A waste management company which has been so successful its turnover has increased 25 fold since its launch a year ago is aiming to improve Coventry and Warwickshire’s green credentials and carbon footprint while enabling companies
to comply with new environmental legislation.

WEEE Help Recycle, based in Coventry’s canal basin, is applying for Advantage West Midlands funding towards an £800,000 plastics recycling facility to help district councils and companies throughout the area dispose of waste which currently has to travel to outlying areas of the country.

The company – the WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment – is a one stop shop for waste management – its staff offer everything from consultation on compliance with EU directives, including the new Batteries Directive due to come into force in September, to collection, recycling and the necessary paperwork.

Director and environmental manager Helen Holley, who is about to begin an MA at Coventry University in environmental management, explains: “For most companies the need to be legally compliant is the key reason for them to contact us – but there is also a growing desire to be green too. One of our aims is to achieve zero landfill.

“We also appreciate there is a great deal of opposition to plans for a £30 million super incinerator to replace the existing facility at Whitley which is about to go to public consultation. We believe recycling rather than incineration is a more environmentally friendly way of tackling much of this waste.

“We are in the process of applying for 30 per cent funding for a plastics recycling facility from the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands through Coventry City council. This will enable us to recycle plastics collected not only by the city council but hopefully all the surrounding district councils in Warwickshire as well as businesses locally.

“At the moment any plastics have to be sent away some distance which means some of the positive benefits of recycling are negated by increasing their carbon footprint. Our aim is to keep it local – stay green and keep it clean.

“Our plan is to produce the raw material for plastics companies to manufacture into products such as pellets and bricks, clothes and stationery. There is a growing demand for recycled plastic and no shortage of companies who would want our product.”

WEEE Help Recycle’s client list is growing rapidly – with big name companies among those who use its services.

It reinforces its green credentials by being heavily involved in community initiatives aimed at encouraging people to recycle and is shortly to work with an eco group at Coventry’s Exhall Grange School which helps children with special needs.

For more information visit www.weeehelprecycle.co.uk or contact Helen Holley on 024 7655 5049 or at helen@weeehelprecycle.co.uk.

www.defra.gov.uk
www.environment-agency.gov.uk
www.wasteonline.org.uk
www.wrap.org.uk