Current news stories

• [08 September 2010]
  Europe - global leadership in paper recycling
  The latest Monitoring report of the European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC) shows that Europe has achieved a world record level of paper recycling in 2009. The rate reached 72.2 per cent which is again ...
• [08 September 2010]
  Europe - packaging and sustainability report released
  The Consumer Goods Forum has released its report A Global language for packaging and sustainability. The report is the first part of the outcome of The Global Packaging Project which EUROPEN has been ...
• [08 September 2010]
  UK - Britain meets 2010 Landfill Directive target and responds to landfill consultations
  The Government has announced that Britain will meet the 2010 Landfill Directive target, and has also published responses to two separate consultations on meeting EU Landfill Diversion Targets and on restrictions ...
• [05 September 2010]
  Europe - new recycling map published
  The European Environment Agency (EEA) European Topic Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (ETC/SCP) has published a paper which provides a mapping overview of the present state of recycling ...
• [02 September 2010]
  Ireland - waste not, want not: producing compost from waste
  Municipal waste and manures will be increasingly used as a source of composting material and have the added potential benefit of suppressing plant diseases. Work at Teagasc Research Centre, Kinsealy, ...
• [02 September 2010]
  USA - California bag ban fails
  The proposed California plastic bag ban measure late has failed to pass the California Senate by a 14-21 tally.Plastics Recycling Update Magazinehttp://www.resource-recycling.com/aggregator/categories/4reports ...
• [02 September 2010]
  USA - Florida trash burning law would see recycling rates top 100 per cent
  A provision within Florida's newest environmental law, House Bill 7243, allows Florida counties to undertake waste-to-energy (WTE) production, for solid waste, and use the tonnage handled toward meeting ...
• [02 September 2010]
  UK - metal-mining bacteria are green chemists
  Microbes could soon be used to convert metallic wastes into high-value catalysts for generating clean energy, say scientists writing in the September issue of Microbiology.Science Daily reports that researchers ...
• [01 September 2010]
  Switzerland - ecobalance of Li-ion rechargeable batteries for electric cars better than expected
  Battery powered electric cars will most likely play a major role in future of mobility. What was not known so far, however, was how environmentally friendly the manufacture, operation and disposal of ...
• [31 August 2010]
  England - Government praises Halton for joining recycling reward trend
  The UK Government's Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has praised Halton Borough Council, in Runcorn and Widnes, for being the first northern council to adopt recycling rewards.Halton's voluntary recycling ...
• [31 August 2010]
  USA - 'zero-waste' clothing design aims to leave nothing on the cutting-room floor
  Citing New York Times, Mercury News reports that fashion-forward designers have a radical ambition: zero waste - clothing patterns that leave not a scrap of fabric on the cutting room floor, eliminating ...
• [31 August 2010]
  New Zealand - plastic from recycled waste gas
  A company from New Zealand has successfully tested its new technology and produced 2,3 Butanediol, a compound out of which fuels and plastics can be made.Softpedia reports that the clean tech company ...
• [31 August 2010]
  Ireland - Government consults on proposed cap to MSW incineration capacity
  In summer 2009, Ireland's Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government conducted a public consultation on an Environmental Report, prepared by environmental consultants according to Strategic ...
• [31 August 2010]
  Brazil - national policy on waste management
  On August 3, 2010, the Brazilian National Policy on Waste Management (PNRS) came into force. Mondaq reports that, established by Federal Law n. 12,305/2010, the PNRS provides for guidelines on joint and ...
• [31 August 2010]
  UK - moves towards greening government already saving £60-70m a year
  Stepping up scale of ambition for sustainable government is "immediate financial imperative", says new report.A new report published recently by The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) shows that ...
• [31 August 2010]
  Philippines - plastic bags environment fee called for
  Quezon City councilor Dorothy Delarmente wants to do away with plastic bags as soon as possible by charging a fee on their use. Quezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. ...
• [27 August 2010]
  England - measuring progress: sustainable development indicators 2010
  Measuring progress: Sustainable development indicators 2010, published by the UK Government's Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), brings together an extensive range of economic, ...
• [27 August 2010]
  RRF - useful event: International Product Stewardship Summit
  November 9-10, 2010Sydney, Australiahttp://www.pssummit.comJoin global leaders and practitioners on product stewardship in Sydney in November 2010. The Global Product Stewardship Council will be bringing ...
• [27 August 2010]
  UK - Food Justice: the report of the Food and Fairness Inquiry
  Food Justice: the Report of the Food and Fairness Inquiry has been published. This is the result of a year-long investigation into social justice in food and farming, undertaken by a committee of respected ...
• [27 August 2010]
  Mexico - Mexico City leaders may modify plastic bag ban
  Explaining and applying the Mexican capital's anti-plastic bag legislation is proving to be tough, and the law may be modified sooner than the plastics industry anticipated.Plastic News reports that a ...
• [27 August 2010]
  Ireland - Government drafts regulations requiring the provision of food waste collections
  As part of the Irish Government's policy development process, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is prioritising the management of biodegradable waste.  Therefore, draft Regulations, ...
• [27 August 2010]
  Ireland - new draft national statement of waste policy
  The Programme for the Irish Government included a commitment to undertake an international review of waste management policy. An important milestone was reached late in 2009 with the delivery and publication ...
• [26 August 2010]
  UK - total carrier bag use continues to fall
  With the help of consumers, the UK's leading supermarkets have continued to reduce the total number of bags given out by 41 per cent since figures were first recorded in 2006, WRAP (Waste & Resources ...
• [26 August 2010]
  China - waste to energy flourishing
  Waste to energy is proving to be an unstoppable technology, as its growth in China shows. A recent article in Waste Management World looks at the extent of this growth.The need for intelligent waste management ...
• [26 August 2010]
  UK may have to import rubbish for incinerators
  Environmental groups are demanding an end to the building of new waste incinerators, which they say will undermine recycling. According to the Independent experts question whether Britain will produce ...