Rotorua has just received a $1 million grant to construct its new human waste processing plant. New Zealand Environment Minister Nick Smith announced that the funding would be granted to the council from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund. Making a statement at Scion yesterday, the Minister said that the project would benefit both Rotorua and the country overall. He added that the nation prided itself in using methods that were 100 per cent pure and said that Rotorua would have a challenge in that a large portion of the population lives away from the coast. The minister further said that New Zealand ... Full Story

The green light has been given for a controversial new biomass incinerator slated to be built in Glenavy. The North’s Environment Minister Edwin Poots approved the power plant yesterday amidst strong protests from Co Antrim residents and environmental groups. Upon completion, the proposed plant will generate enough electricity to power up to 25,000 residences. Rose Energy is behind the move, which is a joint venture firm comprised of the three largest poultry producers in the area; O’Kane Poultry, Glenfarm Holdings and Moy Park. The new facility will also bring 40 new jobs into the area as well as provide construction jobs for ... Full Story

Construction began today on the world’s first ever industrial scale waste-to-biofuel facility. Being built by privately-owned Enerkem Inc, the $75 million plant will be in Edmonton, Alberta and be able to generate enough biofuel to run over 400,000 vehicles each year using a five per cent ethanol fuel blend. Canada has been taking a forefront in the internationally community in biofuel investments as a means to reduce its carbon footprint. The country will announce in September that all petrol must have five per cent renewable content. Enerkem has obtained a 25-year agreement with the local Edmonton council to use 100,000 tonnes of ... 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

According to Local Government Minister Rodney Hide, Aucklanders’ will save up to 20 per cent on their water bills as soon as next July. As the Super City Council looks to outline new ratepayer gains, the announcement follows Auckland’s water providers being consolidated into one firm, Watercare Services Limited. The new utility will introduce one tariff that will cover 1,000 litres for $1.30 as opposed to the previous range of $1.31 to $2.33. According to Mr Hide, the council has reviewed 11 reports that stated that one water agency would lead to significant savings for local residents. Wastewater charges have not yet ... Full Story

A new report indicates that coal waste could be threatening the water supply in up to 21 US states. While the US Environmental Protection Agency reviews new federal regulations for coal ash waste, it could be posing a bigger problem than has previously been documented. The study, which was run jointly by the Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice and the Sierra Club, shows that there are 39 sites spread across 21 states that have contaminated groundwater as a direct result of coal ash dumping by utility firms. In some areas, the coal ash waste has even affected surface water. These figures are in ... Full Story

Royal Dutch Shell Plc announced Thursday that it will begin commercial demonstrations of its new equipment designed to reduce waste pools that are created by Canada’s oil sands extraction industry. It also confirmed that the new tech will be made available for competitors as well. Shell executives have said, however, that it is still not certain if the new technology will be up to standard with a new directive outlined by the Alberta government. The waste pools, known in the industry as tailing ponds, are a mixture of silt, sand and the residual oil leftover from using hot water to separate ... Full Story

A proposal for a series of waste plants in Basildon, Rivenhall and Colchester has been met with controversy after a new document revealed the initial plans. Essex County Council will launch a consultation detailing where the county’s waste is being sent and how best to manage it. County Hall has requested that companies begin submitting proposals for ways to better handle household black bag waste. The winning scheme will be selected by the council to receive a £100million in private grant funding. Initially reports indicated that just one major waste processing facility, which would encompass recycling, treatment, composting and energy recovery would ... Full Story

A new scheme in Cleveland will see residents having to ensure their recycling is out in a timely manner or risk receiving a fine of $100. As the fine-based recycling schemes grow in popularity worldwide, many local authorities in the UK and US have taken to adopting the scheme. Prior to the coalition government’s announcement that the UK would focus primarily on rewards-based recycling, councils across the country were beginning to adopt penalty-based initiatives. This latest scheme in the US city in Ohio will see RFID smart chips placed into bins in order to monitor which residents are placing rubbish out on ... Full Story

A waste company has been placed in administration following a large fire that has ruined the firm. With the North Yorkshire-based company going into administration, more than 30 jobs in the area are expected to be lost. The firm, which was forced to make 33 of its 37 staff redundant this week, suffered staggering losses after its facility at Marston Moor Business Park in Tockwith was consumed by the blaze. BCB Environmental Management Ltd will retain the remaining five members of its staff to oversee clean-up at the site, but then will make them redundant as well. Sheffield’s P&A Partnership will take ... Full Story

In a new report by the US Department of Labour, the number of deaths within the solid waste collection industry has declined significantly since 2009. Compared with figures in 2008, the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, revealed that the fatality rate in both landfill and solid waste collection employees has continued to drop in recent years. The report shows that both refuse and recyclable materials collectors have seen 12 fewer fatalities during 2009, which constitutes a 39 per cent drop in deaths in the industry. With 31 deaths in 2008, there were just 19 ... Full Story

The plan’s for the controversial new waste processing plant proposed for North Yorkshire will be released to the public during the next few days, councilors have said. Aimed at diverting waste in the area from landfill, the proposed waste incinerator has met with protests from local residents and environmental groups. The facility, which will include a multi-million pound incinerator, will be able to process hundreds of tonnes of rubbish per year for the council. However, the facility, to be built at Allerton Waste Recovery Park, has met with large amounts of public disapproval. This has prompted those supporting the scheme to ... Full Story