Albion Environmental Ltd is delighted to have delivered their first Introduction to Waste Management Legislation Course, 2 day course in Aberdeen. Trainers Alasdair Meldrum and Craig Chandler delivered the 2 day training course to a range of Local Authority and private sector waste contractors. Course was developed with a number of aims in mind:

• To provide background knowledge to Waste Management Legislation to candidates who are either new to the industry or are progressing their career in the industry.
• To provide background knowledge and understanding for candidates undertaking WAMITAB certificates of competence.
• For candidates wishing to ensure their knowledge of waste legislation is up date and current.

All candidates were provided with a folder covering course content and also for recording exercises which were used to confirm learning throughout the course. These exercises can be used by the candidate to cover Performance Standards and Knowledge and Understanding points within their WAMITAB Certificate of Technical Competence. Candidates were also provided with a CD Rom containing copies of useful guidance and regulations. All candidates will also receive a Certificate of Attendance and we are currently in the process of gaining approval from CIWM to allocate a number of hours against candidates Continuous Professional Development.

Feedback from candidates was very positive and it was clear that the above aims were fully met. A number of candidates have requested places on future courses and we intend to deliver another course in February / March 2007.

Next course we are delivering is on 24th and 25th October in Glasgow and a limited number of places are available. We are also intending to deliver courses in February and March 2007 and further details will be available shortly. Further details are available on our Environmental and Health and Safety section of our web site. If you wish to be kept informed of future courses please email your contact details to us.

Albion Environmental Ltd director, Alasdair Meldrum is delighted to have been appointed as an External Verifier for SQA for all waste management awards. Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) approves all centres in Scotland who deliver the Waste Management Certificate of Competence Awards (COTC) which eventually lead to WAMITAB awards. Alasdair Meldrum has completed his induction course and will now be allocated centres to check over 2006 and 2007. The purpose of External Verification visits is to ensure centres comply with SQA and Centre requirements. This is particularly important to ensure candidates are dealt with fairly and qualification standards are maintained.

On hearing of his appointment Alasdair Meldrum stated “it is a great honour to be appointed to this position, however there is a great deal to learn about SQA procedures. I am delighted to be given this opportunity to ensure standards within the Waste Management Certificate of Competence (COTC) scheme which ultimately leads to WAMITAB qualifications, are being maintained. I am also looking forward to learning from good practice provided by other centres”.

For further details on the WAMITAB COTC awards visit the WAMITAB section of our web site.

Albion Environmental Ltd have recently secured Waste Management Licence (WML) for Gray Composting Services Ltd, Portsoy, Banff for their new In Vessel Composting Facility. The site will now be applying to State Veterinary Service (SVS) to process category 3 animal by product waste and catering waste, making it the only site in the North East to be approved to handle these waste types. The in vessel composting system makes use of a single Vertical Compost Unit (VCU) provided by VCU Europa.

Albion Environmental Ltd are pleased to be involved with the installation of the second VCU Europa composting system in Scotland. Through a range of projects we are currently working on Albion have built up considerable expertise in developing facilities handling animal by product and catering wastes. Services range from support with planning applications, WML applications and preparation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan for State Veterinary Service (SVS) approval. Albion are now involved with the site providing WAMITAB training for site staff and consultancy for future site developments.

Albion Environmental Ltd is pleased to have gained a change of interpretation from SEPA for their client Gray Composting Services Ltd. SEPA had initially refused to accept a Waste Management Licence application for an in vessel composting system even though it was processing less than 10 tonnes ABP waste per day. The original reason for refusal was that material which was being stored in the maturation building had to be included in this 10 tonne per day total. As this material was to held in the maturation building for 60 days this resulted in the site only being able to accept small quantities of waste per day.

Albion Environmental Ltd then submitted a PPC application on behalf of Gray Composting Services Ltd. A formal complaint was also lodged with SEPA as Albion Environmental Ltd was aware of a similar operation which had been licensed under a Waste Management Licence. Albion Environmental Ltd and Gray Composting Services Ltd are pleased that a sensible outcome has been achieved however they and their clients are disappointed that they had to waste time and money submitting a PPC application which was not needed.

Albion Environmental Ltd is delighted to have been approved to deliver the WAMATIB COTC in Waste Management Operations – Incineration award.

This award has been added to the range of awards we are qualified to deliver due to customer demands. Although incinerators are generally not operated under a Waste Management Licence, and there is no legal requirement for staff to hold a WAMITAB COTC, many incinerator managers are viewing this as a suitable award to demonstrate their competence.

Albion Environmental Ltd has been approved by SQA to deliver assessor qualification A1. This qualification is essential to any manager wishing to carry out vocational qualification assessments.

Albion Environmental Ltd has developed a comprehensive programme consisting of a detailed induction, observation of real assessments and feed back to candidates. These qualifications will particularly benefit organisations who wish to assess their own staff in vocational qualifications. For further details please contact Alasdair Meldrum.