More than 50 per cent of Australia‘‘s packaging materials are recovered through recycling. The Australian Beverage Industry Environment Council (BIEC) reports that a recent analysis for the National Packaging Covenant Industry Association (NPCIA) of available 2003 data shows 51 per cent of all packaging materials in Australia are recovered. This …
Mais »UK – new funding for waste management announced
A new £284 million initiative to help businesses manage resources more efficiently and cut waste has been launched by Environment Minister Elliot Morley. The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme recycles revenue generated through increases in Landfill Tax to fund a range of free services and targeted support for …
Mais »Australia – radical plan to reduce rubbish in Melbourne
A high-tech revolution in Melbourne‘‘s waste disposal system could help the environment – and add to household costs. The Age reports that dumping rubbish in Melbourne‘‘s tips is set to be cut drastically under a new plan for the city‘‘s waste. But experts have warned that more environmentally friendly garbage …
Mais »UK – worries over the spy in the bin
In Britain the novelty of microchips in rubbish bins seems to be a cause for concern, according to this piece from the Guardian. Though he foresaw many ways in which Big Brother might watch us, even George Orwell never imagined that the authorities would keep a keen eye on your …
Mais »UK – ambitious communications campaign to change what people do with rubbish
Hampshire is already recycling more than a quarter of household and garden waste but we can all help make this much higher, in fact we can double our efforts. That‘‘s the message of the Recycle for Hampshire campaign officially launched recently in Winchester. Project Integra, the partnership of all local …
Mais »Australia – wasteful consumption costs more than A$10 billion pa
A discussion paper from the Australia Institute, disseminated by Ecorecycle Victoria suggests that total wasteful consumption in Australia amounts to over A$10.5 billion dollars annually spent on goods and services that are never or hardly ever used. Types of wasting behaviour are identified, and typical patterns of consumption highlighted in …
Mais »Colombia – eco-friendly palms for church services
A parrot and a palm pilot With a sprinkling of holy water, a priest blessed thousands of palm seedlings in a ceremony in Bogota‘‘s main park, sealing an unusual Palm Sunday pact between the Roman Catholic Church and environmentalists to save a critically endangered parrot. Thousands of miles away, 22 …
Mais »Ireland – Government seeks negotiated agreements to tackle chewing gum, atm receipts and fast food litter
I want to see phase out of polystyrene fast food packaging – Minister “While positive progress has been made on litter management – and in changing people‘‘s attitudes to litter – in Ireland in recent years, there is still significant scope for improvement”, so said Mr. Dick Roche, T.D., Ireland‘‘sMinister …
Mais »US – automakers receive near failing grades on the use of environmentally safe plastics in cars
Toyota emerges as industry leader U.S. automakers received nearly failing grades in the use of recyclable, safe plastics in vehicles, according to a report released by the Michigan, US-based Ecology Center, in collaboration with Clean Production Action. The six top-selling automakers in the U.S. were graded on their commitment to …
Mais »Switzerland – cars set to run on farm waste
Swiss cars could soon be running on a fuel based on agricultural waste, thanks to a project promoting essEnce5 – a mixture of bio-ethanol and petrol. The government – which favours the use of cleaner fuels – has decided not to tax the bio-ethanol produced in the project, called etha+. …
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