The agreement to send the Clemenceau, once the flagship of the French navy, to Able UK, ends an embarrassing five-year saga that had the toxic vessel being passed around the world looking for a final resting place.  The deal to scrap the 32,700-tonne Clemenceau is said to be the biggest of its kind in Europe.

The French Defence Ministry awarded the contract to Able UK after the Environment Agency issued a waste management licence that allows the Hartlepool firm to dismantle ships and oil rigs at its TERRC facility at Graythorp.  The company is due to begin recycling work on the 780ft-long (238 metre) vessel later this year. (more…)

Mercedes are determined to make their model range run on alternative fuels in order to improve costs, become more eco-friendly and because the oil supply will eventually run out.

Mercedes are set to invest around £7billion before 2014, having already invested £2million on their new long-term Sustainable Mobility plan.  This money will be spent on making current Mercedes engines even cleaner and more fuel-efficient while increasing the amount of hybrids, emission-free electric cars and clean-fuel gas engines and the further development of battery and hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Ibuyeco is the headline sponsor of the festival, which is being held over the weekend of 5th and 6th July.  The festival showcases a range of ecclectic music, including acts such as KT Tunstall, Beverley Knight, Crowded House, Paul Simon and The Bangles.

Hugh Phillmore, Cornbury Festival Organiser, commented: “We understand that bringing all the family and camping gear to Oxford for the weekend will mean most visitors have to use a car. It’s great then that ibuyeco, headline sponsor of the festival, is supporting our efforts to make Cornbury greener by offsetting CO2 emissions caused by families’ travel to the event.”

Ibuyeco offers insurance packages which offset 100% of a vehicle’s CO2 emissions for the duration of the policy. For every 1kg of the emissions produced by your vehicle’s driving each year, ibuyeco we arrange for 1kg to be saved by a climate friendly project elsewhere in the world.

That’s why I love the idea behind Myhab – an eco friendly alternative to a normal tent – inspired by the thousands of tents, left behind every year, that end up on landfills somewhere. If you fancy hiring Myhab, check out their website www.myhab.com for more info, and enjoy festivals in eco style. But remember to add eco products to your festival packing list, to make your festival experience even greener. (more…)

The conference was opened by Indonesian Environment Minister Rahmat Witoelar, who said that his country was particularly exposed to the illegal dumping of toxic waste.

“Due to its archipelagic nature, with the second longest coastal line in the world, Indonesia is vulnerable to illegal traffic of transboundary hazardous waste,” he said.

The meeting is organised under the UN Basel Convention, an international treaty regulating the global trade in hazardous waste with the aim of minimising its generation and movement across borders. (more…)

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…)

European Union lawmakers approved new targets today for the recycling and re-using of waste, and measures to reduce the amount of waste that is incinerated or dumped in landfill sites.

The European Parliament voted for the target of re-using or recycling 50% of the main types of EU household waste by 2020, and 70% of all building and demolition waste.

Europe generates a staggering 1.8 billion tonnes of waste each and every year.  This amounts to around 3.5 tonnes of waste per person, with less than a third of this waste being recycled.  About one seventh of Europe’s rubbish is municipal waste, with the rest coming from shops, restaurants, industry and agriculture.  In some member states up to 90% of its waste is sent to landfill sites. (more…)

South Norfolk Council was one of the first in the UK to fit the bins with such microchips, but has abandoned the £250,000 scheme after the council beleived the technology used to weigh the bins was unreliable.

Councillor David Bills said: “The data that was coming out was not foolproof and you must appreciate that if one is charging or reimbursing people based on data, that data has got to be correct 100% each day of the year.

“If it’s not, people are going to start querying it and it’s going to lead to all sorts of problems.” (more…)

1. Only use your car if it’s necessary. If the destination is close by, walk or bike it.

2. Keep your car well maintained. A poorly tuned engine can up fuel consumption by a massive 50 per cent.

3. Plan your journey. According to the RAC, British drivers waste the equivalent of 267 Olympic swimming pools of fuel going the wrong way. (more…)

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…)