemic.

21/02/2021

Report: UK could recycle three times as much plastic by 2030
19 January 2021

The UK could recycle 3.5 times as much plastic in 2030 as it did in 2019, if the government works with the private and public sectors to accelerate investment in collection and processing infrastructure.

That is the headline finding of a new roadmap report from the British Plastics Federation (BPF) – the trade body representing businesses which manufacture raw plastics, process the material and manufacture machinery used to create and recycle plastic packaging and products.

Taking into account trends like the ban on plastic waste imports by nations like China, and the impact of Brexit on resources and waste policy in the UK, the report concludes that the UK is likely to increase its plastics recycling capacity in the near future. The extent to which capacity will increase and the amount of plastic processed will increase, however, depends on decisions which policymakers and businesses make in the short-term.

In the best-case scenario, the BPF estimates that the equivalent of just 1% of the plastic produced domestically will be landfilled in 2030. The amount of plastic successfully recycled within the UK will be three-and-a-half higher than it was in 2019, and no low-quality plastic waste will be exported.

For this scenario to be realised, Defra will need to use the Resources and Waste Strategy to implement a universal plastic waste collection framework across all local authorities. The Local Government Association has previously described the array of different rules as a “smorgasbord” which confuses residents and leads to contamination. Consultations on the strategy, timetabled for 2020, were pushed back to 2021 by Defra due to Covid-19.

The Department is also being urged to increase investment in new recycling technologies to tackle items that are currently hard-to-recycle. According to the BPF, the amount of material processed in the UK could increase by sixty times with accelerated and holistic support for mechanical and chemical recycling innovations.

According to the report, the UK Government will also need to expand its focus on plastics from packaging used in households to products and packaging used by businesses. Particular plastics ‘hotspots’, where use is high and recycling rates are low, include construction and agriculture. Households should also be supported to recycle durable plastic products, like components used in cars and electronics, as well as single-use packaging. To this latter point, E-waste is the world’s fastest-growing domestic waste stream and recycling rates have stagnated over the past five years.

The BPF estimates that the global market for plastic recycling could grow to £31bn by 2025 – if nations focus on the sector through their economic recovery planning for Covid-19. It is encouraging UK ministers to ensure that the nation benefits from this trend and has already secured informal support from Rebecca Pow.

“With the right collaborative effort, we have the potential to be a leading light when it comes to rapidly developing the technology and infrastructure to recycle far more plastic,” BPF director-general Philip Law said.

Reuse and recycling innovations

Public awareness of the fact that just 9% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled has been rising ever since Blue Planet 2 aired in 2017. People are also increasingly skeptical of the drawbacks of traditional mechanical plastic recycling. Items like black plastic and flexible film, for example, are hard to process, and even recyclable items can only complete a few cycles before material quality deteriorates significantly.

As such, reuse and refill systems have been growing in popularity. But this model is still not mainstream – an Ellen MacArthur study found that just 2% of the products sold by the world's biggest consumer goods firms in 2020 came in reusable packaging.

Many businesses point to arguments against refill and reuse in some situations, including food safety and increased cost for consumers. With that in mind, it’s hardly surprising that investments in recycling innovations are increasing. edie recently named chemical plastic recycling as one of its eight innovations to watch in 2021 following increased investments from companies including Nestle, Unilever, Tesco and Henkel, as well as the UK Government.

The UK could recycle 3.5 times as much plastic in 2030 as it did in 2019, if the government works with the private and public sectors to accelerate investment in collection and processing infrastructure.

01/11/2020

Sri Lanka returns illegal waste to Britain
21 containers violated international laws governing the shipping of hazardous material.

21 containers violated international laws governing the shipping of hazardous material

01/11/2020

Where does recycling and rubbish from the UK go?

Waste company Biffa has been fined £350,000 for sending household waste, including used nappies and sanitary towels, to China. The waste was illegally labelled as paper.

So how much of the UK's waste is recycled, and how much of it do we send abroad?

