Each year, in the European Union alone, 1.3 billion tonnes of waste are thrown away, some 40 million tonnes of it being hazardous. Reducing household waste has become an area of prime concern for national governments, policy makers and local communities. Irish researchers have recently used an innovative approach to …
Mais »USA – IKEA to charge for plastic bags
Sweden‘‘s IKEA will charge US customers five cents for disposable plastic shopping bags in what the international furniture giant said was a first step to ending their use altogether. Reuters reports that IKEA said the decision to stop giving away free bags to customers aimed to reduce the estimated 100 …
Mais »USA – cranberry waste makes useful growing medium
They‘‘re a favorite Thanksgiving side dish, praised for their health benefits and the source of a roughly US$70 million industry. Now, Massachusetts cranberries are being lauded for something far less glamorous: their waste. The Nashua Telegraph reports that confronted with mounting piles of cranberry skins left over from Ocean Spray‘‘s …
Mais »Australia – to ban incandescent light bulbs
Australia will be the first country in the world to ban traditional incandescent light bulbs, says Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Globe-Net reports that according to the plan, yellow incandescent bulbs will be replaced by more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs by 2009. “By that stage you simply won‘‘t be able to …
Mais »UK – reuse initiative turns crisp packets into CD cases
An environmental initiative from London-based musicians ReCoup – they are releasing a single, “Remind You”, in March 2007 and the song is based specifically on mankind‘‘s environmental impacts. To highlight this ReCoup are distributing the single with recycled crisp packets as the CD‘‘s cover. Why crisp packets? They are hard …
Mais »UK – reuse initiative turns crisp packets into CD cases
Yemen – waste management: a quiet revolution
The landfill on Amran Road in Sana‘‘a is full of items deemed to be of no value. Only after a series of searches for recyclable goods is waste dumped into the landfill. Yemen Observer reports that garbage collection is something that is generally noticed by the public only when it …
Mais »Ireland – Government to raise levy on plastic bags
Ireland‘‘s Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. Dick Roche, T.D. has announced that the environmental levy on plastic shopping bags would be increased from 15c to 22c per bag with effect from Sunday 1st July 2007. The plastic bag levy which came into effect on 4th March …
Mais »UK – retailers agree to cut environmental impact of carrier bags by 25% by the end of 2008
The move comes in a joint initiative involving representatives from all areas of the retail sector and in response to a concerted call for action from Environment ministers in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They have agreed to support the campaign together with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and …
Mais »China – food leftovers account for a quarter of household waste
In light of a significant increase in the amount of leftovers during the one-week Chinese New Year holiday, the Environment Protection Administration (EPA) urged the public to adopt an environmentally friendly “green diet.” The China Post reports that leftovers account for around a quarter of the garbage generated by the …
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