May
28

By

Government caught with hidden pollution budget blowout

Category: Greenpeace, National Tags:

Blogpost by Nathan Argent – May 20, 2015 at 12:19Add comment

The bean counters at the Treasury have warned government that failing to reduce pollution in New Zealand could cost the taxpayer an eye watering, economy wrecking $52 billion. And John Key’s government want to keep the public in the dark about it.

On the eve of the Government delivering yet another broken budget and a seventh consecutive overspend, one of John Key’s ministers yesterday said Treasury should keep the true cost of climate pollution from the public.

When asked about this figure in Parliament, the reply from Tim Groser was “what Treasury got wrong was that it did not use sufficiently sophisticated software to conceal the redacted information”. In other words, don’t front it to the public.

The Government is currently running a hurried consultation on what pollution reduction targets should be submitted as part of our contribution to solve climate change. And to justify doing next to nothing, they are arguing that the cost of taking pollution out of the economy would be too great.

Yet the reality is that failing to act would cause a budget blow out that would bring our nation to its knees.

See, the maths on this is pretty simple. New Zealand could continue to be part of the problem of climate change by opening up vast areas of our coastline and wild areas to oil and gas exploration and turn a blind eye to the massive impact that dairy pollution is having on our rivers and streams. Both of which threaten to cost you, me and our children tens of billions of dollars.

Or we could be part of the solution. By taking real climate action, we could create many tens of thousands of job in our clean energy industries, give our economy a year on year multi-billion dollar boost and slash our oil import bill by $7 billion. We could run our transport system largely on clean energy and power our homes with solar, cutting our household bills.

Taxpayers deserve to know the true cost of pollution to our economy and the risk it poses to our prosperity and well-being, not have inconvenient facts swept under the carpet.

New Zealand deserves a real climate action plan and sound economic management. So please click here to take action now and demand that the Government acts to take pollution out of our economy and safeguard the financial future for all New Zealanders.

Source: Greenpeace

Feb
19

By

Oceans filled with enough plastic to line the world’s beaches

Category: International Tags:

The latest estimate comes from the total input of plastic waste, from people living within 50km of the coastline in the 192 countries studied. Photo / Thinkstock
The latest estimate comes from the total input of plastic waste, from people living within 50km of the coastline in the 192 countries studied. Photo / Thinkstock

The world’s oceans are being filled with enough plastic waste to thickly line every coastline in the world, according to the first detailed global assessment of the problem.

Scientists estimate that about 7.25 million tonnes of plastic debris such as food packaging and plastic bottles are being washed into the oceans each year – and the cumulative quantity of waste will result in a tenfold increase in the total amount of plastic in the sea by 2020.

“Our estimate of 8 million metric tonnes going into the oceans in 2010 is the equivalent to five grocery bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world,” said Jenna Jambeck, assistant professor of environmental engineering at the University of Georgia.

“In 2025, the annual input would be about twice the 2010 input, or 10 bags full of plastic per foot of coastline. So the cumulative input for 2025 would be nearly 20 times our 2010 estimate – 100 bags of plastic per foot of coastline in the world.”

Researchers had previously calculated that there were about 245,000 tonnes of plastic waste in the oceans. But this was based on the amount of plastic found floating on the sea surface and did not take into account the waste that has sunk.

The latest estimate comes from the total input of plastic waste, from people living within 50km of the coastline in the 192 countries studied.

“Until now, we have been estimating the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean by taking a ship far offshore, towing a plankton net and counting each individual piece of plastic collected. This is a very tedious and expensive task,” Dr Jambeck said.

“Our figure is larger because what is found floating on the surface of the ocean is only a portion of what is going in. Some of it sinks, some of it goes to other locations. We don’t have a good handle on where it all is going.”

The study, published in the journal Science, estimated that about 275 million tons of plastic waste was being generated each year in 192 countries around the world, with between 4.8 million and 12.7 million tonnes being washed or dumped into the sea.

Predictions of how this waste will increase took into account the industrialisation of developing countries, population growth and attempts to limit the flow of plastic debris into the oceans based on waste-management activities on land.

– Independent

Feb
18

By

Recycling Technology to highlight state-of-the-art developments

Category: International Tags:

Global: Recycling International is launching a new, annual magazine entitled Recycling Technology, a publication dedicated to new and existing technologies used in all sectors of the global recycling industries, such as ferrous and non-ferrous metals, e-scrap, paper, plastics and tyres.

