SMi's 8th annual conference on Energy from Waste will bring together industry professionals and local councils working in waste, bioenergy, environmental services and infrastructure finance. It will strengthen knowledge in key topics such as, merchant funding, recycling and European trade, while looking at the practicalities of biomass gasification and keeping attendees at the forefront of technological breakthroughs to adapt to the growing need for greener energy. Understanding European Union initiatives surrounding the circular economy and British policy around energy production and waste management will be a major focus, as will hearing from a selection of local councils currently implementing energy to waste projects. This will include case studies from the Greater London Authority, Southwark Council, North London Waste Authority, Sutton council, the Welsh Government and North Yorkshire County Council. An exclusive update on the energy from waste industry from the Enviro…

Up until a few decades ago, being a brick-maker in India unequivocally meant moulding clay bricks by hand and manufacturing them in coal-fired kilns. This backbreaking work predestined brick-makers to wretched conditions, long hours and exposure to high levels of soot, a scourge on the lungs. While this scenario is still an everyday reality for many, those that are modernising their practices are getting the chance to dramatically improve their working conditions while drastically cutting air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. This change is thanks to two Indian scientists who, in 1986, came up with a new technology that revolutionized age-old brick-making practices. Dr Bhanumathidas and Mr N Kalidas created what they call Fal-G technology, so called after its key ingredients: fly-ash; lime; and gypsum. This climate-friendly technology produces bricks without using top soil and completely eliminates the use of coal. What makes these bricks so exceptional is their use of…

Scotland is to become the home of one of the world's most advanced glass recycling facilities, after Scottish Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead yesterday officially opened a £25m new facility in North Lanarkshire. Developed by waste and recycling services giant Viridor, the new plant in Newhouse employs smart technologies, including 15 "scientific eye" optical sorters and x-ray sorters, to deliver what the company describes as one of the best material recovery rates in the world. FURTHER READING The firm said the new facility, which has been developed on a recovered "waste crime site", can recover up to 97 per cent of input materials while delivering 99 per cent product purity. Viridor said the 70,000 square foot site, which is just one of three similar facilities globally, will create 30 full-time jobs. Ian McAuley, chief executive of Viridor, said the new plant provided a significant boost to the Scottish Government's circular economy strategy, by ensuring waste mate…

European countries should look at their own poor enforcement of electronic waste management laws before blaming exporters dumping old computers in Africa for their failure to meet key environmental targets, a new report claims today. Research undertaken by INTERPOL and the United Nations among others, shows 10 times more discarded electronics are mismanaged within Europe than are exported. The study, Countering WEEE Illegal Trade (CWIT), confirms the EU remains way off track in its efforts to meet its e-waste goals, which are designed to ensure the environmentally safe disposal of computers, hairdryers, and other electrical goods that contain toxic components.  Just 35 per cent of the 9.5 million tonnes of electrical equipment chucked out by Europeans in 2012 was disposed of in an environmentally safe manner, causing pollution and forcing countries to miss out on valuable tax receipts, the report states. The current level of eWaste recovery is far below the EU's minimum coll…

What do Apple, Microsoft and Motorola have in common? All of these high-profile technology companies are harvesting new revenue out of discarded and end-of-life gadgets, rather than looking at them just as liabilities that require responsible recycling. What's more, all three are among the roughly 100 organisations using Hong Kong's Li Tong Group (aka LTG) to get the job done. FURTHER READING LTG, a specialist in reverse logistics, operates a network of 21 facilities in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. You can think of it as a contract "un-manufacturer" - an organisation authorized to take apart smartphones, computer networking equipment and other electronics devices. LTG handles items that are traded in, returned or unsold. "There is inevitably going to be excess or obsolete inventory. The dilemma is how to recover this while adding to the bottom and top line," said Linda Li, chief strategy officer of reverse logistics. "Smelting is not enough." The chall…

For most brands, the launch of a sustainability strategy would see the publication of ambitious targets to cut carbon emissions, often accompanied by great swathes of data demonstrating exactly how many lights will be turned off per square metre of office space. Dorel-Juvenile, the product manufacturer behind childcare brands such as Maxi-Cosi, Bébé Confort and Quinny, is taking a markedly different approach in its latest sustainability strategy, launched last month. FURTHER READING Instead of focusing on the carbon impact of its business operations, it has adopted a more holistic view of its role in its consumers' carbon-intensive lifestyles. The result is a sustainability strategy that aims to encourage greener, more socially conscious lifestyles through a radical rethink of the products and services Dorel-Juvenile offers. By 2020, the firm has pledged that more than 20 per cent of its sales will come from new sustainability solutions, which fall under two main catego…