How much waste does the UK produce?
In 2016, the UK generated 222.9 million tonnes of waste, up 4% from 2014.

England was responsible for 85% of the total.

Construction and demolition generates the most - about 136 million tonnes a year. Mineral waste accounts for 36% of the total and includes anything that's left over from mining or quarrying, and can't be used again.

As a company is fined for sending UK waste to China, just where does our recycling and rubbish go?

13/04/2020

UK WASTE AND RECYCLING COMPANIES ISSUE JOINT CORONAVIRUS STATEMENT

Full statement
“The Covid-19 pandemic is rapidly changing our daily lives and causing significant disruption. This looks set to continue for some time, but this disruption is absolutely necessary if, together, we are to limit the spread and impact of this disease.

“We wanted to take the opportunity to reassure everyone that, whatever else might happen, we’re working hard to ensure that your bins are still collected in the coming weeks and months. But, we need your help to do this.

“There are around twenty-seven million households in the United Kingdom and, collectively, they produce the equivalent of a tonne of rubbish each, every year. Collecting, sorting, and processing the waste from this many households is a huge daily challenge and requires a workforce of more than 107,000 people, who have been identified by government as key workers, providing support during this crisis.

“For the time being, many household recycling and waste collections are operating normally and everyone should continue to reduce, re-use and recycle as much of their waste as possible. Your local council is ultimately responsible for recycling and waste services, so please follow all of the guidance they provide so that we can keep these vital services moving efficiently.

“Following government advice, to protect workers and combat the spread of infection, anyone who feels ill at home (whether diagnosed with Covid-19 or not) should place all their waste in the general rubbish bin, and should double-bag it, making sure the bags are securely tied. They should then wait at least 72 hours before placing it out for collection. For now, this material should not be put in your recycling.

“Like other critical industries, staff shortages may interfere with recycling and waste services, so we are doing all we can to mitigate this risk. To ensure we can continue to collect general rubbish, which must be prioritised for hygiene reasons, it might be necessary to temporarily change or suspend some non-essential collection services like garden and bulky waste. Any disruption to recycling services will be a last resort and, if this is unavoidable, we must not allow it to break our national recycling habit in the long term.

“Some HWRCs will be temporarily closed to the general public and, unless essential, people should not be leaving their homes to visit these sites. It is possible that some street cleaning and litter removal services may also need to be temporarily suspended to prioritise household collections.

“We are grateful for your support at this time of unprecedented challenge and urge you to stay safe, protect yourself and protect others.

“Thank you.”

The UK waste sector has issued a joint statement to the public urging residents to follow government advice on managing their household rubbish to minimise the spread of coronavirus to waste workers and warning of emergency service changes.

12/02/2020

The mattress landfill crisis: how the race to bring us better beds led to a recycling nightmare

Mike Scollick and Richard Allsopp are talking about the worst things they ever found in a mattress. “We had one where I think a dog had been lying on it, and the whole thing was just jumping with fleas,” Allsopp says, shuddering. No one would touch it, so they had to use a cherry picker to move it. But that’s not the worst of it, Scollick says: “I stripped the cover off one once and it looked like somebody …” “Died,” interjects Allsopp.

It’s fair to say you need a strong stomach to be in the mattress recycling game. Which Scollick and Allsopp have, along with several million pounds’ worth of equipment in their Coventry warehouse. I have come to see Circom, their mattress recycling firm, at work. It’s a dirty but noble enterprise: Circom is one of only a handful of recyclers tackling the UK’s ever-growing mattress problem.

The UK threw away more than 7m mattresses in 2017, the vast majority of which went straight to landfill. Zero Waste Scotland has estimated that if the 600,000 mattresses Scotland throws away every year were stacked on top of each other, the pile would be more than 100 times taller than Ben Nevis. Flytipping is another huge area of concern: English councils spend £58m a year on clear-up, with mattresses among the most commonly illegally dumped items. According to the National Bed Federation (NBF), only about 19% of mattresses are recycled. The reason? They are a nightmare to recycle – it’s the springs. “They’re a machine killer,” says Scollick.

