Energy Ministers attending the international talks on cleaner energy in London over the course of this week have unitedly pledged to oversee the improvement of energy efficiency in appliances and equipment. The ministers agreed to an initiative that it is hoped will save consumers in excess of $1 trillion by 2014. Just one of a string of announcements that were made on the third-ever Clean Energy Ministerial's closing day in London yesterday, a dozen governments signed on the dotted line to accelerate then expand a new $20 million global programme that will deploy 'super-efficient’ appliances as well as equipment. The Governments participating ... Full Story

Mexico today followed the UK and Scotland's footsteps by enacting ambitious climate change legislation. Mexico's Senate voted to favour the climate law unanimously. The move makes the North American country the world's third nation to begin enshrining emissions-reduction targets into nationwide laws. The UK and Scotland were the only countries to take up such action until now. Mexico's new law will see it cutting emissions by at least 50 per cent by the year 2050 with international support while generating 35 per cent of all electricity from reliably clean sources by the year 2024. Remarkably, the law covers emissions that come from ... Full Story

Hollywood action legend Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that the time for talking is over while launching a new initiative that aims to have the planet's first realistic sustainable world model developed by 2020. Named 'Sustainia', the project was launched in Geneva, Switzerland, and is an ambitious collaboration to identify companies and individuals that can make needed changes to create a more sustainable society. The scheme's aim is to push government decision-makers into creating necessary policies that will improve quality of life for the world's population. The former governor of California, Schwarzenegger is heading the initiative and is joined by a committee of the ... Full Story

Officials at sceptic think-tank the Heartland Institute have claimed that at least one recently-leaked email that exposed the strategy it will adopt on climate change was fake. The organisation, based in the US, also said that some "stolen" documents might have been altered. It vowed to bring the culprit responsible to justice and have him or her locked behind bars for having committed such crimes. In a bizarre statement that followed later, the Heartland Institute acknowledged that some of the details in the supposedly fake email were correct as it made an apology to donors who had  their identities revealed. The Heartland ... Full Story

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