Latest news with #Biffa
Scotsman
4 days ago
- General
- Scotsman
Coming to a street near you: Meet Glasgow's new ‘monster' waste truck Wayne
Meet Wayne – an eye-catching new bin truck with a monster-sized appetite to help change the way people in Glasgow think about waste. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Meet Wayne – an eye-catching new bin truck with a monster-sized appetite to help change the way people in Glasgow think about waste. Wayne is one of six new fun and colourful Wasteater trucks launched by Biffa across the UK to help fuel conversations at school, home and the workplace about the importance of reducing waste and recycling more. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Items perfect for recycling include plastic milk and fizzy drinks bottles, cardboard boxes, beer and wine bottles and metal drinks cans – as long as they are clean, loose and dry. Glasgow Wasteater, Wayne But a recent Biffa survey found almost one in two people in the UK are confused by which bin to use, meaning lots of recycling is often lost or spoiled. Biffa's other new Wasteaters are in Sheffield, Southampton, Farnham, Cardiff and Manchester. Alan Cargill, Biffa's Glasgow depot manager, said: 'Biffa helps people across the UK to reduce, reuse, and recycle more effectively. With Wasteaters we're turning waste management into a fun, engaging mission for everyone. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The Wasteaters are a collective of colourful characters designed to make recycling more relatable and enjoyable. Wayne the Wasteater in Glasgow 'Each has a unique personality, helping to educate people - especially families and schools - on how to sort waste properly. 'Recycling is a shared responsibility and, by sorting waste correctly, people help the Wasteaters do their job better, which in turn helps the planet.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
West Yorkshire Fire Service battery bin plea as lithium-ion blazes increase
A senior West Yorkshire fire officer has warned about disposing batteries in household bins amid what the force described as a "growing national crisis".Lithium-ion batteries, commonly found in everyday items such as vapes, mobile phones and power tools, are increasingly causing fires when discarded incorrectly, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) Wakefield alone, almost 85 tonnes of electrical items were incorrectly placed in recycling bins last year, leading to 46 fires at one rubbish sorting site as well as five bin lorry Assistant District Commander David Burland said: "These avoidable fires are also taking away resources from other emergencies." "Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, more places than you realise," he said. "And if you throw one in a standard household bin, when your bin wagon collects waste, it compacts it and the danger starts when the lithium-ion batteries are crushed or damaged. "They can instantly burst into flames due to the chemicals inside them," Mr Burland added. Despite being small and portable, lithium-ion batteries have a high energy and power density so when not made correctly, can exhibit "thermal runway" - a self-heating state that can result in them ejecting gas, shrapnel and extremely high temperatures leading to fires. WYFRS has launched a campaign, alongside Wakefield Council and waste management firm Biffa, to raise awareness about the dangers of disposing of all libraries and supermarkets have special recycling boxes for batteries and council websites can offer advice about disposal Burland also warned about the dangers of buying battery packs online - often to convert standard pedal bikes to said it was especially risky to charge an e-bike indoors, particularly in house shares or flats where space was at a minimum. "Try and charge them somewhere safely away from your property if possible."Do not block your escape route overnight, because that could be the difference in you getting out or not," he added. A man died in Bradford after his converted e-bike caught fire while charging in the living room overnight at his Janjua, 28, was found unresponsive in a bedroom in December 2023 after he returned to the fire-engulfed house because he thought his brother was still inside. A coroner said the blaze was likely caused by a "catastrophic failure" of the bike battery.A Prevention of Future Deaths report has since been released urging the government to examine rules around the sale of lithium-ion battery kits - which are unregulated. The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 was recently passed which enabled the government to "address challenges" arising from technological advances such as the fire risk associated with e-bikes and lithium-ion Burland said buying battery kits online had increased as they were cheap. "But that cost is at a bit of a price to safety as well."Some government regulation of how these batteries are tested before being sold to make sure they fit to British standard trademarks is needed," he said. Mr Burland added: "That could be a good place to start." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
11-07-2025
- BBC News
Man's death at Bradford Biffa waste site was accident
A jury has ruled that a man who died after being hit by a reversing truck at a waste management site was killed by accident. James Tabiri died on 10 August 2023 at the Biffa site on Peace Street in Bradford, the city's coroner's court a three-day inquest that finished on 9 July, a jury found that 57-year-old Mr Tabiri died as a result of an accident.A record of inquest states: "James at the time had earbuds in and was concentrating on a clocking card in his hand. As this was happening, the driver of the Biffa wagon started to reverse after completing his checks. James was not visible to the driver when he was hit by the vehicle." The court heard that Mr Tabiri, who was employed by contractor Smart Solutions Recruitment, had left the site canteen and walked through the site wearing an orange hi-vis jacket before he was Tabiri had moved to Bradford from his home country of Ghana to live with his wife Joyce's family. However, he struggled to find permanent work and ended up working at a statement his family said they had found out about his death via social media, saying that it was "harrowing" to discover the tragedy in such a went on to say his death had had "an adverse effect on [his wife] Joyce." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
