Castlereagh Borough Council (Castlereagh BC) borders with Belfast in the east of Northern Ireland and serves a population of approximately 67,500. There are approximately 28,500 properties in the borough and 80% of households lie within urban areas. In 2007/8, Castlereagh BC had a household waste recycling and composting rate of 37.69%. In 2007/8, 19,603 tonnes of household waste was landfilled this equates to 0.69 tonnes per household. The Council actively promotes Home Composting of green garden waste as a method of waste reduction and has offered a subsidised rate on the sale of Home Composters. In order to evaluate whether this subsidisation is justified, a survey was carried out on all householders that have purchased a Home Composters. It was hoped that this survey would provide information on whether householders who had purchased Home Composters from the Council were actually using them, whilst also gauging whether householders are aware of the relationship between composting and diversion from landfill. Some 96% of respondents that purchased Home Composters are still using them. This is extremely encouraging and demonstrates that they would appear to be satisfied with their Home Composting experiences. Respondents (92%) stated that they noticed a decrease in the amount of their waste being sent for landfill/composting through the kerbside collections, this demonstrates that they are aware of the relationship between Home Composting and diversion from landfill. Some 86% of householders feel that they are using their Home Composter successfully and 93% of householders were satisfied with the scheme. However, 17% of householders complained about composter design and 16% found it difficult to use. Size, mobility and the unattached lid were of main concern. The results will be used to drive enhanced campaigns for the uptake of home composting of green garden waste.

Keywords: Home composting; Organic; Waste Prevention; Garden Waste; Landfill; Reuse

Fluid catalytic cracking in an oil refinery uses a catalyst, such as an alumino-silicate zeolite, in the conversion of heavy hydrocarbons to light hydrocarbons. A small fraction of the catalyst is continually replaced with fresh catalyst to maintain activity. In North America, more than 400 tons of spent alumino-silicate equilibrium catalyst (spent e-cat), and worldwide, more than 1,100 tons, are generated daily, most of which is disposed of in landfills (municipal and on-site facilities). In this study, three spent e-cat samples were tested in a value-added application that would utilize this waste in the manufacturing of fired bricks. The results of this study indicate that spent e-cat is a technically feasible raw material substitute for the clay and shale commonly used in fired brick production. Fired bricks produced with up to 30 wt% of spent e-cat showed good physical appearance and their water absorption properties met the ASTM C 62 specifications for building bricks of either the moderate- or severe-weathering grade.

Keywords: Spent equilibrium catalyst, brick, technical feasibility, oil refinery, solid waste