The changes have been made through the Waste Management (Landfill Levy) Order 2008, which amends section 73(3) of the Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2008.

The levy builds on a €20 a tonne tax which is already in place in Ireland for waste which is sent to an unauthorised landfill facility. This means that persons responsible for the illegal deposition must pay the levy and remove the waste, as required by Section 60 Policy Direction, and remediate the land, apart from any other penalties that may be imposed through the courts.

McDonalds have utilised a fresh idea to marketing by having a billboard built which actually grows.  The billboard, created for McDonalds by ad-maker Leo Burnett, contained different varieties of lettuce used by McDonalds which spelt out ”Fresh Salads” as the lettuce grew.  (more…)

Mr. Horbach, 45, was most recently Group CEO of Suzlon Energy, a leading global Euro 2.5bn wind energy business.  Previously he had a 19-year career as a manager and CEO of a diverse group of General Electric’s industrial and consumer businesses throughout Europe.

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The union organisation said the Government should work more closely with employers and unions to help promote training programmes for workers, make workplaces greener and invest in renewable technology.

Germany has created a renewable energy sector employing almost 500,000 workers with a turnover of 19 billion euro, while the UK employs just 7,000 employees, generating 280 million euro, said the TUC.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “Our European competitors are showing that there is a lot of money and jobs in the green economy but the UK Government is barely off the starting blocks compared to countries like Germany and Denmark. (more…)

Paramedics from the West Midlands Ambulance Service were unable to save him and he was confirmed dead at the scene. The accident happened at around 11am yesterday and a post-mortem was being held today.

Ray Prichard of the Health and Safety Executive said the death was being investiagted.

He said: “The Health and Safety Executive has been notified. Inspectors were on site straight after the incident to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and to work alongside police and coroner.”

The purpose of the Best Green Companies Awards is to acknowledge, pulicise and encourage businesses and other organisations, which are striving to improve their environmental performance. 

Number one on the list is J C Atkinson and Son who manufacture coffins.  The coffins are made from paulownia, a lightweight, fast-growing wood farmed on plantations in the Far East.  The wood is ready to harvest in just seven years, compared to oak, elm and mahogany which can take up to 40 years.  Paulownia have massive leaves which soak up large amounts of C02 and other greenhouse gases.  Due to this the company has been accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council for sourcing wood from sustainable forests.  (more…)

The Crossgates waste depot run by Viridor in Redditch was initially closed while inquiries were being carried out.  Viridor said that it had informed customers of the difficult situation and provided alternative arrangements to minimise disruption to its waste and recycling services.  This included sending material to other Viridor operated material recycling facilities in the region, such as its facility in Ipswich.

A post-mortem examination on the body has proved inconclusive and further tests are now being carried out.  The identity, age and ethnicity of the man are not yet known and the death is currently being treated as “unexplained”. 

Collecting garbage and recyclables in California is about to get a lot cleaner, thanks to a joint venture between Linde North America and Waste Management that will create the world’s largest facility to convert landfill gas into clean vehicle fuel.

Waste Management, North America’s largest waste management company, and Linde North America – part of The Linde Group, a leading global gases and engineering company, today announced a joint venture to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, located at the Altamont Landfill near Livermore, California to convert landfill gas into a clean vehicle fuel. The project offers a unique opportunity to “close the loop” by fueling hundreds of collection trucks with clean fuel produced from garbage. (more…)

VT Group will begin construction of new facilities and infrastructure in 2009, and in the meantime will take over the existing facilities, where it is expected to benefit from initial revenues following financial close some time in 2008. The company will subsequently manage the waste recycling sites for a 25 year period.

Wakefield has already secured government Private Finance Initiative (PFI) funding of £33 million for the project, which is valued at £700 million. (more…)

The Wellingborough magistrates were told that the failure to recycle had been revealed during a routine enquiry in November 2006.  The company said that it had been unaware of the rules regarding recycling and had probably made the person responsible redundant during restructuring of the company.

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