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Plans to ban or charge for single-use plastic bags are a diversion from the real environmental issues, one of the government‘‘s own advisers has said. BBC reports that waste and recycling expert (and RRF Trustee) Professor Chris Coggins said such a government policy allowed the supermarkets to pass on responsibility …

new group to consider how to reduce the number of single use carrier bags and promote bags for life was announced in Scotland. Cabinet Secretary for the Environment Richard Lochhead made the announcement following a meeting with major retailers where he promised to work closely with retailers to tackle Scotland‘‘s …

Hair-care products, wound-care dressings and drug encapsulation are among the potential uses of new, soy-oil-based polymers known as "hydrogels," developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Peoria, Ill. ScienceDaily reports that ARS chemists Sevim Erhan and Zengshe Liu developed the soy-oil-based hydrogels as a biodegradable alternative to the synthetic …

The UK Government‘‘s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has published the second provisional set of estimates from the Department‘‘s 2007/8 survey of municipal waste in England. These provisional results incorporate the second quarter of the financial year (July to September 2007) and are based on information supplied …

This is a 2007 report from the Irish EPA which may be of interest. This study reports on the findings of the first phase of a two-part project examining pay-by-use (PBU) charging systems in Ireland conducted between May and September 2006. The second in-depth case study phase will be completed …

The cost of needlessly wasted food to UK households is £10 billion a year, £2 billion higher than previously estimated according to new research published today by WRAP. The research gives detailed new insights into the nature and amount of food waste thrown away in the UK and is believed …

GLOBE-Net reports that as part of a Joint Venture, the technology group The Linde Group and the North American company Waste Management Inc. will build the world‘‘s biggest plant for the conversion of landfill gas into environmentally friendly biogas in Livermore, California. The plant will begin operating in 2009. It …

The Waste Management Commodities Exchange is dedicated to the buying and selling of all types of recyclable scrap materials Link: http://www.recycleamerica.com/business/default.asp

Comments about waste exchange in this Brazilian State – rosa@sfiec.org.br Link: http://www.sfiec.org.br

A commercial waste exchange which enables Irish trade and industry to find recycling solutions for commercial waste and by-products previously destined for landfill. Link: http://www.wastechange.com