Europe- 11 North Sea islands seek zero waste

Eleven North Sea islands have signed up to become living laboratories for a waste-free environment.

The islands from six countries will follow a "cradle-to-cradle" philosophy, which calls for using renewable energy and products made from materials that can be endlessly reused or organically decomposed. Associated Press reports that innovations will include electric vehicles, a desalination system for drinking water that removes salt in a usable form, and purification of household water - including human waste. Technical universities from around northern Europe will try out new solutions for small-scale energy production, transportation and water management, with the aim of making the islands nearly self-sustaining by 2030, project managers said.

The EU is donating ?3.5 million ($4.5 million) for the first four-year phase. Islands from Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Britain will take part. The Cradle to Cradle Island project will be overseen by officials of the northern Dutch province of Friesland.The islands have a total of nearly 50,000 residents, but those numbers swell with visitors during the summer. Some of the islands see the project as a way of attracting more tourists. Among other proposed ideas, new buildings will use paint on the internal walls containing micro-organisms that clean the air, and cement on the external walls that removes particulates from the atmosphere, he said. Different islands will experiment with various elements of sustainability. Several islands of Britain's Shetlands, a group of 100 islands north of Scotland, will tap the energy from waves off its west coast and tidal streams between the islands.

The Dutch islands of Texel and Ameland, largely comprised of dunes and bicycle paths, will get a network of electric motor scooters and recharging posts. A Dutch water research company, Wetsus, will experiment with a system to produce electricity by mixing salt water and fresh water.

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UK - London, Free Compost from resident's kitchen waste

The London Borough of Haringey will be holding its first ever free compost give away. There will be a 15 tonne delivery made to Finsbury Park and from 10am-3pm residents can come and take as much or as little as they want. Bring your own containers - from buckets to bags…whatever you bring, we’ll fill it! Two compost advisors will be on hand to provide info to first time home composters and to those who are experiencing problems. There will also be children’s activities such as seedling planting and free face painting.

Technorati Tags: food waste waste prevention compost Haringey Better Haringey

USA - New York adds 5-cent deposit to water bottles

New York's new US$132 billion budget includes provisions for a "Bigger, Better Bottle Bill" that tacks on a 5-cent refundable deposit to bottles containing water and other non-carbonated beverages.


Greener Buildings reports that the state has had a 5-cent deposit on soda, beer and other carbonated beverages since 1982. Another key feature of the measure allows 80 per cent of unclaimed deposits on beverage bottles -- a projected US$115 million annually -- to go into the state's general fund. Previously all unredeemed deposits were kept by the beverage industry. Environmentalists cheered passage of the "Bigger Better Bottle Bill." Thirty groups that had campaigned for the expanded bill jointly issued a statement hailing the new law on April 3. "This is a huge victory not only for the environment, but for the people of New York," said Laura Haight, senior environmental associate with New York Public Interest Research Group, in the statement.Bottled water represents 70 percent of non-carbonated beverage sales in the state, and the discarded bottles are among the items most frequently found in litter cleanups in New York, according to the Container Recycling Institute."As a result of this law," Haight also said, "we will have noticeably cleaner communities and far more recycling. At the same time, the money from the public's unclaimed nickels will go to work for us, not for Coke and Pepsi."The 5-cent deposit on bottles of water and other non-carbonated drinks goes into effect June 1.


More information on New York's bottle bill and legislation in other states is available from the Bottle Bill Resource Guide:http://www.bottlebill.org/


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UK: Retailers exceed carrier bag reduction target

New figures released by WRAP show the UK’s leading high street and grocery retailers have exceeded a voluntary target to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags by 25% by the end of 2008. Since 2006, retailers have delivered a 40% reduction in the environmental impact of carrier bags, as measured by the reduction in the amount of virgin plastic used. Retailers have achieved this by reducing the number of carrier bags issued by 26%, increasing recycled content used and reducing carrier bag weight. The target to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags was part of an agreement with UK Governments and industry in February 2007 which has been met in full by a reduction in bag numbers alone.

The data shows that initiatives by retailers to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags have resulted in a 23,000 tonne reduction in the weight of carrier bags issued. The total number of bags in circulation has reduced from 13.4 billion in 2006 to 9.9 billion in 2008, equivalent to a 26% reduction.

You may view the full text of WRAP’s press release


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UK- Combat the credit crunch with real nappies

Following the huge success of last years event, the 13th annual Real Nappy Week will be taking place from 27th April until 3rd May 2009 across the UK. Since the start of October 2008 around 30,000 jobs cuts have been announced across all sectors of the UK. With parents worrying about money, the 2009 Real Nappy Week, run by the Real Nappy Campaign, will focus on how using real nappies can save families money.


Bec Thomas from the Real Nappy Campaign commented:
“As the financial crisis bites in the UK, families are increasingly opting to save money by using real nappies. Parents can save at least £500 by choosing real nappies over disposables and there are further savings to be made when nappies are passed down and used again.”


Technorati Tags: nappies waste minimisation waste prevention diapers real nappies cotton nappies Real Nappy Week