Recycle Glass Week has kicked off in the US as the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) and Keep America Beautiful Inc team up for community-drive initiatives. With events being held across the country from 12 September to 18 September, the GPI-sponsored event will coincide with Keep America Beautiful's nationally recognized America Recycles Day. With a day to celebrate recycling coupled with a series of community-based initiatives, the event hopes to promote the importance of glass bottle and other glass products being recycled. According to Joseph Cattaneo, president of GPI, the firm is delighted to be organising community recycling drives across the country. Furthermore, ... Full Story

A new report says that residents in northern Canada are at risk from hazardous and mining waste materials that are being dumped in Ottawa communities. In a report published by Environment Canada, it was found that large gaps are existent in Canada's solid waste management regulation within its three territories. Community garbage dumps across the North were found to be filled with large amounts of heavy-industrial waste, some of which was deemed hazardous. Additionally, hazardous household items like car batteries, propane tanks and paint cans had also been dumped in landfills not authorised to dispose of such materials. According to the report, ... Full Story

Military personnel and contractors are bringing down lawsuits on Halliburton Co and KBR Inc after alleging that the two firms contaminated water supplies and air quality with toxic emissions from burning rubbish in Afghanistan and Iraq. US District Judge Roger Titus rejected the companies appeal for immunity based on combat-related activities in a Greenbelt, Maryland court yesterday citing that it may limit legal remedies for individuals that claim to have been injured by the incident. Judge Titus is overseeing the 43 lawsuits that have been brought against the two firms. According to the judge in a written statement, courts need to prepare ... Full Story

Alberta, Canada's governing body said Thursday that it would charge Suncor Energy with nine charges in the case against the energy firm alleging that it mishandled storm water runoff at a northern Alberta oil sands site in May 2008. In a statement to the firm, the Alberta government said that the company had failed to follow proper water-management plans providing for storm water runoff. Instead, the government has accused Suncor of allowing the storm water to mix with dirt and water from the construction site and flow freely into the Athabasca River. Suncor, which has thus far declined to comment, is also ... Full Story

As Russia prepares to host the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics, Sochi, the city set to host the worldwide event, is faced with disposing millions of tonnes of rubbish that have accumulated. A new report revealed Tuesday that the Black Sea resort town does not boast one legal landfill, and a majority of its sewage is being dumped directly into the ocean with no prior treatment. According to a presentation from the Audit Chamber, in some areas the waste is dumped just 50 metres from the seaside resort's beaches. Sochi won the hosting title for the upcoming Games in a bid championed 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

Just as California was poised to push through a statewide ban on plastic bag use, the legislation was shot down in a 21-14 vote within the state senate yesterday. Environmental groups have come forward to express disappointment over the failure of the bill, which had even gained support from local retail bodies like the California Grocers Association. Despite the motion being quashed on the Senate floor, however, California still continues to lead the US with many local authorities banning single-use plastic bags around the state. The US, in comparison to other world powers, is behind the curve in stopping plastic pollution. So ... Full Story

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

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 joint research team from China and the US has been studying the effects of e-waste recycling on both people and the environment. Recycled electronic waste may be the next major environmental issue on the horizon for developing countries as they try to deal with high pollution levels and a degrading environment. Scientists have now uncovered that the chemicals and toxins emitted by recycling e-waste could pose severe environmental and health risks. Scientists in both China and the US used various toxic elements, separated from a recycling workshop at an e-waste facility within China’s Shantou City. Using base technology, they filtered out ... Full Story