Smart grid technology is to cost £27 billion just to develop and deploy, with sticking to conventional technology and upgrading Britain's electricity infrastructure from now until 2050 costing £19 billion more. These predictions are the findings of the major piece of research commissioned by Britain's smart grid industry but written by financial experts Ernst and Young, who conclude that Britain might see major economic, carbon reduction benefits being brought about by the development of the smart grid. It has been warned that the UK has a "decreasing time window" to become a world leader in smart grid technology due competition from abroad. Smart ... Full Story

Boris Johnson's plot to make London Europe's electric car capital is making "slow" progress. Insiders reckon that  the promise to put the cars on the roads of the city will take hundred of years to achieve if the rates stay as they are at present. Almost three years ago, Johnson told fellow mayors of other gl0bal capital cities in the South Korean's Seoul that he will guarantee that 100,000 electric vehicles are in London over the next few years of this decade. The London Assembly's Environment Committee discovered that since Johnson's announcement, just 588 additional electric cars had been registered in London. ... Full Story

Consumers are no longer going to have to pay recycling fees for large home appliances to be removed, said Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration. After numerous complaints were received, the EPA has drafted revisions to current policy that will ban retailers from charging fines for old appliance removals and disposals. According to Cheng Chi-pu, the EPA’s Recycling Fund Management Board division head, said the new rules would make it difficult for businesses to charge for such services. New rules will cover televisions, washing machines, air conditioners and refrigerators. Furthermore, the new policy is expected to go into effect ... Full Story

Marks & Spencer has partnered with ShP Limited to offer a new programme aimed at helping UK householders recycling unwanted electrical items. Joining together with ShP Limited recycling firm, the popular UK retailer will offer gift vouchers to anyone that recycles an item via their new website programme. The website will seek to reduce the millions of tonnes of e-waste mounting in the UK every year. According to Dave Hughes, director for M&S Direct, existing technology advances so quickly, that items are becoming redundant faster and faster as people upgrade to new electronics. He added that by recycling these unwanted or outdated ... Full Story

Repak’s Recycling Week will kick-off on Monday by targeting recycling in the workplace in an attempt to encourage more workers to divert waste from landfill while on the job. According to the packaging recycle group, more than 20 kilos of packaging waste were recycled each second in Ireland last year. The results were announced at Repak’s launch for its recycle week initiative and place Ireland in no. 8 for packaging recycling rates out of the EU member states. Dr Andrew Hetherington, CEO of Repak said that last year each household in Ireland recycled on average 144 kilos of cans, boxes, bottles and ... Full Story

As vehicle manufacturers gear up to bring electric cars to the commercial market in full force, a new emphasis on electric battery recycling has emerged. The most prominent companies that have jumped on the recycling bandwagon include Nissan, Tesla and General Motors, all of which recently announced that they would begin researching more sustainable ways to dispose of electric vehicle batteries. The more creative ideas include using the batteries as backup generators for hospitals or storage units for wind farms. Regardless the usage, it seems that the success of second-life battery industry remains in partnerships for these large corporations. GM announced today ... Full Story

G & P Batteries, a waste battery collection and recycling firm, has begun delivery with five new drop-side lorries as part of larger plans to increase its portable battery collections. The move, a result of new waste battery regulations, will see the new vans replace G & P’s existing fleet. Chosen for their convenience, the new vehicles have a 3.5 tonne gross capacity and will allow the firm to operate multiple small collections all at once with minimal cost and carbon emissions. Offering a nationwide collection service, the battery recycling company takes portable, automotive and industrial batteries. Operating a fleet of 21 ... Full Story

MBA Polymers has pledged $6.6 million to begin boosting recyclable plastic materials being used in household goods. With its base in recovering engineering plastics from items such as appliances, vehicles and computers, the firm has raised more than $6.6 million towards an overall goal of $25 million. The funding will be used to increase the firms recycling of plastic taken from household items. According to a SEC filing, the investments have so far been gleaned from Honeywell Capital Management, Citi's Sustainable Development Investments and Less Plastics Limited based in Hong Kong. Founded in 1994, the group maintains its operating facility in California. ... Full Story

A new recycling initiative is being rolled out across the country that will aim to use volunteers to increase light bulb recycling. In a new scheme being launched around the UK, volunteers will be asked to collect old low-energy light bulbs from retailers around the country that have specially designed recycling receptacles. The Community Bulb Recycling Alliance seeks to use volunteers to collect the used bulbs to cut down on cost and promote the recycling of used low-energy light bulbs. The scheme, which was conceptualised after a partnership was formed between Recolight and Cornish-based CoBRA, will see the specialised containers collected by ... Full Story

Samsung India Electronics has begun a new recycling scheme in an effort to generate awareness and educate its customers on the value of diverting e-waste from landfill. In a nationwide programme roll-out, Samsung's new Samsung Takeback and Recycle (STAR) Program will see a disposal sites set up at each of Samsung's 235 locations across 20 cities in India. The move comes as Samsung begins to push for India to move towards more sustainable practices on e-waste and begin to mount an attack on the growing electronic waste issue building up in landfills across the developing nation. J.S. Shin, President and CEO for ... Full Story

As local authorities across the country step up their recycling efforts, new figures revealed that waste battery recycling rates have risen more than five per cent in a three month period. Scientists at the Environment Agency learned that 16.15 per cent of all waste batteries had been sent to recycling during 2010's second quarter. This is in comparison to the 9.15 per cent that was recycled during the first three months of this year. The increase in battery recycling is partially being attributed to a new scheme that requires retail outlets that sell large quantities of batteries to provide in-store recycling bins ... Full Story

Cerebra Integrated Technologies, one of India’s premier total IT Solutions retailers, announced a new partnership with Cimelia Resource Recovery Pte Ltd, India’s biggest e-waste recycling firm. The alliance will allow Cerebra Integrated to begin work on its proposed e-waste recycling facility, set to be constructed near Bangalore. Located on 10 acres of land in the region, the new electronic waste recycling unit will be set-up entirely by Cimelia including machinery. The recycling firm will also aid Cerebra in the managing of the new facility. Appropriately dubbed the E-waste plant, the new recycling unit will allow Cerebra Integrated to double its e-waste recycling ... Full Story