Environmental News

Kikkoman Foods Inc. plans to start tapping into the power of the sun this month with the completion of a carport-mounted 106kW solar photovoltaic system at the company's soy sauce factory in California's Central Valley. Source: GreenerBuildings, 9/1/10

Wisconsin consumers have had to say goodbye to the days of dumping electronic waste in landfills. Under a new law that moves the financial burden from local governments to manufacturers, users now have to recycle their old computers, cell phones and other electronic devices instead of tossing them in the trash. Source: Government Tecbnology,

MnTAP and the Midwest Save Energy Now Program are offering an industrial energy efficiency workshop on October 20, 2010, in Lakeville, Minnesota. Industrial facility owners, managers, engineers, and anyone interested in improving industrial energy efficiency should make plans to attend this event. Source: MnTAP, 9/2/10

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is now accepting proposals for projects to restore and protect Michigan's wetlands, lakes and streams. Approximately $4 million in state and federal funding is available for watershed-based projects. State and local units of government, nonprofit organizations and universities may apply. Source: Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment, 9/1/10

To encourage industry and communities to prevent pollution and conserve natural resources, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is accepting applications for its Indiana Pollution Prevention (P2) grant program until October 1, 2010. Examples of eligible P2 grant requests include material substitution, product reformulation, process changes, or in-process recycling of wastes. P2 grant funding is not suitable for projects that involve waste disposal, recycling, waste treatment, or other activities that do not meet the definition of pollution prevention. Any organization located in Indiana is eligible to apply for P2 grants regardless of type, size, or complexity. Examples of organizations include manufacturers, schools, not-for-profits and communities. Source: Indiana Dept. of Environmental Management, 9/1/10

Governor Pat Quinn today announced the completion of new geothermal heating and cooling systems at four Rantoul schools. The project, funded in part through a $480,000 federal stimulus grant, will significantly reduce the district's energy usage and resulted in the hiring of approximately 145 local workers. Source: Illinois Government News Network, 8/27/10

Refuse fleets testing alternative fuels say it's still too early to tell what the ultimate advantages or disadvantages of their use may be. Source: Waste Age, 8/1/10

In association with its new Faces of the African Forest exhibit opening, the Minnesota Zoo has initiated a cell phone recycling program called "Recycle for Rainforests." Guests are encouraged to bring old cell phones to the Zoo to help protect the environment, threatened rainforests, and the animals that live there. Source: Minnesota Zoo via SEEK, 9/1/10

Postgreen, a real estate development company focusing on modern and eco-friendly development in Philadelphia's urban neighborhoods, recently completed an undertaking called the "100K Project," two houses that prove that green construction can be affordable if properly designed and executed. Source: Earth911, 8/27/10

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is partnering with community law enforcement offices to offer nationwide collection events for unused prescription medications on September 25. It is the first nationwide program that will address the proper disposal of pharmaceutical waste. Source: Earth911, 8/26/10

For some city-dwellers, composting is as easy as adding your food trimmings and other compostables to the yard waste bin. But for the millions residing in urban areas without compostable pickup, this reduction endeavor requires a bit of additional effort. Source: Earth911, 8/30/10

Jeff Bocan writes about improvements in LED lighting. Source: Huffington Post, 8/31/10

The energy, financial and health costs of lighting up our homes and streets could be saved through better lighting and an end to wasteful illuminations. Source: Ecologist, 8/31/10

The Democratic bill, which failed late Tuesday, would have been the first statewide ban, although a few California cities already prohibit their use. Source: Mother Nature Network, 9/1/10

O2 has today earned plaudits with the launch a major new initiative designed to rate the environmental credentials of 65 leading mobile phones and provide consumers with an easy to understand guide to which phones are greenest. Source: GreenerComputing, 9/1/10

While awareness of green IT and energy used by a company's computing departments are widespread, a new survey sponsored by Fujitsu found that every area of green IT could use improvement, and that green IT practices as a whole lack maturity in every corner of the globe. Source: GreenerComputing, 8/31/10