‘All over the world, not only technical universities and research institutes but also R&D departments of companies that manufacture machinery for the recycling industry are developing new technologies that will enable recycling companies to shred, identify, sort and bale their secondary materials even more efficiently,’ says Manfred Beck, Recycling International’s publisher with responsibility for special products. ‘But until now, there has been no publication that offers an extensive and comprehensive insight into the development of recycling technologies.’

Recycling Technology will include articles about state-of-the-art recycling technology, written by leading researchers and scientists from technical universities and R&D institutes around the world. They will talk about their current projects, offering invaluable technical solutions and insight to problems, industry trends and strategies.

In addition, Recycling Technology will contain: application stories involving companies which develop their own recycling technologies; a reference section with a glossary of useful terms and definitions; and an index of technical universities and R&D institutes conducting research in the areas of recycling and waste management. Furthermore, Recycling Technology will feature articles from Recycling International’s ‘In the laboratory’ department and other relevant scientific articles that have appeared in Recycling International.

The first edition of Recycling Technology will be published in August/September 2015 and will have a global distribution to: all readers of Recycling International; delegates at recycling congresses, conventions and trade shows; technical universities; R&D institutes; relevant companies; the steel industry, non-ferrous metals industries and foundries; waste management industries; paper and plastics industries; end users of secondary raw materials such as car manufacturers; and selected decision-makers and investment funds/banks.

All articles, application stories, advertisements and company profiles will also be published on our website www.recyclinginternational.com for a period of 12 months after the publication date.

 

For further details about Recycling Technology, please contact Manfred Beck :

Phone +31 26 3120 994) or emailmanfred@recyclinginternational.com

For advertisements or (paid-for) company application stories, contact sales manager Judith Wanjala,:

Phone +31 26 3120 994 or email judith@recyclinginternational.com

Feb
3

By

Celebrating sustainable schools

Category: Auckland Tags:

Celebrating sustainable schools.

Several Auckland kindergartens and schools received awards for outstanding commitment to sustainability at the Enviroschools celebration held in December.

Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse presented the Enviroschools certificates at the ceremony, with Albany Ward Councillor Wayne Walker, Waitākere Ward Councillor Linda Cooper and local board representatives.

“Enviroschools teaches important life skills,” says Councillor Hulse. “It shows children they can become environmental leaders of the future by taking action and making a difference in their community.”

The Enviroschools programme is facilitated in Auckland by Auckland Council and the Enviroschools Foundation. It helps children with projects such as recycling, water conservation, planting native gardens and increasing local biodiversity.

This article first appeared on Auckland Council

Feb
2

By

We’re going overboard with beach rubbish

Category: International, National Tags:

An estimated 80 per cent of marine rubbish is made up of various types of plastic. Photo / 123RF
An estimated 80 per cent of marine rubbish is made up of various types of plastic. Photo / 123RF

Beach rubbish has been in the spotlight recently with keen crabbers on the shores of Omaha leaving behind pigs’ heads and chicken carcasses – apparently irresistible to curious crustaceans. Stumbling upon or indeed over a pig’s head while out for a walk is without doubt an extremely unpleasant experience, however a seemingly innocent plastic bag blowing along the beach is destined to have a much more sinister effect when it ends up inside a sea turtle’s stomach.

Wondering how my local beach fared after a hot day with lots of human activity, I took my dogs for a run and did a spot of rubbish collecting along the shore and rock pools.

I quickly filled one of the four plastic bags I found in the space of half an hour with glass fragments, three tangled sections of fishing line and a sinker, three aluminum cans, two plastic bottles, a plastic lined drink carton, a plastic drink holder ring, a bottle top and a jandal.

As well as rubbish discarded by beachgoers that day, some had clearly been in the sea for a time and had washed up. Marine rubbish from beach users is generously added to by recreational craft and commercial vessels, via stormwater drains, from oil rigs and blown offshore from the mainland.

Does it really matter? The ocean is huge!

