Almost 11 billion eggs are consumed in the UK every year. Over 85 per cent of these are produced domestically, with the nation’s 29 million laying hens each laying an average of 314 eggs per year. If each egg shell weighs around 12 grams, that suggests that annually, around 130,000 tonnes of egg shells have to be disposed of.

The UK consumes around 12 million tonnes of wood a year for a variety of uses, the main ones being construction and furniture which together, account for around 70% of consumption. It is estimated that around 4m tonnes of wood waste is generated a year, a figure that has been in recent decline because of the economic downturn.

In April 2011, the Government launched the Red Tape Challenge to identify areas of bureaucracy that could be challenged primarily to reduce the burden on industry. A number of themes were opened up on their website including waste and Defra has now published the areas it proposes to tackle.

At this stage, these are just proposals and most will require changes to legislation to enact.

A recent cake sale organised at DS Smith Recycling’s Uxbridge recycling facility raised over £60 for Help for Heroes, a charity supporting wounded British servicemen and women.

Staff at our Uxbridge Depot on Wallingford Road got fully behind the fundraising activity by baking cakes for the sale and promoting the event to other local businesses.