DUMP award winners for bad packaging announced
03 March, 2009
Everyday supermarket items including Coles pre-packed lemons, Kids Care fruit snacks and Dynamo laundry refill packs have been exposed for their use of damaging and useless packaging in Environment Victoria’s 2009 National DUMP Awards.
Container deposit systems will cost consumers more
02 March, 2009
Australian Food and Grocery Council Chief Executive Kate Carnell said that it was disappointing that high-profile members of the community were still calling for costly, outdated 1970s solutions to 2009 challenges.
European Parliament bans 22 toxic substances
22 January, 2009
The European Parliament (EU) has adopted legislation that bans the use of 22 toxic substances, including carcinogenic, reprotoxic, genotoxic, endocrine-disrupting and immunotoxic chemicals.
Unit pricing of household garbage
22 January, 2009
An alternative to a flat-rate waste collection service is one in which households are charged per unit of waste they produce. This technical paper, written by Dr Joe Pickin of Hyder Consulting, discusses a case study in Melbourne that studied the effect of unit pricing of household garbage. Did it improve welfare, reduce garbage, or neither?
Cleansing leaks from toxic tips
21 January, 2009
Across Australia, tens of thousands of garbage tips are leaking a toxic brew of old, and sometimes deadly, chemicals into the water ingested or used about the home by up to 4 million people.
Television and computer monitor recycling plant for Australia
19 January, 2009
Australia is set to increase its recycling capacity with the introduction of the television and computer monitor recycling company, CRT Recycling Australia.
Rescuing surplus food
13 January, 2009
Melbourne-based food rescue charity FareShare has estimated in a new report that it will save 620 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2008–09 as a result of its waste reduction efforts. The charity turns surplus food donated from businesses, including food wholesalers and catering companies, into healthy meals for people in Melbourne who are hungry and homeless.
Clean-up could offer a billion dollar land boost
07 January, 2009
Cleaning up contaminated land in the heart of Australia’s industrial cities could provide a timely boost in value to the national urban real estate portfolio.
Sustainable packaging
01 January, 2009 | Supplied by: Packsys Pty Ltd
Innovia Films’ biodegradable, compostable and flexible packaging material NatureFlex is used for the Gingerbread Folk range of biscuits. It is certified compostable and carries the ‘seedling’ logo to confirm this.
Multiple gas monitors
01 January, 2009 | Supplied by: Draeger Australia Pty. Ltd.
The X-am 2000 is a four-gas detector that reliably measures explosive gases and vapours, as well as H2, CO and H2S. It is suitable for confined space use and comes in a special case with charger, electronic pump and tubing.
Quiet baler
01 January, 2009 | Supplied by: Orwak Solutions Pty Ltd
Orwak 3610, which replaces the Orwak 3600, uses quiet, powerful hydraulics; the noise level is only about 60 dB.
Snail pace on petrol vapour puts air quality and public health at risk
22 December, 2008
The NSW government’s go-slow on introducing technology to capture harmful petrol vapour at service stations will expose hundreds of thousands of motorists to harmful chemicals and undermine efforts to reduce air pollution, according to the Total Environment Centre (TEC).
Bank achieves CEMARS certification
22 December, 2008
Westpac New Zealand Ltd has achieved a milestone in sustainability, by achieving Certified Emissions Measurement and Reduction Scheme (CEMARS) certification as part of its strategy to reduce its carbon footprint.
Industry organisation launches new structure
16 December, 2008
The Australian Battery Recycling Initiative has announced the official structure of its newly incorporated organisation.
Registrations open for Business Clean Up Day
10 December, 2008
Registrations are now open for Business Clean Up Day on 24 February 2009. Last year, over 250 businesses helped Clean Up Australia by nominating sites and giving up a few hours of their time to clear rubbish.