07-07-2025
- BBC News
Man killed at Biffa Bradford site by reversing lorry
A man died after being hit a reversing lorry at a Biffa waste management site in Bradford, an inquest jury has been told. James Tabiri, 57, was struck by the vehicle at the company's site in Peace Street on 10 August inquest into Mr Tabiri's death started earlier at at Bradford Coroner's the events on Assistant coroner Ian Pears told jurors: "James was working at the site of Biffa and he came into contact with a as a result of that impact, died." The inquest was told Mr Tabiri was born in Ghana but had moved to Bradford to live with his wife's family in the years before the a statement his family said they had found out about his death via social media, saying that it was "harrowing" to discover the tragedy in such a went on to say his death had had "an adverse affect on [his wife] Joyce,"During the hearing jurors were shown CCTV images of the incident from cameras on the worksite as well as taken from the footage showed Mr Tabiri - who was employed by contactor Smart Solutions Recruitment - wearing an orange hi-vis jacket as he walked across the was seen to be reading a logbook before he was hit by the evidence, operations excellence director at Biffa, Barry Crews said there was a sensor on the back of the lorry, but said they are generally used for identifying large containers rather than pedestrians. "It is to allow the driver to know when he is close to the container," Mr Crews said, adding that the camera helps the driver to line up the container and then attach it to the inquest continues. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
STV News
20-06-2025
- Business
- STV News
Biffa £166m compensation claim over deposit return scheme 'good to go'
A lawyer acting for a company pursuing a £166m compensation claim against the Scottish Government has told a judge that his case is 'good to go' to court. Roddy Dunlop KC made the statement during a procedural hearing on Thursday in an action brought against Scottish ministers by Biffa Waste Services Ltd. The company has raised an action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh over a decision made by ministers to delay the introduction of the deposit return scheme. It alleges that Lorna Slater – the former minister for green skills, circular economy and biodiversity – gave negligent assurances to the firm in a letter about the initiative to ensure its participation. Biffa's lawyer Roddy Dunlop KC told judge Lord Clark last year that the correspondence made no reference to how Holyrood would need its Westminster counterpart to give the final go ahead to the scheme. The scheme was later scrapped after the Conservative government in London refused to give the go ahead for it be implemented. The firm believes the Scottish Government 'negligently misrepresented the assurance it gave' to Biffa. Biffa has instructed Mr Dunlop, the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, to act for it in the £166.2m compensation claim. Judge Lord Clark gave permission for the action to proceed following a two day hearing last year when the Scottish Government's lawyer Gerry Moynihan KC asked the court to dismiss the action. On Thursday, the case called again for a procedural hearing before judge Lord Sandison. Mr Dunlop said he and his legal team were making preparations for the case which is expected to be heard in the Court of Session over an eight day period in October 2025. Mr Dunlop added: 'The case is now simplified and good to go.' The deposit return scheme was a key policy of the former SNP-Green administration. Under the plans, a 20p deposit was be added to all single-use drinks containers made of PET plastic, metal or glass. Consumers could reclaim the deposit by returning the containers to retailers or to specially-designed reverse vending machines. It was due to be introduced in August 2023 but the launch date was pushed back, with then first minister Humza Yousaf citing concerns from businesses. The Conservative government at Westminster refused to grant the scheme the go-ahead unless it conformed to a UK-wide approach which excluded glass. In June 2023 Slater said she had no choice but to delay the scheme until at least October 2025, accusing the UK government of sabotage. She left government last year following the collapse of the Green-SNP power-sharing agreement. The company have decided to go to the Court of Session in Edinburgh because it believes the Holyrood government is responsible for it incurring a £166.2m loss. It wants compensation for the cash it invested in the collapsed deposit return scheme and the subsequent loss of profit. At the proceedings last year, Mr Moynihan said the Scottish Ministers acted lawfully and that the government did not act a duty of care to Biffa. He also said the letter sent by Ms Slater – which was dated May 17 2022 – did not amount to a 'negligent representation'. Speaking on the final day of a two day long hearing into whether the action should proceed, Mr Dunlop outlined the alleged actions of Ms Slater in dealing with his clients. Mr Dunlop said: 'Our position is that we did sign the contract in a situation of the assumption of responsibility. 'The minister was not required to give an assurance but she voluntarily did. 'She did so because she wanted Biffa on board. She must have known Biffa would act upon what she said. 'It is writing a letter that provides the assurances that not reflect the actuality of the situation. 'We know why she decided to write that letter. She wrote that letter as she needed the deposit return scheme to have a purpose. 'She needed a contractor like Biffa – who was swithering about whether to become involved – to become involved.' Mr Dunlop also claimed that Ms Slater's purpose in writing the letter to Biffa was to ensure the scheme's success. He added: 'The simple fact of the matter is that the Ministers were very keen to have Biffa on board. 'It was important for them politically and logistically to have a well resourced contractor like Biffa on board. 'Without that the deposit return scheme was dead in the water.' On Thursday, Lord Sandison fixed a date for another procedural hearing in the case – this will take place on September 2 2025. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
