The labour-intensive process of dismantling e-waste places economic limits on how much material can be recycled. To help solve this problem, Buyequip has partnered with prison industries at the Southern Queensland Correctional Centre near Gatton. This partnership is boosting material recovery rates while providing important employment opportunities for prisoners. [ + ]

Footprint is an online monitoring tool developed by Melbourne-based iota. Using the tool, organisations can monitor and quickly review every aspect of their environmental footprint.The City of Greater Dandenong uses Footprint to monitor water and electricity usage across meters in 18 locations. [ + ]

Now in its third year, World Green Building Week (17-21 September) showcases green buildings and communities and the role they play in reducing the global carbon footprint and saving money, while also creating jobs, boosting productivity, health and learning, and improving lives. This year, green building councils in 92 countries, representing more than 30,000 organisations, will participate - hosting events, running campaigns and more. [ + ]

Vodafone is introducing an Eco Rating scheme for mobile phones to provide its customers with information on the environmental impact and ethical performance involved in the manufacture and life cycle of many mobile phones. The ratings will be displayed alongside the phones participating in the ratings in its stores from 12 September. The scheme was also launched in New Zealand by Vodafone. [ + ]

While extreme weather events will inevitably impact water quality, the biggest risk to public health is not the intensity of these events but their increasingly close proximity to one another, UNSW researchers warn. [ + ]

An advanced processing technology being pioneered at UNSW to improve the efficiency of first-generation silicon solar cells has turned two solar manufacturers into unlikely collaborators. The School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering has signed a collaborative research agreement with Suntech Power and Hanwha Solar, the first such agreement between the school and two competing companies. [ + ]

The Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is claimed to be the largest wastewater treatment plant in the Adelaide region, processing almost 70% of Adelaide’s metropolitan wastewater. The South Australian Government has approved a $25.8 million project for SA Water to optimise the energy utilisation on the site. This project will provide a major upgrade to the WWTP power supply by the installation of on-site electricity generation fuelled with the digester gas produced during the treatment plant process.  The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and support for renewable energy projects are aligned with the state’s strategic plan. [ + ]

The first offset projects under the national Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) have been approved, with four landfill sites set to reap environmental rewards by capturing harmful greenhouse gases from waste. [ + ]

Simons Green Energy has designed, and is supplying and installing, the 1200 kWe of natural gas fired cogeneration at the soon to be completed Little Creatures Brewery in Geelong. The installation of the cogeneration system will provide a large portion of the brewery’s electricity demands and will use the waste heat generated by the engines to provide hot water for the numerous process heating applications. The units will be configured to run parallel to the grid, meaning that the only energy to be purchased from the grid will be that over and above what the engines can supply, which is expected to be very little. [ + ]

The road to clean technology is not a smooth one. It requires the spending of time and money to get ideas off the ground, and then a change in attitude in order for other people to implement these ideas. The challenge of overcoming these issues was discussed at the opening panel session of GE Australia’s ‘At Work’ event, held in Sydney from 21-22 August. [ + ]

MPower has recently completed the design, supply and installation of a trigeneration plant for the Tyree Energy Technology Building at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). The trigeneration system helped the university to achieve the Six Star Green Star design rating for the building. As the power generation equipment is located on the roof of the building, space plus noise and vibration levels were challenging. [ + ]

McConnell Dowell is using Campbell Scientific data loggers and sensors within its new weather monitoring and marine navigation system installed at Hay Point in North Queensland. The main purpose of the system is for Operations Health & Safety, ensuring safe working conditions for McConnell Dowell personnel. [ + ]

Engineers at Oregon State University have made a breakthrough in the performance of microbial fuel cells that can produce electricity directly from wastewater, opening the door to a future in which waste treatment plants will not only power themselves, but will sell excess electricity. [ + ]

Sustainability can be a hard idea to wrap your head around because it’s so broad. So here are two ways we want to think about it at Xylem: first, we have a global definition - meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs; and second, we have a business definition - generating shareholder value by controlling risks and capitalising on opportunities associated with environmental and socioeconomic issues. [ + ]

These are interesting days for product stewardship. The days of strict extended producer responsibility (EPR) being forced by governments upon unsuspecting and entirely unwilling industries have waned. Recycling at end of life is no longer seen as the sole means of demonstrating product stewardship. Broader aspects of sustainability and their roles in reducing the life-cycle impacts of products across supply chains are recognised more than ever before. [ + ]