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EurActiv provides a handy an overview of the main EU policy debates that will dominate the agenda in 2005. Lisbon strategy: The mid-term review to be presented at the Spring summit will use the input from the Kok report to try and refocus the ambitious, but so far relatively unsuccesful …

The European Commission has proposed a comprehensive strategy against mercury pollution. High doses of mercury and its compounds can be fatal, but even relatively low amounts can seriously harm the nervous system. There is evidence that mercury pollution, in particular where it exceeds the international accepted safety levels, for example …

Scotland is lagging behind the rest of the UK in household waste recycling, peaking at 12.8% in 2003/04. Data published in a report from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on local authority waste arisings show that of the 2.6 million tonnes (Mt) of household waste produced in 2003/04, around 0.35 …

Albertans who buy televisions and computers will have to pay more when the province begins collecting an electronics recycling fee starting Tuesday. CBC reports that the new levy will add up to C$45 to the cost of new televisions and up to C$12 for computer components. Consumer electronics contain pollutants …

Local authorities across England have been set limits on the amount of biodegradable municipal waste they can dispose of in landfill sites. Environment Minister Elliot Morley has confirmed the final allocation of landfill allowances for England‘‘s 121 waste disposal authorities. Allocations have been set in advance of the launch of …

One third of garages, tyre dealers, and tyre repairers have had old tyres illegally fly-tipped at their site according to a new survey published by the Environment Agency. The survey, which questioned 225 randomly selected garages and tyre firms about their knowledge and experience of tyre disposal, found that a …

The Lakeland recycling office is collecting out-of-date phone books through March 25. Link to full article

The PET bottle collection rate in Japan was 61.0 percent in fiscal 2003, up 7.6 points from the previous fiscal year, according to the 2004 report on PET bottle recycling issued by the Council for PET Bottle Recycling in September 2004. Japan for Sustainability reports that the actual volume collected …

London Remade claims that despite local authority recycling results released by DEFRA recently, which show that only 21% of London Boroughs met their 2003/4 targets, London is still making good progress towards its recycling target for 2005/6. The recently released local authority performance figures are based on waste recycled or …