Melbourne Water has completed the construction of six mini hydro-electricity plants at its various reservoirs.

Clothing wholesaler Gazal Apparel recently consolidated its warehousing operation to its distribution centre in Banksmeadow, NSW. In order to maximise space at the centre, high-density pallet racking and mezzanine flooring were installed. During the upgrade, consulting engineers Heggies highlighted to Gazal’s management the Building Code Association (BCA) Section J requirement for minimum energy efficiency standards.

Unit blocks, gated communities and other strata-titled properties could collect, manage and recycle water on site to take pressure off mains water, a Griffith University report has found.

In a national first, a new waste policy and recycling schemes for TVs, computers and tyres was endorsed by environment ministers at the Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) meeting in Perth on 5 November.

Two Pall mobile military water treatment systems, supplied to the Australian Army as part of a fleet of 18 systems, have been deployed as part of Operation Padang Assist, the Australian government’s humanitarian response to the recent earthquakes in Indonesia. Two water points established by the Australian Department of Defence on the beach of Padang are using the Pall-designed and -manufactured systems to convert seawater into potable water for up to 75,000 households. The water filtration systems are mobile, self-contained and can be transported by air, sea or land.

Australian recreation vehicle manufacturer Jayco optimises production at its new Dandenong production plant, with the aid of a customised energy-efficient compressed air solution from Champion Compressors.

Australian scientists are achieving the world's best production rates of oil from algae grown in open saline ponds, taking them a step closer to creating commercial quantities of clean biofuel for the future. Construction of a multimillion-dollar pilot plant in WA’s north-west will start in January.

Energex partnered with Fuji Xerox Global Services (FXGS) in 2003 to streamline the company’s document management infrastructure. It has since achieved a 23% cost reduction by consolidating its existing printer fleet and introducing more efficient multifunction devices. It has also reduced the number of devices it relies on by almost 30%, despite the company’s strong growth.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have released a new study on the installed costs of solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems in the US, showing that the average cost of these systems declined by more than 30% from 1998 to 2008. Within the last year of this period, costs fell by more than 4%.

Australia’s water is still in trouble according to a new report by the National Water Commission. 'Australian water reform 2009' is the Commission’s two-yearly assessment of progress in implementing the National Water Initiative - the blueprint for water reform that was agreed to by the Australian government and state and territory governments in 2004.

The Royal Society of London has released a major report on geoengineering - "the deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system, in order to moderate global warming". In this article, The Royal Society of New Zealand provides commentary on the UK report, highlighting issues of particular relevance to New Zealand.

McCain Foods will boost its conversion of food waste to biogas, saving on energy use and reducing landfill over the next year, says Graham Harvey, the Australia/New Zealand Operations Director,.

The mining industry is developing a new system to measure and account for water use across the sector to ensure the scarce resource is used sustainably and efficiently.

Wherever there is no main sewer, generally in rural or remote areas, there is a need for an alternative system to deal with residential human waste. There are many companies offering an individual residential wastewater treatment system, with dozens of systems appearing on the state-approved lists (including septic tanks, aerated wastewater treatment systems and sand filters). The new kid on the block is Orenco Systems Incorporated’s AdvanTex which, whilst new to Australia is well tested with over 20,000 systems installed across North America, New Zealand and parts of Europe since its launch in 2000.

Camden Soil Mix (CSM) has joined with Liverpool City Council to help close the loop on recycling using an organic enriched top-dressing mix to repair sporting fields suffering wear and tear from the winter football codes.