Acervo

Plastic bags, cups, plant pots, wraps… we all use polymer-based products every day. Certain polymers are biodegradable and compostable, though you can‘‘t tell by looking at them. Encouraged by the European Commission, a consortium of manufacturers has now voluntarily committed themselves to using environment-friendly polymers in the packaging sector and …

The aim of this new roadmap project is to develop a viable and sustainable organics recycling industry across Australia. This will involve new product and market identification and development of strategic plans that target both niche and wide-ranging markets for recycled organics. The focus will be on the identification of …

Canadian recycling of rechargeable batteries increased by nearly a third last year, the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. has announced. The non-profit organization reported that 150,269 kilograms of rechargeable batteries were collected in 2004, a rise of 31 per cent from the previous year. "We are pleased to see that not …

The Australian Institute of Packaging has held a forum addressing government moves to introduce stricter accountability for recycling and the impact it will have on the industry. Speakers pointed out challenges such as recycling often proving to be more expensive and many programmes are over zealous. Held in conjunction with …

Japan faces an acute shortage of landfill sites. The Ministry of the Environment estimated at the end of fiscal 2001 that all of the nation‘‘s final disposal sites for non-industrial waste would be completely filled in 12.5 years. Encouraged partly by the enactment of the Food Recycling Law in 2001, …

The European Commission has made available a report from telecoms giant Nokia which reviewed life cycle assessment data on mobile phones. This is the first report in the EC IPP pilot project and serves as a guidance document on the environmental issues in the life cycle of a mobile phone, …

Produtos que para a maioria das pessoas não passam de lixo – como embalagens vazias, jornais velhos e vidro quebrado – garantem o sustento de centenas de famílias em Curitiba. Na cidade, segundo a Secretaria Municipal do Meio Ambiente, existem cerca de 15 mil carrinheiros. Eles são responsáveis pela coleta …

Onde os olhos da maioria só vêem sujeira e mau cheiro, as mãos de Maverick enxergam e tateiam novas possibilidades. Um liqüidificador abandonado pode se tornar o eletrodoméstico que faltava na cozinha de uma outra dona de casa; um brinquedo quebrado pode alegrar a brincadeira de um novo menino. Um …

O entulho é um resíduo de grande volume, sendo o de construção civil, provavelmente o mais heterogêneo dentre os resíduos industriais. Praticamente todas as atividades desenvolvidas no setor da construção civil são geradoras de entulho. No processo construtivo, o alto e polêmico índice de perdas do setor é a principal …