SITA Australia (SITA) has recently been selected as the preferred tenderer to provide total waste management services to Rio Tinto’s Bowen Basin mining operations. [ + ]

A new set of national good management practice benchmarks, aimed at lifting environmental performance on dairy farms, has been agreed between DairyNZ and dairy companies, with the support and input from a wide range of industry stakeholders including Federated Farmers. [ + ]

Research conducted by the University of NSW and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science has found that an expansion of concrete and asphalt on the fringes of our cities could see urban temperatures rise by as much as 3.7°C by the year 2050. [ + ]

Marrickville Council will join forces with seven other Sydney councils in an initiative which will allow residents to save on power bills while helping the environment. [ + ]

Hurstville Mayor Cr Jack Jacovou last week unveiled the first stage of the Peakhurst Light Industrial Stormwater Harvesting and Reuse Scheme at Hurstville Golf Course. [ + ]

Infrastructure Australia has released its National Infrastructure Plan, the organisation’s latest report to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). [ + ]

Resources and Energy Minister Gary Gray yesterday announced a network of research facilities to boost Australian development of commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) during a visit to the CO2CRC Otway Project. [ + ]

BASF and Guangzhou Joraform Environmental have announced that compost produced from a joint composting project at Chinaplas has come full circle and will be used to improve soil quality at the Guangzhou Nansha District Dagang Institute of Agricultural Sciences farm in Guangzhou. [ + ]

The ‘E-Waste or E-Resource?’ future forum took place on 28 June. Hosted by the ANZRP, the forum discussed the federal product stewardship legislation and whether it is enabling resource efficiency and the emerging circular economy. [ + ]

Kimberly-Clark Australia has been declared one of nine winners in the Environmental Sustainability category of The Australian Business Awards 2013. [ + ]

Satellite observations from the past three decades have revealed that Earth’s deserts are getting greener. A collaboration between CSIRO and the Australian National University (ANU) has found that this increase in desert foliage is linked to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) through a process called CO₂ fertilisation. [ + ]

As of 1 July, a uniform code applies across South East Queensland (SEQ) for the design and construction of new water supply and sewerage assets. The code is intended to make it easier for developers, engineers, consultants and service providers to deliver water infrastructure. [ + ]

Not-for-profit organisation Greenfleet has had two of its reforestation projects registered under the Clean Energy Regulator’s Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI). This makes it the first organisation to have multiple reforestation projects registered. [ + ]

CSIRO has announced the appointment of Dr Carol Couch as Director of the Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship - the largest research partnership focusing on water in Australia. [ + ]

The City of Sydney has contracted energy experts pitt&sherry and Exergy Australia to calculate how many greenhouse gas emissions could be saved through city-wide energy efficiency measures in buildings. [ + ]