EPA announces new limits on toxic air pollution from medical incinerators, ending legal battleSeptember 16th, 2009 EPA limits pollution from medical incineratorsWASHINGTON — About 50 medical waste incinerators nationwide will have to reduce their air pollution under new regulations announced Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA said that the new rules, which require better monitoring and tighten emissions limits, will reduce toxic pollution from the burning of medical waste by 390,000 pounds annually and likely result in no new incinerators being built.
Setting world standards for e-waste recycling important to curb harmful processing practiceSeptember 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Experts behind the world's first international e-waste academy have said that processes and policies governing the reuse and recycling of electronic products need to be standardized worldwide to stem and reverse the growing problem of illegal and harmful e-waste processing practices in developing countries. Making appropriate recycling technologies available worldwide and standardizing government policy approaches to reuse and recycling could dramatically extend the life of many computers, mobile phones, TVs and similar products and allow for more complete end-of-life harvesting of the highly valuable metals and other components they contain.
Researchers track 3,000 pieces of Seattle trash to get people thinking about their own refuseSeptember 13th, 2009 Researchers track 3,000 pieces of Seattle trashSEATTLE — Where does that coffee cup, disposable razor or unwanted television end up once it's tossed to the curb?
Using an electronic tracking device about the size of a matchbook, MIT researchers are tagging about 3,000 pieces of Seattle trash to get people thinking about what they throw away and where it ends up. "Seeing where your trash goes allows you to change your behavior," said Assaf Biderman, associate director of MIT's SENSEable City lab and a project leader.
Discarded US computers get fresh life in developing countriesSeptember 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - More and more discarded US computers are enjoying a lease of life in developing countries, says a comprehensive study. The findings may heighten growing concerns about environmental pollution with toxic metals that can result from dismantling and recycling computer components in developing countries.
American campus goes the "green" way with organic foods and "hydration stations"August 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The new batch at the University of California (UC), San Diego campus has some "green" surprises in store for it, with innovations ranging from Econauts and drought tolerant bio-swale landscaping to organic foods and "hydration stations" that eliminate the need for disposable water bottles. Underlining its reputation as one of the greenest campuses in the US, UC San Diego is initiating a huge housing program with a new 1,000-bed "village" project for transfer students that is tracking LEED silver certification.
'Indestructible' plastics decompose quickly to toxify world's oceansAugust 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has determined that plastics, which are reputed to be virtually indestructible, decompose with surprising speed and release potentially toxic substances into the water. This is the first study to look at what happens over the years to the billions of pounds of plastic waste floating in the world's oceans.
Paper or plastic? Seattle voters reject 20-cent fee on both types of grocery bagAugust 19th, 2009 Seattle voters reject 20-cent grocery bag feeSEATTLE — Seattle voters have rejected a 20-cent fee for every paper or plastic bag they get from supermarkets, drug stores and convenience stores. The city's incumbent mayor didn't fare much better than the fee, trailing two challengers in a bid for a third term.
Seattle bag fee: Measure to charge 20-cent fee on paper or plastic bags failsAugust 19th, 2009 Seattle voters reject 20-cent bag feeSEATTLE — Seattle voters have rejected a 20-cent fee for every paper or plastic bag they get from supermarkets, drug stores and convenience stores. With about half the all-mail vote counted the fee was failing 58 percent to 42 percent.
If voters in green Seattle can't pass a fee on disposable grocery bags, can any?August 19th, 2009 Seattle votes down fee on plastic, paper bagsSEATTLE — Seattle voters' rejection of a 20-cent fee on plastic and paper bags represents a sound defeat for other efforts in U.S. cities to limit the use of the throwaway bags, plastics industry officials said Wednesday.
Paper or plastic? Seattle voters deciding on 20-cent fee on both types of grocery bagAugust 18th, 2009 Seattle voters deciding on 20-cent grocery bag feeSEATTLE — Voters in eco-conscious Seattle were deciding Tuesday whether to pay a 20-cent fee for every paper or plastic bag they get from supermarkets, drug stores and convenience stores. City leaders had passed an ordinance to charge the bag fee, which was to start in January.
Scientists use microbial cultures to convert organic wastes to eco-friendly plasticsMay 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In new research work, scientists have used technology derived from wastewater treatment systems to develop a process using open microbial cultures to convert organic wastes to eco-friendly plastics. "Organic waste from agriculture, industries and households forms a very large resource that is currently discarded or at best transformed into biogas.
Dell policy formalizes ban on exporting broken electronics and parts to developing countriesMay 12th, 2009 Dell bans e-waste export to developing countriesSEATTLE — PC maker Dell Inc. on Tuesday formally banned the export of broken computers, monitors and parts to developing countries amid complaints that lax enforcement of environmental and worker-safety regulations have allowed an informal and often hazardous electronic-waste recycling industry to emerge.
America's 'front yard' _ the National Mall _ is getting its 1st recycling programApril 30th, 2009 National Mall to start recycling programWASHINGTON — The National Mall, known as America's "front yard" and stretching from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, is finally getting a recycling program.
Self-healing concrete for more durable structureApril 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A self-healing concrete has been developed by researchers for safer and more durable structures. A handful of drizzly days would be enough to mend a damaged bridge made of the new substance, according to a Michigan University study.
British explorer to set sail on plastic-bottle boatMarch 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - British explorer, environmentalist, and celebrity David de Rothschild, is all set to go on an 11,000-mile (17,703-kilometer) journey across the Pacific Ocean at the end of March, in a boat made of plastic bottles. According to a report in National Geographic Magazine, the boat, which is a 60-foot (18-meter) catamaran called 'Plastiki', has been created from a special composite of recycled plastic.
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