An additional NZ $1 million in government funding over the next two years is going to see new e-waste depots opening around New Zealand while a campaign is launched to get people making sure they recycle more. Although this might be so, the yearly e-Day collection in the Southern Hemisphere country won’t be going ahead, as confirmed by a government spokesman. New Zealand’s Environment Minister Nick Smith was in Wellington to announce the funding at the official opening of the new Wellington e-Cycle Recycling Facility located at Seaview, in the Lower Hutt area of the city. The facility, in addition others based in ... Full Story

General Motors announced that it achieved its goal for global operations, which it had outlined in 2008, to convert 50 per cent of 145 existing plants to a landfill-free status before the end of 2010. At present, the company now has 52 per cent of its plants that operate on a zero-landfill policy. The equivalent of 76 of its facilities, worldwide, either reduce, reuse or convert the waste to energy or other reusable items. The first facility for GM to achieve a zero-landfill status was an engine plant in Michigan, which reached its status in 2005. On average, ... 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

A firm in Utah is looking for permission to burn radioactive waste shipped from Germany at its Oak Ridge incinerator facility. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has opened up a forum for comments at the request of EnergySolutions, which wants to burn around 1,000 tonnes of German hazardous waste at its plant in Oak Ridge. It would then return the waste ashes back to Germany for further disposal. A spokesman for the NRC, David McIntyre said on Tuesday that the request was received on 30 November and the NRC would allow a 30-day window for comments. The public ... Full Story

Stericycle, a medical waste management service, announced its acquisition of the US-based Healthcare Waste Solutions subject to adjustments to the proposal. The medical waste service provider will purchase the Delaware-based medical waste firm for $245 million in cash. As a portfolio company of Altaris Capital Partners, Healthcare Waste offers a waste stream service for healthcare providers in the US. Contingent to the deal, Stericycle’s SAMW Acquisition Corp unit and Healthcare Waste Solutions will become one company in a merger at the close of the acquisition, said Stericycle in a statement. On Wednesday day, Stericycle’s shares closed at 80 cents at $69.75 on ... Full Story

The US Environmental Protection Agency said that it will propose new regulations to reduce the amount of mercury waste generated by dental offices beginning next year. The proposed law, which could be finalised by 2012, will reverse an EPA policy from the Bush administration that gave dentists voluntary guidelines to reduce mercury waste. The new rule will require dentists to install a device that allows the mercury from old fillings to be reused or recycled. According to Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project and a forerunner on the National Mercury Products Campaign, the proposal by the current EPA to end ... Full Story

Canadian Equipment Rental Fund has said that its shareholders approved a reverse takeover of 4-Way Equipment Rentals Corp, based in Edmonton. Under the new agreement, CERP will begin transferring all its assets including property and rights related to its business to 4-Way and in exchange receive class A shares in the new company. At the close of the exchange, 4-Way will become a subsidiary of the partnership – which will remain listed as TSX Venture Exchange. All transactions are expected to be completed by 1 October. CERP has said that shareholders at the meeting voted a 100 per cent majority in favour ... 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

US-based biofuels firm, Fiberight has secured a 20-year deal with Britian’s TMO Renewables worth more than $25 million per year. The American biofuels company, which turns solid municipal waste into bioethanol, will use a process developed by the UK-based renewables firm. TMO uses a system based around common bacteria that has been developed from compost heaps. The process – which converts biomass in fuel ethanol – will be introduced into 15 new facilities that will be designed and built throughout the US, TMO announced. According to Fiberight’s CEO Craig Stuart-Paul, the firms, combined, will become the largest producers of bio ethanol within ... Full Story

Yahoo! Has announced the opening of its new data centre that mirrors the design of a chicken coop. Designed to be completely sustainable, the new centre is part of a fifth-generation design and to date the most efficient one. Made specifically for the company, the building can cool itself completely with a built-in evaporative cooling system that balances temperatures and humidity within the facility. According to Scott Noteboom. Yahoo! Head of Global Data Center Operations, the centre provides a huge opportunity to gain efficiency being the fifth generation in a series of designs.  Mr Noteboom further added that design of the building ... Full Story

In a new move, conceptual artist Matthew Mazzotta has found a way to resuse dog feces to bring light to a park in Massachusetts. The Project Park Spark, funded by local university MIT, uses a ‘methane digester’ to convert the scooped poop into methane to power lampposts in the dog park. Dog owners are required by law to pick up after their pets. Now they can use specially provided biodegradable bags to put their poop into the ‘digester’ and give-back to the park’s lighting system Using an air-tight cylindrical container, the dog poop is broken down using anaerobic digestion techniques. A byproduct ... 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