A joint research team from China and the US has been studying the effects of e-waste recycling on both people and the environment. Recycled electronic waste may be the next major environmental issue on the horizon for developing countries as they try to deal with high pollution levels and a degrading environment. Scientists have now uncovered that the chemicals and toxins emitted by recycling e-waste could pose severe environmental and health risks. Scientists in both China and the US used various toxic elements, separated from a recycling workshop at an e-waste facility within China’s Shantou City. Using base technology, they filtered out ... Full Story

Operators at a nuclear site in Dounreay in Caithness could be facing prosecution after a dangerous radiation leak has affected a group of employees. As many as nine workers have been exposed to high levels of radioactivity while operating at the intermediate level waste centre. The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate said that it will prepare a report to be used by the procurator fiscal. The site also experienced a fire in May, which the inspectorate is also preparing a report for. It said that the incident was most likely caused by poor segregation of materials and a failure to keep house properly. Fire ... Full Story

Russian opposition party Yabloko has sent several dozen protestors into central Moscow in defiance of a planned nuclear waste dumping arriving from Germany. Arriving today, the protestors have begun to vocalise a growing discontentment with the approval of the transfer of the toxic waste. Banners and signs have been unrolled to demonstrate their sentiments. Slogans included “Nuclear Waste? No Thanks!”. The majority of the protests are taking place outside of the Germany embassy located near the centre of the city. In a scheduled transport arriving from Germany, a total of 951 nuclear fuel rods are designated to arrive for ... Full Story

Scientists have produced a new biofuel made from whiskey that will not only utilise waste by-products from whiskey production but can also guarantee that 30 per cent more power can  be provided than traditional ethanol fuels. The new fuel, which can be placed into any car with no necessary adaptations, also boasts the advantage of being a highly-concentrated ethanol-based fuel. Researchers from Edinburgh Napier University are responsible for the development of the fuel and used by-products from whiskey distilling from Diageo’s Glenkinchie Distillery from East Lothian. The two-year research project was funded by the Scottish Enterprise’s ‘Proof of Concept’ scheme, who provided ... Full Story

A seminar is scheduled for next month that might lead to future developments in the production of cheap carpets manufactured using recycled materials. The innovative new move from Carpet Recycling UK could see materials re-used to make cheap carpets available for purchase. The event was announced this week and will be held at the Harrogate Flooring Show from 11:00 to 12:00 BST beginning 6 September. According to reports, the event will feature three ... Full Story

Old tyres are historically difficult to dispose of in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way. Often getting tossed aside in landfills, researchers at the Tubitak Marmara Research Centre in Turkey have found a new way to recover old tyres for recycling. Using sand to react with the old rubber, scientists in Gebze, Turkey are able to turn the used tyres into silicon carbide, a material that can garner up to €10,000 per tonne. Commerically called carborundum, the silicon carbide is made up from carbon and silicon atoms that arrange in a diamond-like shape. The result is a material with diamond-like properties. The substance retains ... Full Story

A new bunker designed to store low-level radioactive waste has opened in West Cumbria. The £22 million facility, designed by LLW Repository Ltd, will have the capacity to hold 110,000 cubic metres of low-hazard nuclear refuse. The company, which built the facility at it's site in Drigg, said that the bunker would become a vital storage device as UK's nuclear decommissioning initiative continues to move forward. Among the low-level nuclear waste, items will include protective clothing, demolition rubble and by-products from deconstruction. Dick Raaz, LLW Repository Ltd's managing director, said that the Drigg site would become a vital organ in the UK's ... Full Story

Plastics recycling firm Closed Loop Recycling is planning to open a series of plants across Britain. The company, which produces food-grade rHDPE and rPET, has hired UBS bank to help raise £30 million in financing for its plans. Closed Loop Recycling already has a plant in Dagenham, Essex, which has been operating since 2008 and has been very successful. The company is now intent on building a second plant on Deeside. The Dagenham plant already produces 35,000 tonnes of plastic bottles from consumer waste every year. The new plant will bring total annual production capacity up to 85,000 tonnes. The combined ... Full Story

Northern Ireland continues to fall behind other parts of the United Kingdom in recycling. Figures just released show households in Northern Ireland were recycling less than a third of their waste in the first quarter of 2010. By contrast, homes in England were already recycling at the rate of 34 per cent by 2007/2008. Northern Ireland’s domestic recycling rate in the first three months of this year was up by just 0.2 per cent over the same period in 2009. Meanwhile, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is forecasting England’s recycling rate will hit 40 per cent by the ... Full Story

The future of the London Olympics could be at stake with the discovery of radioactive waste under the Olympic park site. Trace amounts of radium and thorium were found buried under the main stadium, but the Olympic Delivery Authority is adamant that there is no risk to attendees or participants during the Games. Experts, however, are saying that the site will need to be reassessed after 2012, prior to any further developments of the location. John Large, an independent nuclear analyst, said that there is a little doubt that radiological risk analysis will have applicability and validity for future uses, such as ... Full Story

Scientists are saying that Sperm whale faeces can be used to absorb excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Research conducted in Australia on the Southern Ocean Sperm whales has shown that the large ocean mammals produce up to 50 tonnes of iron per year. According to the scientists, this production stimulates growth spurts in tiny marine plants that can absorb CO2 during the photosynthesis process. These phytoplankton, when in contact with sperm whale populations, can absorb up to 400,000 tonnes of carbon from the air. The rough equivalent of twice as much as whales produce by breathing. The study concludes in the ... Full Story

A consortium of academic, governmental, and industry organisations emerged to help bring the conversion of carbon dioxide waste into diesel fuel via concentrated solar energy into reality. The alliance, which aims to promote and commercial technologies that will move the process along, includes Renewable Energy Institute International (REII), Pacific Renewable Fuels, Quanta Services, Clean Energy Systems, Desert Research Institute, and Sandia National Laboratories. Commercial partners have also joined to further technology in existing commercial plants. At present, overall carbon dioxide emissions in the US have risen 17 per cent from levels in 1990. If left to grow further, analysts predict it will ... Full Story