Considering that the ocean comprises almost three quarters of our planet, you may think it can ‘soak up’ a lot of rubbish before any real damage is done. This may be so, but sadly the amount of rubbish generated is now at the point that the effects are being well and truly felt.A dramatic example of the cumulative effect of rubbish in the ocean is the ‘Pacific Garbage Patch’ in the North Pacific Ocean, where American oceanographer Charles Moore estimates about 100 million tons of rubbish, predominantly plastics forms a floating island that takes a week to sail through. Ocean currents have concentrated the waste in this area and the ‘plastic soup’ continues to grow.


Volunteers try to clear a dam which is filled with discarded plastic bottles and other garbage, blocking Vacha Dam, near the town of Krichim on April 25, 2009. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF. Photo / Flickr Creative Commons

How long does rubbish last in the sea and what does it do?

Information from the NZ Forest and Bird Society shows just how long carelessly discarded rubbish remains intact in our oceans:Orange peel: 2 years
Cigarette butts: 1-5 years
Plastic bags: 20-50 years
Tin cans: 50 years
Aluminium cans: 80-100 years
Plastic bottles: 250 years
Glass: I million years

An estimated 80 per cent of marine rubbish is made up of various types of plastic.

Plastics can be mistaken for food by marine animals which then suffer such effects as starvation, dehydration, poisoning and other painful conditions often leading to their death.

Sea turtles for example mistake plastic bags for their jelly fish prey. Sea birds also consume plastic which can resemble small fish. Autopsies of albatross have shown large amounts of plastic contained in their stomachs.

As floating plastic breaks down into smaller pieces it is consumed by plankton feeders, also with disastrous results.

Marine mammals such as dolphins, whales and seals as well as seabirds have been reported entangled in marine rubbish. Discarded fishing equipment and the plastic rings that hold bottles of water together are common examples of this danger. As rubbish sinks to the sea floor it then smothers smaller creatures, blocking out light and preventing the uptake of nutrients.

What you can do?

• Organise a local beach or estuary clean up – this is a great way to work together as a community and get to know your neighbours.
• Choose alternatives to plastic wherever possible.
• No balloon releases – these end up in the sea.
• When on the boat or at the beach, take your rubbish with you.
• Avoid packaging and containers designed for single use and those products with unrecyclable or excessive packaging.
• If you’re at the beach or on the water and you see rubbish, pick it up.The old Reduce, Reuse and Recycle catchphrase is spot on – use less, reuse what you’ve got and recycle what you can’t.

The sea plays an integral role in the health of our planet, it supports millions of creatures, many we are yet to discover and it’s a great place to have fun in the summer. Let’s not treat it like a rubbish dump.

– nzherald.co.nz

Feb
1

By

Households and firms have vital role in managing waste

Category: National Tags:

Waste Management's Redvale site produces landfill gas used to heat greenhouses. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey
Waste Management’s Redvale site produces landfill gas used to heat greenhouses. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

A New Year’s resolution to help the environment – think about it before you chuck things out. If there is one thing you probably didn’t dwell on too much over your summer break it’s the amount of waste we all produce and how it should be managed.

Yet you only need to look at how waste volumes change every holiday season to see how tightly the way we live and what we throw out are entwined.

At a holiday destination like Waiheke, for example, waste volumes jump 20 per cent in January. Perhaps testifying to all those end-of-year parties, Wellington glass recycling rockets by 38 per cent in December.

These days everyone wants to see waste minimised at source and as much as possible of what’s left recycled.

But as Auckland in particular grows so will the demand to manage waste. Smart infrastructural planning will be the key. Yet there is also a surprising amount that households and business can do.

Reducing waste is always the first step. You can make a difference by:

* Checking if you can return old electronic items like laptops to their manufacturer for recycling.

* Washing and putting out cans, bottles and cardboard for recycling.

* Reusing plastic bags and containers.

* Buying items in bulk and avoiding packaging you don’t need.

* Donating unwanted goods rather than throwing them out.

* Selling or exchanging unwanted furniture and goods.

* Avoiding disposables — take your own reusable drink bottle.

* Buy items loose and use refills.

You can dramatically cut the energy used in recycling by packing paper with paper, and glass with glass.

Please also think about the people who pick your waste up. Wrap broken glass in newspaper so those who deal with it are protected.

So, as you return to the normal working year how about adding a new resolution for 2015 – think about your waste before you throw it out – and about the difference that managing it well can make to our environment.