Through her success working on computer power management at eBay, Megan Rast found four key takeaways for working on sustainability and energy efficiency in IT. Source: GreenBiz, 8/30/10

Plastic bags from grocery stores and pharmacies would be banned starting in 2012 under a new bill before the senate. Critics of the bill say recycling programs, not bans, are the answer. Source: Christian Science Monitor, 8/30/10

Electronic waste can sometimes find a surprising second lease on life, as designer Tina Sparkles has proved by making a dress using recycled wires. Source: Wired, 8/27/10

Hopefully soon, the choice cell phone consumers make about what to do with their mobiles at the end of their lifespans won't be the only green decision they make. Source: EcoSquid, 8/31/10

The U.K.-based New Economics Foundation (NEF) writes about the state of sustainability, healthfulness of food and social conditions in the so-called "casual eating" sector in its new report, "An Inconvenient Sandwich: The Throwaway Economics of Takeaway Food." Although the group based its report on interviews with cafe and quick-service restaurants in south London, the overall message is applicable elsewhere: The casual eating sector must be included in discussions and policies to increase the sustainability of the food industry. Source: GreenBiz, 8/17/10

Cintas rolled out a new recyclable uniform this week made from a combination of recycled plastic bottles and "eco-charcoal" derived from coconut shells and nano-bamboo particles. Source: GreenBiz, 8/25/10

Electronics company NEC has developed a bioplastic made with an extract from cashew nut shells and plant cellulose that is twice as strong as another bioplastic typically made from corn starch. Source: GreenerDesign, 8/27/10

A maker of carton packaging for drinks and liquid foods has developed a new carton format that reduces the carbon footprint of packages by almost a third. Source: ClimateBiz, 8/30/10

GreenerDesign highlights several new products that are eco-friendly by design. Source: GreenerDesign, 8/27/10

Anywhere you go to cool off this summer you will likely find a sea of vinyl accessories, including inflatable tubes, rafts, arm floats and beach balls. These hot-selling hot-weather items are intended to keep children safe and happy in the water, but they are not made of the safest materials for human and environmental health. Source: GreenerDesign, 8/18/10

As a new generation of cars and light trucks start appearing on the market, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are jointly proposing changes to the fuel economy labels consumers see on the window of every new vehicle in dealer showrooms. The proposed rule seeks public comment on label design options and related issues. The public can view the proposed rule and labels at: http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/ and submit comments as part of the rulemaking process via email to: newlabels@epa.gov. They can also review the proposed rule at http://www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy. Source: U.S. EPA, 8/30/10

The Bike Share Program at NYU, the first free bicycle-sharing program in New York City, has entered the pilot phase this summer. Source: New York University, 8/23/10

Owens Community College has been selected to receive a $96,000 Renewable Energy Grant from the Ohio Department of Development for the purposes of advancing alternative and renewable energy initiatives on the Toledo-area Campus. Source: Owens Community College, 8/18/10

Montgomery County Community College is one of 25 higher education institutions in the country to receive a 2010 Kresge Foundation Fellowship Award. Presented by Second Nature and funded by the Kresge Foundation, the fellowship program provides college and university executives with the information and networks necessary to become successful green-building leaders for their institutions. Source: The Reporter, 8/18/10

Bluffton University is taking a fresh approach to dining services at its renovated campus eatery in Marbeck Center. Source: Bluffton Icon, 8/21/10

Visionary environmental business leader and advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be the featured speaker at Millikin University's annual Thomas W. Ewing Lecture, to be held Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center. Kennedy's lecture, "Green Gold Rush: A Vision for Energy Independence, Jobs and National Wealth," will outline his vision for energy alternatives and a healthier environment. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Millikin University's Alumni & Development Center at 217.424.6383. Source: Millikin University, 8/30/10

