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Sweden – Gothenburg company is working on new ways of converting kitchen refuse into a viable energy source

Smedlunds Miljösystem intends to turn each bag of dried kitchen rubbish into a quantity of biogas sufficient to keep a car running for 3.2 kilometres (2 miles), Bohusläningen reports. Swedish.com reports that a small residential area in Guldheden has already agreed to try out the method. "The technology removes around …

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Australia – recycling offsets car emissions

For every bin full of paper and cardboard put out to be recycled each fortnight, households are offsetting 90.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide a year, a report on recycling trends has found. Sydney Morning Herald reports that it‘‘s the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by driving a car …

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Japan – Yokohama to reward neighbourhood groups for recycling activities

The Yomiuri Shimbun repors that the Yokohama municipal government is to reward neighborhood associations for their collective recycling efforts by distributing 300 million yen earned from selling recycled waste such as plastic bottles and used paper. The city‘‘s efforts to reduce waste started in fiscal 2003. Recycling activities, which include …

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UK – Government announces phasing out of all high-energy bulbs

The Independent reports that all high-energy light bulbs will be removed from sale in Britain within four years under a pioneering deal between the Government and major retailers. Bulbs rated at 150 watts will be taken off the shelves as early as January under the voluntary agreement launched yesterday by …

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India – 80 percent hospital waste "being sold or recycled"

Indian Daily Times reports that only 1,000 kilos of the 5,000 kilos of infectious hospital waste produced every day by 15 government hospitals was being sent to the incinerator at Children‘‘s Hospital, an official of the Health Department said on Thursday. The official said the 15 hospitals produced 15,000 kilos …

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UK – new paper from straw technology wins invention of the year at Observer ethical awards

provides a revolutionary treatment to efficiently turn its waste into energy and chemicals for re-use in paper making. The Observer Ethical award was presented in June at a ceremony in central London, which rewarded those doing their part for the planet. There were thousands of nominations for the category, which …

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UK – Londoners canvassed on plastic bags

Londoners are being invited to help shape the capital‘‘s future environmental policies by deciding whether or not to introduce a London-wide levy – or even an outright ban – on throw away shopping bags. London Councils has launched a public consultation to give Londoners the opportunity to tell them what …

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USA – bacteria transform by-product into biofuel

With US biodiesel production at an all-time high and a record number of new biodiesel plants under construction, the industry is facing an impending crisis over waste glycerine, the major by-product of biodiesel production. Environmentalresearchweb.org reports that researchers from Rice University, US, believe they have found an answer to this …

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World – Coca-Cola and Pepsi shake up recycling strategies

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are stepping up efforts to recycle plastic containers amid a growing backlash against the sale of bottled water in the US and the UK. MSBN reports that authorities including San Francisco‘‘s city government and the UK‘‘s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, have recently raised …

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UK – new analysis highlights mixed track record of waste processes ‘

The results of a comparative evaluation of the track record of more than 300 waste processes from more than 25 countries has been announced by consultants Juniper. They found widely varying performance in key parameters, that affect the ‘deliverability’ and ‘bankability’ of AD, plasma, MBT, gasification and incineration processes. The …

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