Yarra Valley Water is using water-quality monitoring probes as part of a trial to deliver sewerage services to the Melbourne suburb of Park Orchards. According to project manager David Diaz, the probes will help monitor the health of the local environment to assess whether containing all treated sewage from septic tanks on each property is an environmentally sound sewerage solution. [ + ]

Start-up company Refoil has partnered with haircare brand De Lorenzo's ASPYA program for the inaugural 'Foilest Challenge' - a competition aimed at reducing foil waste in hair salons. [ + ]

The State of the Water Sector Report 2014 was released today by Deloitte and the Australian Water Association (AWA) at the National Water Policy Summit. AWA Chief Executive Jonathan McKeown said the report is based on a survey of over 1000 professionals working across Australia's water industry, both urban and rural. [ + ]

Superannuation and investment company Australian Ethical has announced its 2014 Community Grants program is now open, with $100,000 available to not-for-profit organisations, social enterprises and community projects. [ + ]

Yingli Solar has been announced as the first solar PV module manufacturer to successfully pass the Australian Solar Council's Positive Quality inspection program. The program was announced in May this year in order to help distinguish between high- and low-quality solar panels. [ + ]

Sustainability Victoria CEO Stan Krpan has announced $3.2 million in Victorian Government funding to develop new transfer stations and resource recovery centres at closing landfill sites in rural and regional Victoria, in addition to the $600,000 already allocated to build new transfer stations on the sites of closed landfills. [ + ]

Ten schools and youth groups across Australia will get a natural turf makeover to help green up their outdoor learning and play areas, as part of the 2014 Perfect Pitch of Green Program. The program was previously known as Perfect Patch of Green and is now in its third year. [ + ]

The Australian and Northern Territory governments have announced Solar SETuP - a $55 million project to bring solar power to remote communities in the Northern Territory. The project was launched on Sunday by Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane, NT Chief Minister Adam Giles and Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) CEO Ivor Frischknecht. [ + ]

A national tour to tackle Australia's decline in urban green space will begin next week, kicking off in Adelaide on 14 October before heading to other major cities around the country. [ + ]

Food manufacturing specialist Wiley has been acknowledged at the Queensland Master Builders Association (QMBA) State Awards for designing and constructing a world-class biogas and water treatment plant for meat processing company JBS Australia. [ + ]

The University of New South Wales has become the first university in the Group of Eight to publish a stand-alone, publicly available sustainability report. [ + ]

The Australasian Waste and Recycling Expo (AWRE 2014) is running from 9-10 October at Sydney Olympic Park. Now in its fifth year, the expo enables attendees to interact with the latest technology, equipment and solutions from over 100 specialist suppliers. [ + ]

CETA, a distributor of energy-related hardware and software products, has appointed Control Logic as its Australian distributor. The company's product portfolio includes meters, communication devices and an energy-management software platform. [ + ]

Researchers from Victoria University of Wellington are helping to improve the efficiency of next-generation solar cells made from materials like plastics. Their work has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. [ + ]

Scientists from The Ohio State University (OSU) have succeeded in combining a battery and a solar cell into one hybrid device, described as the world's first solar battery. [ + ]