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Pre Issue 8 January 2014
Repak Update
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Pre Repak UPdate Welcome to another edition of the Repak Update.
As we begin the new year we are pleased to confirm that there will be no increase in membership fees for 2014. This is the sixth year in a row in which fees have been frozen at 2008 levels, despite an increase in recycling activity – particularly in the more costly household sector. According to Repak Membership Manager, Declan Martin, this has been achieved through prudent cost management. He points out that Repak fees compare very favourably with their European counterparts and are at the lower end of the EU scale. However, as a not-for-profit organisation, Repak is required to break even. The continued high level of non-compliance by producers places a considerable strain on Repak’s ability to fund recycling as well as an unfair burden on compliant Repak members. This edition has information on a new Resource exchange centre operated by SMILE in Cork and a Resource Efficiency seminar in Limerick. There is news of a new Sustainability Journal that will be available on-line and information on the Repak Payment Subsidy (RPS) Scheme operated by the Repak Collections department. Repak member company JTI demonstrate their ‘Stub Tidy’ for preventing cigarette butt litter and Dawn Meats show how they won the IBEC Sustainability Award in November. There is also some information on the Repak Annual Plans which all members are now required to submit. If there are any issues or topics that you would like to see raised in future editions, or if you wish to supply any content, please contact the Repak Membership Services Department at the email address below. Repak Ltd. Red Cow Interchange Estate 1 Ballymount Rd. Clondalkin Dublin 22
Tel: 01 - 467 0190 membershipservices@repak.ie www.repak.ie www.preventandsave.ie www.recyclemore.ie
Repak Membership news SMILE Resource Exchange Reuse Cabin Now open in Cork! SMILE Resource Exchange Reuse Cabin - Drop Off & Collection Point at Rehab Recycle’s Eco Village. SMILE Resource Exchange now has a “Reuse Cabin” within Rehab Recyle’s Eco Village on the Monahan Road in Cork City which SMILE members can use as a drop-off and collection point for items. SMILE members can take their unwanted items to the “Reuse Cabin” for collection at a convenient time by other SMILE members who intend to reuse the items. If you want to make an exchange with another business but a meeting point and time is proving difficult, then why not use the Reuse Cabin? You can drop off your item to the SMILE Reuse Cabin which can then be collected by the other member at a time that is convenient to them....a win - win for all parties involved. Rehab Recycle’s Eco Village is a new bring site for commercial recyclable and reusable material which is open to businesses in Cork City and County.
For further information please contact the SMILE team: E: info@smileexchange.ie T: 026 20520
Seminar: Innovation in Resource Efficiency & CleanTech in Industry Date & Location:
January 29th, 2014 in Millenium Theatre, Limerick IT, Old Cratloe Road.
This seminar is a practical information event for businesses which will place particular emphasis on the cost savings that a company can achieve by adopting resource-efficient practices within day-to-day operations. An exhibition will form a significant part of this event and will feature a range of advisory services and suppliers of efficient equipment, systems for energy and general resource use.There will be speakers from local MNCs & SMEs such as Intel, DePuy, Prolimax, Rehab as well as the EPA, Repak & Enterprise Ireland. Supply Network Shannon (SNS) is an industry-led initiative aimed at representing, promoting, developing and connecting companies in the wider Shannon Region of Ireland. The Network was incorporated as a limited liability company in 1999 and has been very successful for over more than a decade and developed a brand that is recognised and valued within the region. Location: Millennium Theatre, Limerick Institute of Technology, Old Cratloe Rd. Date: Wed 29th Jan. 2014 Time: 8.30am to 1.30pm Register online: Industryseminarlit.eventbrite.com For more information contact: frances.hardiman@lit.ie or lorraine@snshannon.com Partners to Supply Network Shannon in running this seminar are: • Limerick Institute of Technology’s Acorn Research Centre, in particular their ‘Tempo’ project on Energy. • Limerick CleanTech Cluster The event is linked with the ITLG (Irish Technology Leadership Group) Silicon Valley Global Technology Forum which is taking place in Limerick on Jan 27th and 28th.
