By 2012 current EU recycling laws requiring that a quarter of all batteries be recycled. According to Scott Butler from the European Recycling Platform (ERP), it will require everyone getting involved to achieve this goal. In a three minute film segment, the ERP has created an educational opportunity for teachers across the country to utilise when informing students of the importance of recycling. The video, a response to the 1 January 2010 European directive, follows 12-year old Ollie Osman as he use batteries in his toy car and then takes them to school to be recycled. The new European Directive states that ... Full Story

Dell has announced a partnership with Indian trade association MAIT in order to properly dispose of toxic electronic waste throughout India. India is one of the nations that have been flagged as having a mounting issue with WEEE, or e-waste.  IT companies, such as Dell, often see their products dumped in the developing nations either by contracted waste firms or by users who no longer want them. Dell has said it will look into exploring the issue, in order to prevent harmful build up of dangerous methane gases at landfills. Part of Dell's plans to do this may include investing in recycling ... Full Story

Leeds householders will now be able to place aerosol cans in with other green bin recycling items. The Leeds City Council announced the initiative, which will partner with Alupro and Unilever, the aluminum packaging recycling body. All spray containers collected in the borough will now be recycled into new aerosol cans. A majority of the recycled cans will then be refilled at Unilever's factory on Coal Road, Seacroft. The factory is Europe's biggest aerosol manufacturing facility. Cllr Tom Murray, executive member of environmental sciences, stated that the new scheme was economical because it will allow aerosols to be recycled with drinks and ... Full Story

Environment Minister Richard Benyon recently toured the homes of tomorrow during a visit at the BRE Innovation Park located in Watford yesterday. The BRE (Business Research Establishment) has set up the site to display twelve of the world's most promising sustainable homes. Each structure has been designed to embody diversity in new methods to create low impact housing construction. Mr Benyon said that the advances to sustainable construction are impressive. He added that it was a good example of how sustainable resources and methods can be used on a large scale basis. The Environment Minister added that the world's resources are becoming ... Full Story

Popular furniture giant IKEA just launched a recycling initiative designed to encourage its employees to recycle more. The initiative, part of the retailer's overall zero waste to landfill programme, will aim to raise recycling awareness for its 700 employees that work in the firm's distribution centres. The scheme was launched at IKEA's Peterborough distribution centre last week in conjunction with Viridor. Viridor will be doing two roadshows, the first at the Peterborough site and a second in Doncaster later in the summer. The 'Recycle for IKEA' aims to improve recycling awareness, understanding, and efforts by offering employee training and awareness seminars. Viridor, ... Full Story

Yale University released a preliminary report over the weekend in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) that said industries will have to significantly impact recycling rates for enough rare metals to be recovered so that alternative energy technologies can move forward. According to the report, dramatic boosts in recycling rates will be required to enable the supply of adequate amounts of raw materials for production of alternative energy equipment to move forward. Equipment such as solar cells, wind turbines, and other types of renewable energy items need raw materials for assembly. The report forecasts that unless there is a jump ... Full Story

According to the Environment Agency’s recently published National Packaging Waste Database, over 1.86 million tonnes of packaging was recycled in 2009. Angus Macpherson, managing director of the Environment Exchange, said that contrary to earlier forecasts, the country’s recycling target had been met last year. He added that there were two main reasons for the success. Macpherson reasoned that the supply of Packaging Recovery Notes (PRN) in Q3 and Q4 had significantly increased, mainly due to export growth, while the demand for packaging had dropped dramatically by some 150,000 tonnes, which was lower than the 2008 level. He said that the combination ... Full Story

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has recently organised a consultation with the hope of introducing landfill bans on nine waste materials – including paper, cards, food, textiles, metals, wood, electronic devices, glass and plastics. Entitled ‘Consultation on the Introduction of Restrictions on the Landfilling of Certain Wastes’, the meeting was held at the Baywaters’ Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in eastern London. Speaking to MRW interviewers, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said a ban on certain materials in landfills could fuel the development for more MRFs and anaerobic digestion plants. Benn informed that the sorting of rubbish would normally ... Full Story

The Vancouver winter Olympic Games may have already come to a close, but for those athletes that took home the prized medals will have a piece of that victory to carry with them forever. Although the athletes medals represent a personal victory, the medals now also represent a small victory in eco-friendly recycling. This year, for the first time in the history of the Olympics, the medals were made using recycled metals which were salvaged from discarded e-waste. A Canadian mining company, Teck Resources, was hired by the Olympic Committee to construct the medals using recycled gold, silver, and bronze from ... Full Story

The competition for developing cutting edge recycling technology has been rapidly increasing in the last year, following major calls for cleaner energy alternatives. As the technology begins to develop, researchers are now facing the challenge of adapting technology for mass production at affordable prices. As this new technology begins to move from pilot scales to being 'showcase' ready, the ability to produce sustainable recycling measures for foil-based laminated materials is becoming a greater possibility. In a recent study detailing Enval, it is coming to light that this possibility may be sooner than later. Enval, the brain child out of England's Cambridge University, ... Full Story

The United Kingdom has been desperate to improve its recycling rates and has been looking at a number of new and innovative ways to do so.  The government has launched many schemes and studies in an effort to get people to produce less waste and recycle more.  The results have been mixed thus far as recycling rates in the UK have gone up but not as fast as some would like.  This is especially true for the Labour Party, who were hoping to use environmental successes as a way to set themselves apart from the Conservatives, who are usually associated ... Full Story

The waste management and recycling industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the business world.  As countries look for ways to change their infrastructure to support new green technologies or to increase recycling rates businesses are popping up all over the world to fill the need.  Most world leaders believe that environmentally friendly technology will create millions of jobs and is likely to be the best way to not only help the environment but to stimulate the slumping world economy.  Not only are new businesses being developed every day but businesses that were already involved in the waste ... Full Story