Curiosidades

The European Commission will next year make initial proposals towards establishing EU-wide waste prevention targets, a senior environment directorate official announced at an ASSURRE conference in Brussels recently. ENDS Daily reports that a policy paper on prevention targets would be published separately from three other proposals also due next year: …

A one-year WRAP funded project aims to help increase glass recycling. BRE-led research will assess the recycling opportunities for non-contaminated, high-grade flat glass and non-contaminated timber and plastic profiles from the demolition and replacement window industries. In case you are not familiar with WRAP, the Waste & Resources Action Programme …

A tenants association in Yamatotakada, Nara Prefecture, has opened a secondhand shop to revitalize the quiet shopping district and reduce waste. The Daily Yomiuri in Japan reports that the association, comprising 30 tenants in the Tenjinbashisuji shopping district, opened Recycle Shop Sazanka after renting an empty store in the district. …

The US EPA will soon publish its proposed rule on Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incinerators: Emission Guidelines: Federal Plan, in the Federal Register. The proposed rule, signed by Administrator Whitman on November 6, 2002, proposes a federal plan for existing commercial and industrial solid waste incinerators (CISWI) that were …

Partnerships are crucial if eco-efficiency is to be a real business opportunity, combat increased waste and emissions and contribute towards sustainable development. That was a main message of Aiming for Eco-Efficiency in Resource Use, the third international conference of ASSURRE. “Eco-efficiency can only be achieved by diverse sectors working together …

Here is an interesting item from the California Integrated Waste Management Board, addressing the issues of cultural diversity and resource recovery, sometimes a sensitive issue for waste planners. Understanding California’s growing cultural diversity and the impact increasingly diverse communities may have on waste stream reduction and diversion programs could be …

New criteria for eco-labelled products have been approved by the European Commission. Mattresses The product group definition has been extended to the latex and polyurethane foams for use in bed mattresses when they constitute more than five per cent of its weight. The new criteria will be valid until 31 …

John Lieberman and Jim McKenna got so annoyed by the stream of promotional CDs they were getting in the mail from America Online Inc. that they wanted to give the Internet service provider a taste of its own mass-mailing practice. The two men from California have set up a website …

The TV coverage of UK waste policy last week might lead one to believe that the forthcoming policy review by the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit is ready to issue its much awaited report. This is a report from the BBC, which carried extensive interviews with Environment Minister Michael Meacher and …

Australia’s Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Dr David Kemp, has welcomed progress being made to develop a national response to plastic bag waste. Following separate meetings of the national plastic bags working group and the National Packaging Covenant Council in Canberra, Dr Kemp said it was pleasing to see …