International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day marked annually on 8 March. IWD celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women and is a focal day in the movement for women’s rights.

This day is extremely important for a variety of reasons, whether it’s raising awareness about women’s equality or celebrating women’s achievements, it’s a day to be celebrated by all.

The 2021 theme for International Women’s Day is #choosetochallenge. This theme is particularly important to us as metal recycling is often thought of as a primarily male dominated industry. The British Metal Recycling Association (BMRA), whom we are members of here at Gordon Grove Metal Company, are celebrating women members working in yards and offices across the UK who help keep metals recycling contributing to the circular economy. The BMRA said: “Along with everyone in metal recycling they are true recycling heroes.”

The BMRA are celebrating by encouraging women to print off one of their selfie sheets and post it on social media with the tags #womeninscrap #choosetochallenge and #recyclingheroes. Head over to their website to get involved and show them how you support women in metals recycling here!

The business operations here at Gordon Grove Metal Company wouldn’t be possible without the fundamental women within our team. As a company, we want to thank every woman that works for us, whether that be in our yard or in our offices, we really do appreciate you, thank you! 

As 1 March 2021 quickly approaches, are you prepared for the new tougher Low Emission Zone (LEZ) emission standards for heavier vehicles throughout London?

If your vehicle doesn’t meet the new emissions standards, you will be required to pay a daily charge to drive within Greater London. This daily charge varies from £100 up to £300 dependent on which requirements you meet. The heavy vehicles this will affect includes lorries, buses, coaches and specialist vehicles. 

The Transport for London (TfL) website states: “We would prefer that your vehicle meets the tougher LEZ emissions standards, so you don’t need to pay the daily LEZ charge.

“If you drive a HGV, lorry, van or other specialist heavy vehicle over 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight or a bus/minibus or coach over 5 tonnes gross vehicle weight within the LEZ and it does not meet Euro VI (NOx and PM), you will need to pay the daily LEZ charge.”

These changes to the LEZ were due to come into force during 2020, however, they were postponed due to COVID-19. They come as part of the Mayor or London’s drive to improve London’s air quality. Heavy vehicles are responsible for a large proportion of road-based emissions and protecting public health is even more crucial given the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

TfL previously carried out a scrappage scheme to encourage owners and businesses to scrap their heavy vehicles, however, this has now ended. The good news is, that here at Gordon Grove Metal Company you can still scrap your vehicles with us. There’s still time to scrap your vehicle before the new LEZ changes come into effect from 1 March. 

If you have a heavy vehicle you would like to dispose of in order to prevent daily charges, get in touch by calling us on 0203 917 4516 or emailing info@ggmc.co.uk 

For further information you can visit the TFL website here.

In January, we featured on the ATF Professional website with an article dedicated to our recent charity work. You can read the full article here or below.

Gordon Grove Metal Company, registered Authorised Treatment Facility in South East  London, has launched a new charity of the month scheme. 

GGMC already gives customers the chance to donate some or all of the proceeds from scrapping their car to one of their chosen charities, however, they have now launched a new scheme to run alongside it. 

The new scheme will see a portion of the proceeds from every car scrapped each month donated to one of their chosen charity partners. Ben, the automotive charity and local homeless charity, Brixton Soup Kitchen, have already seen the benefits of this new scheme. 

Gordon Grove Metal Company chose Ben as their first charity of the month in response to  Ben’s urgent call for help. Ben, who provide vital support for people within the automotive industry, stated they have seen a 50% increase in people requesting support, but they face a  £1m shortfall with fundraising events cancelled.

Matt Wigginton, Fundraising Director at Ben, said:

“Thank you to GGMC for naming us as their charity of the month and supporting us through their car donation scheme! We rely on the support of our industry so we can continue providing vital support for automotive people who need us – and they need us more than ever right now. We can’t thank GGMC  enough!”

In December, the GGMC team pledged to deliver food and essentials to local charity Brixton  Soup Kitchen in time for Christmas.

Brixton Soup Kitchen helps the homeless and people in need. They are open to the public daily to offer a hot meal and a space to stay warm alongside many other services including a  free clothes bank, counselling and free legal advice. Craig and Paul Barnaby, Directors of  Gordon Grove Metal Company delivered a variety of goods from food to sleeping bags.

Brixton Soup Kitchen said: “Thank you so much for your amazing donation you made on  Friday. You will make a lot of families have a lovely Christmas this year. Thank you for your  support.”

Gordon Grove Metal Company feel honoured to be able to help such incredible causes and give back to the community. Craig Barnaby, Managing Director of Gordon Grove Metal  Company said:

“As a team, we are grateful we are able to donate to charity. We wouldn’t be  able to do so without the support of our customers whom we are very grateful for.” 

If you would like to scrap your car while supporting the charity of the month, please call  Gordon Grove Metal Company on 0203 917 4516 or find out more about their charity  partnerships here: ggmc.co.uk/donate-my-car