Repak Membership news Repak annual plans now due Under the Irish Waste management (Packaging) Regulations 2007 all major producers are required to prepare a three year implementation plan detailing how they intend to comply with the legislation and how they intend to prevent or minimise packaging waste. In addition they are also required to prepare an annual report specifying the steps already taken to comply with the legislation. These are detailed in article 15 of the regulations. Major Producer members of Repak are exempt from the above legislation but must prepare and implement a written plan instead. The written plan as detailed in Section 4.2(b), (c) and (d) of the Repak Scheme rules requires the company to: - Prepare and implement a written plan (in a form that is satisfactory to REPAK) for the management of Packaging waste arising on that Member’s premises, and in each Year thereafter review and update the plan (where necessary). In particular each Member of the Repak Scheme must review and, where necessary, update the plan within 60 days of any request by REPAK to do so. REPAK reserves the right to approve and/or seek amendments to a Member of the Repak Scheme’s plans prepared under this rule; - ensure in accordance with the written plan prepared above that: (i) Packaging waste arising on its premises is dealt with in a responsible manner; and (ii) any such Packaging waste that is capable of being recycled is segregated appropriately and made available for recycling, and that Member complies fully with its obligations as a producer under Part II of the Regulations; and - in carrying out its activities, only use the services of lawfully permitted or licensed recovery operators, and otherwise comply with all applicable legislative requirements regarding the generation, segregation, storage, transport and disposal of Packaging waste.
Under the recent licence approval for Repak there is a strong emphasis on the prevention and minimisation of packaging waste. This is to be expected as it ensures Repak members are obligated to prevent and minimise packaging waste to the same extent as any other obligated businesses under the legislation. At this stage all Repak members have been reminded that they must submit an annual plan along with their statistical returns this year. To help this process we have prepared a simple template for a Repak Annual Plan that is now available on the website. See here. The template has been revised to make it much easier to complete than in recent years, but at the same time still details the information required under the Scheme Rules and the Legislation. Apart from some general information and some information required on the premises of each member, the main information required is on the waste management activities of each member company. Sections must be completed which describe the Packaging Waste Prevention and Minimisation activities, any Reusable or Returnable packaging initiatives and also the Packaging Recycling activities of each member company. To facilitate the transfer of data each section has a text box where information can be written in or copied from another source if preferable. For any queries on completing the plan or implementing any aspect of the plan within your company, please contact Colm or John, the Repak packaging technologists at colm.munnelly@repak.ie or John. Coleman@repak.ie. Repak shall treat any information furnished as confidential.
Repak Membership news The Repak Payment Subsidy scheme One of the features of Irish and EU legislation is that all producers of packaging waste are obliged to take practical steps to ensure the recovery of packaging waste arising on their facilities by segregating it into separate packaging material streams and making it available for recovery by a collection company. Recovery is defined in the broader sense here which means it includes any type of recycling as well as energy recovery. In effect this means that the responsibility for ensuring that any packaging waste sent for recovery remains with the person who sent it for recovery, as well as with the person who it was given to. For example, if waste packaging material is found in a field the responsibility lies with the original owner of the packaging, as well as the person who discarded it. If the packaging has been branded in any way it makes it very easy to see who the original owner was.The best way to ensure that packaging waste has been managed responsibly is to ensure that the recovery operator: - Has a Waste Permit (where appropriate) - Has a Waste Collection Permit (where appropriate) - Is licenced with the EPA or NIEA (where appropriate) - Is registered with the Companies Registration office (CRO) - Has appropriate tax clearance, and - Has appropriate public and employer liability insurance. Registration for permits is now handled by the National Waste Collection Permits Office (NWCPO), who took over this responsibility from the various Local Authorities. They have a website www.nwcpo.ie that allows visitors to search the Waste Permits that are operating in their own areas.Repak ensure that all of the waste contractors they work with comply with these requirements through the Repak Payment Subsidy (RPS) scheme. This scheme funds the recovery of waste packaging from industry’s back door and from household waste packaging collected via bring and kerbside collections. Fees collected from Repak members are used to fund recovery operators who are members of the scheme. The fee depends on the type and amount of waste packaging material collected and on how it will be recovered. Repak as an organisation must ensure that any recovery operator being funded from member’s fees complies with all of the relevant legislation. This is carried out through audits of the recovery operators with checks on their licences, recycling certificates, collection routes, processing facilities and ultimately how waste packaging material is recovered. Areas that the scheme encompasses include: - Packaging Waste collection (including separating, baling and sorting of materials as appropriate) - Primary processing - Locating and using legitimate markets for recycled and recovery material - Transportation and traceability of materials to Recyclers and/or Re-processors - The provision of the appropriate vehicles and other equipment as necessary for the collection and transportation of the Packaging Waste For any queries on the scheme please contact Colm in the Membership Services department (Colm.Munnelly@ repak.ie) or John in the Collection Services department (John.Healy@Repak.ie).
