In terms of litter on the city‘‘s streets, chewing gum is public enemy number one. It accounts for an astonishing 39 percent of all small litter citywide. Of litter emblazoned with a brand name, the top repeat offender is packaging from McDonalds. These are just two of the findings in …
Mais »USA – San Francisco mayor bans municipal purchase of plastic water bottles
San Francisco Mayor Newsom issues executive directive to permanently phase-out the purchase of bottled water by the city and county of San Francisco. Over the last decade, San Franciscans have responded to marketing campaigns to purchase bottled water and record amounts of bottled water have been purchased by San Francisco …
Mais »Armenia – waste is not yet profitable
According to Republic of Armenia‘‘s Ministry of Urban Construction, every year over 700,000 tons of waste are generated in the country. Every day 450-470 ton of municipal waste are transported to the Nubarashen landfill. Association of Investigative Journalists (AIJ) in Armenia reports that no waste sorting or recycling occurs in …
Mais »Canada – Toronto city council approves pay-as-you-throw system
Toronto city council has approved a new pay-as-you-throw garbage collection system that will charge Torontonians based on the amount of trash they produce. Residents will be required to purchase one of four bins ranging in cost from C$209 to C$360 annually once the system takes effect in the late summer …
Mais »New Zealand – plastics industry supports reuse and recycling of supermarket checkout bags
Plastics New Zealand encourages consumers to "Make a Difference" by thinking before they take a single trip checkout bag. The joint Foodstuffs and Progressive Enterprises campaign launched today, 26 June 2007, asks consumers to reduce, reuse and recycle. As signatories to the 2004 Packaging Accord, Plastics New Zealand supports the …
Mais »UK – ‘Big Belly‘ bins use solar energy to compact waste
An army of ‘‘solar powered trash mashers‘‘ – dustbins that compress rubbish – have been installed all over Torbay in Devon. The ‘‘Big belly bins‘‘ use solar energy to activate a crusher that can reduce the volume of rubbish deposited inside it by up to five times. This cuts down …
Mais »UK – new rules will improve ability to deal with illegal waste exports
The range of powers available for controlling the export of waste from the UK has been widened by new regulations laid in Parliament this week. The Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007 set out offences and penalties, and designate the responsible enforcement authorities. They extend the range of people against …
Mais »UK – industry to tackle 2 million tonne electrical waste problem
The UK Government‘‘s Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBEER) reports that new legal obligations on the electrical industry will start to see more waste products recycled in Britain and not consigned to the scrap heap. Last year two million tonnes of electrical waste was generated in the UK …
Mais »Scotland – new responsibilities for distributors of electronic and electrical equipment
On July 1, new regulations forming part of the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive came into force throughout the UK. According to these regulations householders can return end of life electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) purchased after 13th August 2005 to the distributor they bought it from and …
Mais »USA – Fujifilm taps into landfill gas power
Fujifilm, maker of everything from medical imaging devices to snap-shot cameras, will begin using methane gas from a South Carolina landfill to power its nearby manufacturing centre. Zdnet the Tokyo-based company said Wednesday that by 2008 it plans to power between 32-44 per cent of its Greenwood, S.C., facility with …
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