And it’s not just a British problem. Mattresses are a global environmental nightmare. The US throws away 18.2m mattresses a year, but there are only 56 facilities available to recycle them.

Mike Scollick and Richard Allsopp are talking about the worst things they ever found in a mattress. 

28/12/2019

Couple accidentally leave £15,000 inside cardboard box at recycling centre
Cash hoard found by staff at waste depot in Midsomer Norton, Somerset

A couple who unwittingly threw away £15,000 in cash were reunited with the money in time for Christmas thanks to staff at a recycling centre.

The forgotten hoard was discovered inside a cardboard box which was dumped at the depot in Midsomer Norton near Bath, Somerset.

Staff members resisted the temptation to keep the money for themselves and set out to identify the previous owners.

Using CCTV footage and car registration details logged at the site they traced the car which dropped off the box back to a house in Burnham-on-Sea.

The residents later told police they had been clearing the home of a recently deceased relative in Bath, who was known to hide money in “unusual” places.

Cash hoard found by staff at waste depot in Midsomer Norton, Somerset

16/11/2019

A rubbish story: China's mega-dump full 25 years ahead of schedule

The Jiangcungou landfill in Shaanxi Province, which is the size of around 100 football fields, was designed to take 2,500 tonnes of rubbish per day.

But instead it received 10,000 tonnes of waste per day - the most of any landfill site in China.

China is one of the world's biggest polluters, and has been struggling for years with the rubbish its 1.4 billion citizens generate.

How big is the landfill site?
The Jiangcungou landfill in Xi'an city was built in 1994 and was designed to last until 2044.

The landfill serves over 8 million citizens. It spans an area of almost 700,000 square metres, with a depth of 150 metres and a storage capacity of more than 34 million cubic metres.

Until recently, Xi'an was one of the few cities in China that solely relied on landfill to dispose of household waste - leading to capacity being reached early.

Earlier this month, a new incineration plant was opened, and at least four more are expected to open by 2020. Together, they are expected to be able to process 12,750 tonnes of rubbish per day.

The move is part of a national plan to reduce the number of landfills, and instead use other waste disposal methods like incineration.

The landfill site in Xi'an will eventually become an "ecological park".

How much waste does China produce?
In 2017, China collected 215 million tonnes of urban household waste, according to the country's statistical yearbook. That's up from 152 million ten years earlier.

The country had 654 landfill sites and 286 incineration plants.

It is not clear what China's recycling rate is, as no figures have been released. China plans to recycle 35% of waste in major cities by the end of 2020, according to one government report.

This July, sorting and recycling rubbish was made mandatory in Shanghai - leading to "a sense of panic" among some residents.

Social angst high as Shanghai gets tough on rubbish
A blockage in global waste disposal
In 2015, there was a landslide at a rubbish dump in the southern city of Shenzhen, killing 73 people.

The dump was designed to hold four million cubic metres worth of rubbish, with a maximum height of 95 metres.

When it collapsed, it was holding 5.8m cubic metres of material with waste heaps up to 160m high.

Does China deal with other countries' waste?
Not anymore. It used to, until the end of 2017 when it decided to ban the import of 24 different grades of rubbish.

In 2017 alone, China took in seven million tonnes of plastic rubbish from Europe, Japan and the US - and 27 million tonnes of waste paper.

Other countries, including Malaysia, Turkey, the Philippines and Indonesia, have picked up some of the slack.

Who's sending back plastic waste?
The small town with a dirty secret
Reality Check: Where is the plastic waste mountain?
But they struggled to deal with the amount of waste coming in - often times resulting in massive, out-of-control landfills in their own countries.

Some of these countries have now banned the import of certain types of rubbish and are even sending it back.

China collects hundreds of millions of tonnes of waste a year - and dealing with it is a problem.