Repak Membership news dawn meats wins ibec Environment award Dawn Meats accepted its 4th sustainability award in three weeks when it was recognised with the Process Award at the IBEC Environment Awards 2013 last November. This latest award further cements Dawn Meats’ position as Ireland’s most sustainable meat processor. The Process Award recognises Dawn Meats as a pioneer in the development and implementation of sustainable production solutions. Dawn Meats’ aim was to reduce fossil fuel use by 80% at one of its major meat processing plants using superconducting heat recovery technology (originally conceived by NASA scientists) to produce hot water. The project delivered a thermal efficiency improvement of 90% at its Ballyhaunis plant and over 50% at other facilities. The success of the project has allowed Dawn Meats to increase its corporate target for energy efficiency from 20% to 40%. This win follows hot on the heels of three other sustainability awards in as many weeks, including: • SEAI Innovation Award – Dawn Meats’ energy efficiency solution beat Microsoft and a range of other leading edge companies to claim the top prize for its heat recovery solution • Bord Bia’s Origin Green’s overall Sustainability Award - for saving up to 60 million litres of water and reducing Dawn Meats’ carbon footprint by 3,000 tonnes in one year • The UK’s prestigious Green Apple Environmental Award. Dawn Meats competed with over 500 nominations in the UK and was named National Green Champion (Ireland) – of which there is just one per country Commenting, Niall Browne, Chief Executive of Dawn Meats said: “For Dawn Meats the most satisfying part of a sustainability award is the underlying environmental solution that delivers efficiency and underpins our green credentials. We are now exporting to over forty countries where traceability and environmental sustainability are expected by our customers and by end consumers.” “Our environmental team under the leadership of Charlie Coakley has not only embraced the sustainability challenge, but has become a standard bearer for the meat industry in particular. I’m delighted that these achievements have been so widely recognised. Looking ahead, we have set ambitious sustainability targets for delivery by 2020, including a 50% reduction in our carbon footprint and a 40% reduction in water and energy consumption.”
Repak Membership news keep my world green
A new e-journal Sustainability Ireland was launched recently and provides insight to new and innovative Sustainable Solutions. The e-journal Sustainability Ireland is Ireland’s only online sustainability journal. It helps keep decision makers fully informed by providing relevant and up-to-date articles and information relating to all aspects of sustainability in the environment. All articles and other content are provided by leading experts, well-respected within their own disciplines. The Sustainability Ireland leadership/subscriber list includes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
All local authorities in the island of Ireland Commercial & Industrial sectors Waste/Recycling organisations Water Treatment companies Engineering consultancies/contractors Building contractors Environmental consultancies Agricultural consultancies Law firms Energy efficiency consultants/ organisations Energy efficiency equipment suppliers Architects Training institutions - incl. 2nd & 3rd level The major financial institutions General equipment suppliers State & semi-State organisations The major retail shopping centers
The primary focus of Sustainability Ireland is to inform the readership of the latest developments and technologies - what they are, where to access them, and their relevance to individual projects. Advertisements and Product & Services editorial are linked to the relevant companies’ websites. To receive your free copy of Sustainability Ireland contact Pat or Neil here.
The last thing on people’s minds when festival time hits is “What’s the greenest way to dispose of my cigarette?” and unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for people to throw their cigarette butts on the ground. To combat this, a pilot anti-litter campaign was rolled out by Repak member company JTI for music festivals over the summer months which involved the creation of a non-branded, portable ashtray or ‘Stub Tidy’. Festival goers use the stub tidy to dispose of their cigarette waste in a responsible manner. The reusable Stub Tidy is a bright green pouch with a push button making it easy to use and store. It’s small and compact and can take up to five cigarette butts at a time. When it’s full you can just empty it into a bin. The objective of the Stub Tidy is to highlight the importance of disposing of cigarettes responsibly and provides consumers with the necessary equipment to allow them to appropriately discard their cigarette-related waste. The introduction of the Stub Tidy will improve the quality of the environment by encouraging smokers to dispose of cigarette butts more responsibly.
Repak Ltd. Red Cow Interchange Estate 1 Ballymount Rd. Clondalkin Dublin 22 www.repak.ie www.preventandsave.ie www.recyclemore.ie membershipservices@repak.ie 01 4670190