“New techniques based on developments in bio and nanotechnologies will provide significant improvements to the everyday management of water supplies,†Environmental Biotechnology CRC executive director and president of the International Water Association, Dr David Garman said at the American Water Works Association’s annual conference (ACE 07) in Toronto, Canada recently. [ + ]

Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) has provided local governments in Queensland with a practical guide for meeting the challenges of climate change. [ + ]

An undercover survey of City of Sydney supermarkets shows that plastic bag use is again on the rise, despite the promises of retailers to reduce consumption. The survey results give strong support for the announcement by State and federal environment ministers that plastic bags will be phased out by January 2009. [ + ]

Conference producers Communique Australasia have gathered leaders in corporate competitive sustainability from across Australia and the UK to examine how to boost organisational profit through sustainable development, over a 1.5 day conference. [ + ]

A dramatic increase in recycling, as well as a reduction in daily cleaning times of between 40 to 60 minutes each day, is a spectacular outcome for Kiama Municipal Council, since the installation of an innovative under desk recycling system at the beginning of 2007. [ + ]

Australia is preparing to play a leading role in helping to fight contamination round the world with the launch of a new clean-up industry group. [ + ]

From the 1 July 2007, Utility Services, ‘us’, is to be the provider of water, sewer and stormwater network maintenance services for Metrowater, New Zealand’s largest water retailer. [ + ]

New techniques based on developments in bio- and nanotechnologies will provide significant improvements to the everyday management of water supplies, according to Dr David Garman, Environmental Biotechnology CRC executive director and president of the International Water Association. [ + ]

Huhtamaki Australia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with environmental waste partner, SITA. The agreement will support Bioware, a range of renewable plant resource-based food packaging products made from biodegradable and compostable materials, launched by global packaging company Huhtamaki. [ + ]

The realities and exciting opportunities around trading in a sustainable New Zealand were on the agenda as the government engaged with business and industry, according to Environment Minister David Benson-Pope. [ + ]

Australia’s sea levels will rise by several metres by the end of the century due to rapidly increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, according to research from a group of international scientists. [ + ]

An international research team, including three CSIRO scientists, has thrown new light on the way that carbon dioxide produced by industrial activities in the Northern Hemisphere is absorbed by vegetation across the globe, particularly in tropical regions. [ + ]

A western Sydney council and a State government department have joined forces to use recycled garden waste to help transform a former landfill into parkland. They are holding an open day next week to explain to other councils and land managers how it’s done. [ + ]

The Ensus Group has announced that it has secured investment for the ‘world-scale green fuels’ facility, which plans an annual production capacity of 400 million L. [ + ]

Our understanding of our planet's structure, climate and the impact of climate change through global warming is to be dramatically increased by a new space mission. [ + ]