Councils recognised for tackling e-waste
22 June, 2011Last week, the Senate unanimously passed the Product Stewardship Bill, a major milestone in the delivery of Australia’s long-term National Waste Policy. With over 90% of a mobile phone and its accessories recyclable, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association is committed to the development of a long-term, integrated, e-waste collection service that is funded by industry, accepts all types of electronic waste and is free to all Australians. The efforts of over 300 local councils across Australia in tackling mobile phone e-waste were recognised at the MobileMuster Local Government Awards during the National General Assembly for Local Government in Canberra, on 21 June 2011.
O-I champions glass as consumer favourite
08 June, 2011CEOs, environmentalists and parents have joined an Owens-Illinois (O-I) marketing campaign to champion glass as a sustainable consumer choice.
Pineapple and banana fibre for car making
26 May, 2011Scientists in Brazil have developed a more effective way to use fibres from pineapple, bananas and other plants in a new generation of automotive plastics that are stronger, lighter and more eco-friendly than plastics now in use.
Sustainable food packaging films launched
17 May, 2011Wipak has released a range of sustainable food packaging films using Cardia Biohybrid technology.
Rayoface NB films for linerless packaging label
27 April, 2011 byInnovia Films, producer of Biaxially-Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) films and cellulose substrates for a variety of labelling techniques, has launched a range of films suitable for linerless label applications, called Rayoface NB. As the label is applied directly to the pack, a reduction of over 30% to the labelling waste and weight is claimed to be achieved.
NatureFlex cellulose-based biofilm
27 April, 2011 byInnovia Films has announced that its cellulose-based biofilm NatureFlex meets the Australian AS4736 standard for biodegradable plastics suitable for composting and other microbial treatment.
Advance towards making biodegradable plastics from waste chicken feathers
11 April, 2011In a scientific advance literally plucked from the waste heap, scientists have described a key step towards using the billions of waste chicken feathers produced each year to make one of the more important kinds of plastic. They described the new method at the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, which was held in Anaheim in March 2011.
Beverage containers made from by-products
06 April, 2011PepsiCo announced last month a beverage container packaging called the Green bottle to compete with the PlantBottle which was announced by Coca-Cola Company in 2009 and is already in use. Both the bottles are being made from by-products of each company’s food production facilities.
PEF to cement kiln
31 March, 2011 bySITA-ResourceCo has signed a 15-year offtake agreement to supply 75,000 tonnes per annum of process engineered fuel (PEF) to the Adelaide Brighton Cement kiln in Birkenhead, South Australia.
Cardia Bioplastics certified compostable bags
31 March, 2011Cardia Bioplastics launched an extensive range of certified compostable bags at Auspack Plus 2011. The functional and easy-to-use bags will be sold direct to the public or through authorised distributors in Australia and New Zealand.
OnVu ICE time temperature indicator
28 February, 2011 byThe OnVu ICE time temperature indicator can be used on food packaging to monitor the cold chain for chilled and deep-frozen food. Manufacturers, retailers and consumers will be able to tell at a glance whether ice-cream, pizza, fish or any other products were kept constantly deep-frozen or should rather be discarded because the cold chain was interrupted significantly.
Clean energy from contaminated land
23 February, 2011 byA team of Australian and Chinese scientists has pioneered a new way to make clean energy from land contaminated with toxic waste.
Shopping centre recycles food waste
07 February, 2011Erina Fair shopping centre is set to recycle 250 tonnes every year with waste management technology.
The rising tide of plastics in landfill
07 February, 2011 by Dr Kevin Thomson, Director, Eco Products AgencyAustralia is now sending more than 1 million tonnes of plastic waste to landfill each year. This figure will continue to rise, reaching at least 1.5 million tonnes by 2030, due to increasing plastics consumption and an increasing proportion of durable plastic goods entering the waste stream.
SITA completes WSN purchase
02 February, 2011SITA Environmental Solutions (SITA) has said its acquisition of the former state government-owned WSN Environmental Solutions (WSN) signalled a new era for resource recovery and recycling in the New South Wales waste management industry.
