Sustainability! Do the major parties have a clue? Green Capital’s ten-point hit list caused debate at its recent Politics of Sustainability event. Whoever wins the looming federal election will need to take immediate action to create the building blocks for Australia’s transition to a green economy. Here are the Green Capital top tips for action.

The Glenelg to Adelaide Park Lands Recycled Water project is designed to provide a replacement for billions of litres of drinking water previously used for irrigation and significantly reduce treated wastewater levels in the Gulf St Vincent.

The drumMUSTER program continues to provide an effective recycling service for Australian ag and vet chemical users. The 15 millionth drum was delivered in Central Victoria to the Nagambie Transfer Station by Tahbilk Winery & Vineyard.

Wattamolla lagoon and surf beach is a picturesque and popular swimming spot, nestled amongst rugged cliffs. Less than an hour south of Sydney, and also part of the network of bushwalks through the Royal National Park, the picnic area is heavily used in the summer.

An open net premium oil boom by Spillfyter has been playing a key role in the spill clean-up in the Gulf of Mexico. The boom is claimed to have a higher wicking rate than conventional marine booms and the oil saturation level is easily visible due to the more open structure. The boom includes standard features such as snap hook joins for effective overlap and is available in various lengths.

Bundaberg Council has recently selected the Volvo FE for its next waste collection units in order to reduce its environmental impact and improve operator comfort. The council will also be using Volvo’s Dynafleet fleet management system which tracks every aspect of truck performance.

Can light-coloured rooftops and roads really curb carbon emissions and combat global climate change? The idea has been around for years. A new study by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - the first to use a global model to study the question - has found that implementing cool roofs and cool pavements in cities around the world can not only help cities stay cooler, they can also cool the world, with the potential of cancelling the heating effect of up to two years of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions.

Sales and investment in the voluntary carbon market have stagnated in the last six months under the impact of federal government policy confusion, according to the latest update of the Carbon Offset Guide.

The waste sector in Australia has significantly advanced over time with developments in technology and research. This has not only introduced advanced/alternative waste technologies (AWT) but has also enhanced waste recycling programs and techniques. Despite all the advances, landfills still exist and need to be managed appropriately. This can create a significant expense for councils. Phytocapping is a relatively new technology that has been trialled in Australia and could provide a beneficial alternative technique for landfill remediation, especially for small to medium-sized sites.

According to GE Energy’s Australian CEO Tim Rourke, Australia is currently positioned to be one of the world’s dominant forces in renewable energy … as long as the government continues to support stable policy making in this area.

The delay of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) until 2013 certainly slows investment in the renewable energy sector and favours only highly profitable/low CapEx projects. Despite the ETS delay, there are two incentives remaining for energy consumers to cut fossil fuel consumption: rising fuel prices and the generation of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).

CSR's new HQ achieves a 5 Star Green Star - Office Interiors v1.1 rating for the fit-out of the Triniti III building in the Stockland Triniti campus at North Ryde.

A CO₂ mineral carbonation plant is set to be built in NSW, in a joint venture between GreenMag Group and the University of Newcastle, thanks to $3 million seed funding announced by the NSW Minister for Mineral Resources for a pilot project.

NIWA scientists put better nitrogen management on the farm to the test, assessing techniques for the mitigation of pastoral greenhouse gas emissions.

Wastewater biosolids have typically been considered a waste product and management has focused on disposal and volume minimisation. However, with rising energy costs and the focus on sustainability, lower carbon footprint and energy independence within utilities, there is increasing interest in recovering the energy inherently available in biosolids.