The town of Sanford, Maine recently implemented a Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) waste management scheme where residents paid for trash removal based on how much trash they threw out. The result? The amount of trash headed to the landfill was slashed by 50 percent while the recycling rate grew by 150 percent. Source: EcoGeek, 8/19/10

The amendments to list additional persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Annexes A, B and/or C of the Stockholm Convention, adopted by the Conference of the Parties of the Convention at its fourth meeting in May 2009, enter into force on 26 August 2010 for the 152 of the 170 Parties to the Stockholm Convention that have not submitted a notification or a declaration, respectively in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 22 of the Convention. Source: Stockholm Convention on Persistant Organic Pollutants, 8/26/10

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today denied a petition calling for a ban on the production and distribution of lead hunting ammunition. EPA sent a letter to the petitioners explaining the rejection. Source: U.S. EPA, 8/27/10

Corporate social responsibility is more than "doing well by doing good." Companies have found that implementing measures related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues make a solid business case as well. Consumers have also become more aware of the impacts that their favorite products have on the planet and people, and are urging companies to respond in kind. CSR approaches are hardly monolithic: some companies focus on taking care of their employees and communities, like Ohio-based Smuckers. Others, like Timberland, educate their consumers on the where, why and how their products are manufactured, and work with their vendors to improve working conditions and economic opportunities for their workers. Many companies follow a reporting standard like that of the Global Reporting Initiative; others simply maintain a portal or issue an annual report. Source: Triple Pundit, 8/2/410

While recycling has long been mainstream in more municipalities, not everyone participates in the weekly trash sorting routine. As garbage disposal fees increase and landfill space decreases, cities are looking for more creative--or intrusive--methods to prod residents into sorting their garbage. Source: Triple Pundit, 8/2/410

For all of the good in recycling and reusing old electronics, we must examine some of the potential hazards. All e-waste materials have toxins embedded within, and the processes used to extract the valued commodities -- gold, silver, platinum, copper, palladium, plastics, glass, etc. -- are risky, potentially exposing workers to highly toxic materials. Source: Urban Mining

The U.S. Congress released a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report yesterday that addresses the management and trade of hazardous electronic wastes. The report correctly urges the EPA to deal with the massive flows of U.S. e-waste. However, according to the Electronic TakeBak Coalition, it misses the mark in recommending that the EPA put forward legislation that would ratify the Basel Convention, without first prohibiting the export of hazardous electronic waste to developing countries. Source: Sustainable Business | Aug. 12, 2010

An Environmental Protection Agency program that encourages federal agencies to recycle old computers and other electronics has achieved limited success throughout government and the nation, federal auditors said. Source: NextGov | Aug. 12, 2010

For some parts of the world, technology has come to deliver longer lives, better health and greater conveniences. However, that progress has also come at a cost to other parts of the world. We live in an era of cheap, disposable electronic consumer goods, and it's taken its toll on places where products are made before they're delivered to you, and where they go after they're tossed aside for the next big thing. Source: Tech News World | Aug. 13, 2010

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report with its recommendations to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on next steps to safely increase the recycling of obsolete electronics. Source: Recycling Today | Aug. 13, 2010

Before you send that photo of Fluffy doing something cute to 20 people, consider the impact of every person downloading and storing it. Source: Mother Nature Network | Aug. 12, 2010

Vermont has had almost 100 percent compliance as it rolls out its new e-waste program, which is intended to cut down on the amount of electronic waste that ends up in the state's landfills. Source: Brattleboro Reformer | Aug. 24, 2010

The digital media revolution promises to improve the quality of our lives though an expanded capacity to communicate, collaborate, learn and make informed decisions. Yet our seemingly insatiable demand for digital media is driving a proliferation of consumer electronic devices and IT infrastructure, which are significantly contributing to a tsunami of toxic electronic waste. Source: PBS | Aug, 23, 2010

Much of the world's electronic waste is being shipped to China for recycling and the cottage industry that has sprung up there to recover usable materials from computers, cell phones, televisions and other goods may be creating significant health and environmental hazards. Source: Science Daily | Aug. 26, 2010

