Waste Management News

Waste Recycling Birmingham

Surprising Recycling Opportunities: More than Meets the Eye!

Surprising Recycling Opportunities: More than Meets the Eye! 1200 800 CMS Clearaway

As our nation strives to become more environmentally conscious, with waste recycling gaining increasing importance, and while most people are aware of the basics – thanks to household recycling bins emptied by local councils – there are still lesser-known items that can be recycled.

Of course, when you engage the services of CMS Clearaway to clear rubbish or manage commercial waste disposal, we take care of the recycling and environmentally friendly elements for you, but we thought it interesting in this article to highlight five surprising things that can be recycled, contributing to waste reduction and a greener future:

 

Nappies

While it may be expected that reusable cloth nappies can be recycled, disposable nappies present a different challenge.

However, a UK-based company called Knowaste has developed a method to recycle disposable nappies: through sanitisation and separation, the plastics from nappies are recycled into roof shingles, and the paper pulp is transformed into wallpaper.

With an average of 5,000 nappies used per child in their first two years, this recycling process has the potential to significantly reduce landfill waste!

 

Chewing Gum

Chewing gum litter costs UK councils a staggering £150 million each year to clean up.

A London based company called GumDrop processes discarded gum and creates compounds that can be used in the rubber and plastics industries.

This innovation allows chewing gum to be repurposed for manufacturing items ranging from wellington boots to mobile phone covers.

 

Used Bras

Charity shops may not accept used bras, but they are recyclable.

Smalls for All, a Scottish charity, collects bras to provide support to women in the poorest regions of Africa.

Gently worn bras are distributed, while damaged or older bras are disassembled and recycled to raise funds for purchasing more bras.

 

Compact Discs

If you have unwanted, undamaged compact discs, you can donate them to charity, give them to a friend, or even sell them with a number of online companies buying them in return for cash.

However, what about damaged discs? While they cannot be placed in regular plastic recycling bins, several companies now accept them for recycling.

You would need to mail the CDs to these companies, which will shred and melt them down for repurposing in industries such as automotive or building materials.

 

Mattresses

Each year, around 20 million mattresses end up in landfills!

However, private companies have begun to tackle this issue by recycling mattresses. The process involves breaking down mattresses into their various materials and sending them
to specialized plants for each type of material. Through this recycling process, mattresses can be given a new lease of life, reducing the
volume of waste in landfills.

 

Recycling goes beyond the conventional household items, and there are surprising opportunities to reduce waste and promote sustainability.

By recycling as much as we can it will make a significant impact on waste reduction and environmental preservation and when it comes to waste management, rest assured that CMS Clearaway have it covered with 94% of the waste we collect from businesses and households throughout Birmingham and the West Midlands, being recycled.

Office waste clearance tips

Office Waste Clearance Tips

Office Waste Clearance Tips 1200 800 CMS Clearaway

Waste in the office is something that can build up extremely fast and is contributed by all employees so it is important to have a good, safe process for not only waste clearance but also understanding that it is everybody’s responsibility to reduce it.

Waste should be cleared often and not hoarded for many reasons to make sure you are working in a clean and pleasant environment that is not cluttered or attracting pests.

In smaller situations you may find it easy to clear waste yourself but in most cases businesses will regularly work with a waste clearance company to eliminate the worry of waste build-up so you can concentrate on the growth and development of your business.

Here are some do’s and don’ts of office waste clearance…

 

Do …

– Either hire or purchase the bins for your office specifically, indeed in large complexes there is likely to be communal bins, however, ensuring your own waste is taken care of is essential and having well-placed waste disposal options will help you keep on top of the amount of waste your business is generating.

– Label bins around the office for recycling and general waste, doing so will help you to better your businesses efforts to recycle and with separate collection days it allows you to keep on top of it.

– Make a note of the different waste processes you need for your business to take full responsibility of the right clearances.

– Hire a waste clearance company who can offer a reliable and regular service alongside expert advice and guidance on the best processes for sorting your waste, just like CMS Clearaway.

– Make sure you are keeping a record of your waste disposals and clearances to ensure that the company you hire are correctly and safely disposing of your waste.

 

Don’t …

– Don’t be careless with your waste, some office equipment waste will need extra care to ensure that it is safely disposed of – for example office printer cartridges and hardware can be extremely hazardous to the environment.

– Make sure your employees are not mixing food waste with recyclable waste as this decreases your efforts to reduce your businesses carbon footprint and unnecessarily prevents the opportunity to recycle materials.

– Don’t hire just anybody to take care of your waste disposal as this could lead to criminal activity and fly tipping – making sure you are hiring an accredited and licensed waste clearance company like CMS Clearaway is absolutely essential to avoid hefty fines that can cost your business hundreds of thousands of pounds.

– Mixing waste can be a real problem and make it impossible for your waste clearance company to safely and correctly dispose of it, so making sure that you are separating all of your office waste will save you a lot of effort and time.

 

With the above being said, if you’re a business owner based in Birmingham or the West Midlands and are looking for a stress-free and reliable way to safely dispose of your waste and need sound guidance on the best practices for waste clearances, please get in touch with us at CMS Clearaway.

The Rise in Fly-Tipping in the UK

The Rise in Fly-Tipping in the UK

The Rise in Fly-Tipping in the UK 1200 800 CMS Clearaway

In the UK fly-tipping is one of the most common crimes committed and is a huge issue for many areas of the country, such as around Birmingham and the West Midlands, which makes it extremely important that you dispose of your domestic or commercial rubbish with a licensed waste management company such as CMS Clearaway.

According to GOV UK, local authorities in England dealt with 1.13 million fly-tipping incidents in 2020/21 – this was up 16% from 980,000 in 2019/20 which is extremely concerning.Total incidents involving household waste were 737,000 in 2020/21, proving that the majority of fly-tipping was committed by civilians.

However, those who are committing these crimes are often unaware that their household waste is being tipped onto pavements, roads and their local area as there is an increasing issue due to ‘man with a van’ offers on Facebook marketplace – where often these people offering a service are actually the culprits of the fly-tipping.

The rise in fly tipping across the UK is thought to be attributed to these ‘man with a van’ offers on social media, as people see the opportunity to make some quick cash while the waste owner has unknowingly disposed of their unwanted belongings in public areas and ultimately are liable for prosecution if identified.

If you are not using a fully licensed and insured removals and waste disposal company like CMS Clearway, you run the risk of being caught up in a criminal investigation and given a hefty fine, even if you did not dump the goods yourself.

In the UK, if you are caught fly tipping you can expect a fine of up to £50,000 or in the worst case, if a magistrates court convicts you, you could spend up to five years in prison. Not only that, if you are found guilty of fly tipping you will also face charges on top of any fine that will cover all compensation and legal costs incurred, which could amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The most frustrating part of fly tipping is that a lot of the household waste that is dumped in our country lanes, parks and community areas is mostly recyclable materials, which makes it even more devastating to the environment as it is a completely unnecessary and preventable situation that only negatively affects the environment around us.

Indeed, toxic waste also makes up a part of the fly tipping problem that the UK is facing which can be extremely harmful to animals and human beings.

With that being said, fly tipping is completely preventable and with the problem increasing it is likely that fines and criminal prosecution will intensify in order to reduce it.

CMS Clearaway are licensed, insured and registered waste carriers for rubbish removal in Birmingham and the West Midlands, providing clearances for both household and commercial waste.

We pride ourselves on no-nonsense pricing with FREE online quotes and all of our staff are CRB vetted with van tracking to ensure a timely and discreet service that you can wholeheartedly trust.