Scientists are concerned that recycling of electronic waste from computers, cell phones and other goods might be creating significant health and environmental hazards. Source: SifyNews | Aug. 27, 2010

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. John Gormley, has marked the fifth anniversary of the implementation of the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive in Ireland. "There has been a magnificent response to the scheme and in just five years, nearly forty two million units of household WEEE equating to over one hundred and eighty thousand tonnes of old electrical and electronic equipment have been safely taken out of circulation and been recycled", Minister Gormley pointed out. Source: Recycling Portal

Dimension Data and HP have both launched e-waste-related products today, while Fujitsu released a Green IT report that found there was a relative lack of green IT policies across large organisations in Australia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and India. Source: ZDNet | Aug. 16, 2010

Coinstar, a U.S. based kiosk operator with brands that include its flagship Coinstar machines as well as the popular "redbox" DVD rental kiosks in supermarkets, has announced an undisclosed investment in ecoATM, a maker of kiosks which pays consumers for recycling their old electronics. Source: Reuters | Aug. 17

California Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr. has filed criminal charges against the owner and two managers of a San Jose electronic waste recycling firm, accusing them of submitting US$1 million in fraudulent reimbursement claims for more than 2 million pounds of waste they never recycled. Source: PC World | Aug. 26. 2010

Camara, an Irish charity that specialises in the delivery of technology solutions to schools in under-resourced areas in Africa and Ireland acknowledge the problem of e-waste that has sparked this campaign. This problem, which was further highlighted in a UN Report, indicating that global e-waste is growing by about 40 million tons a year, much of which is being dumped in developing countries. Source: TechCentral

We are living through the information revolution. Whether it is smart phones, tablet computers, social media or new user-friendly software, new information and communications technologies (ICT) are having a profound effect on our lives, our workplaces and our future. Source: Telegraph Journal | Aug. 27, 2010

NEC says that it has developed a new form of bio-plastic that could be used for mobile phones and is 70% made from a mixture of cellulose, a main component of plant stems, with cardanol, a primary component of cashew nut shells. Source: Voice & Data | Jul. 27, 2010

Two big retailers waded into the used games/trade-in market today with separate approaches. Target wants your trade-ins and Best Buy will take what it can get. With the Target trade-in program, consumers can turn in their "new or used iPod, iPhone, video game, GPS system, camera, and DVDs and Blu-ray discs" and receive a Target GiftCard to spend on anything in any Target store. The program is part of a joint effort between Target and NextWorth, an electronics recycling system committed to reducing e-waste. Source: Network World | Aug. 26, 2010

There is great irony when an industry trying to be environmentally friendly is accused of the exact opposite. That's the gist of what might be happening with the electronic waste recycling industry in China -- an industry that takes Canadian and other industrialized nations e-waste and tries to recycle it. Source: National Post | Aug. 26, 2010

Attention has been paid to set up a committee comprising members of stakeholder institutions for planning a future program for E waste management in the country. Source: DailyNews | Aug. 27, 2010

My work as a Forrester analyst is focused on helping strategists at IT suppliers (vendors) align their development, positioning, and messaging with the big trends and disruptions in the industry. Mobility, cloud computing, globalization ... trends at that high altitude. Over the last three years or so, that has included sustainability as it has appeared on and risen higher the strategy agenda of companies around the world. Source: Reuters | Aug. 25

Technological advances and stringent legislation have made 2010 a big year for the electronics industry. But despite a high interest in e-waste exportation and the development of sleeker designs that allow for easier recycling, many manufacturers are still skipping over one important detail: packaging. Source: Earth911

August has been a big month in the realm of electronic waste and recycling, as the subject was both the focus of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study and a named an international priority by the EPA. The GAO study was prepared for the House of Representative Committee on Science and Technology and released to the public August 11. Source: Earth911 | Aug. 27