Tom Nickels is managing director of Waste Management New Zealand.

– NZ Herald

Jan
30

By

Pollution doubles near Auckland motorways

Category: Auckland Tags:

Researchers say preventing people from living within 20m of highways would reduce health risks.
The Southern Motorway near Otahuhu, where pollution levels have been measured. Photo / Richard Robinson
The Southern Motorway near Otahuhu, where pollution levels have been measured. Photo / Richard Robinson

People who live beside Auckland’s Southern Motorway are subjected to air pollution at nearly double the level of those 130m further away, research shows.

The researchers suggest looking at preventing people from living within 20m of motorways and building more walls to separate the roadways from homes, children’s facilities and businesses.

Fixed and bicycle-mounted measuring instruments, used in autumn and winter in Otahuhu, detected pollution levels that peaked beside the motorway from 7am to 9am, coinciding with the morning commuter rush.

The researchers, from Canterbury University’s geography department and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, found similarly high levels of pollution along Princess St, which feeds the motorway, and several other areas of high traffic volume.

Potentially of most concern is their finding of a morning peak of around 140,000 “ultrafine” particles of pollution per cubic centimetre of air.

These particles, a 10,000th of a millimetre in diameter, can penetrate deep into the lungs. Particulate air pollution is associated with lung disease and heart problems.

However, the researchers did not investigate the health effects of air pollution and note that their findings cannot be compared with national air pollution standards because of different measuring methods.

They say in the journal Atmospheric Environment that when their data on larger particles and carbon monoxide gas are included, across the study’s four daily measurement times, arterial roads with traffic lights appeared to have a greater influence on pollution levels than the busier but more free-flowing motorways.

Beside the Southwestern Motorway in Mangere Bridge, the study’s other suburb, the morning peak of ultrafine particle pollution levels was lower than in Otahuhu. In both suburbs, ultrafine particle pollution levels were generally much lower away from the heavy traffic flows.

Some of the houses near high pollution points in Otahuhu are just 5m from the edge of the motorway, said one of the researchers, Dr Woodrow Pattinson.

“Many of the homes are older, from the 1950s, 60s and 70s and don’t have double glazing. They have fairly high rates of infiltration of outdoor air. The indoor air is often as bad as what it is outside. In modern apartments with filtration systems it wouldn’t be as much of a concern. It’s difficult because people need to live somewhere and there is a housing shortage. The best thing we can do for now is to not have sensitive population groups living there.”

He said some restrictions were imposed on locating childcare centres near busy roads but he was not aware of any residential housing controls. Some researchers now advocated a buffer zone of 100m between homes and main roads.

Co-researcher Professor Simon Kingham urged authorities to consider not allowing people to live within 20m of main highways.

Dr Pattinson said noise walls helped “to deflect the plume of pollution”.

“It would be great if we could have greenbelts or use the land for industrial buildings that properly protect the people inside,” he said.

“It is important not to overstate the issue either as Auckland is very coastal so the wind usually flushes out a large proportion of these toxic fumes. However, under certain atmospheric conditions the influence of the motorways is fairly strong.”

The study also involved interviews with 104 residents of the two suburbs.

Dr Pattinson said a number of people were worried about “children and family members suffering long-term illnesses because of the polluted air around them”.

Who did the study?
Canterbury University and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.

What did they do?
They measured levels of carbon monoxide and tiny particles of air pollution that can cause asthma attacks, bronchitis and heart problems.

Where?
At fixed sites and from bicycles near the motorways in Otahuhu and Mangere Bridge and in the surrounding streets.

What were the main findings?
The highest median level of ultrafine particles from the repeated bike samples was around 140,000 particles per cubic centimetre of air during the morning traffic rush beside the Southern Motorway and in Otahuhu.

– NZ Herald

Jan
29

By

Textile breakthrough straight from the tree

Category: International Tags: ,

Spain: When one thinks of pineapples, one usually doesn’t think past an Hawaiian pizza or a nice fruit salad. Spanish firm Ananas Anam is challenging that narrow view by designing Piñatex – an innovative, natural and sustainable non-woven textile.

Piñatex is produced from the fibres of pineapple leaves which are a by-product of the pineapple harvest. It is made according to a patented technology based on the expertise of company founder Carmen Hijosa, a Spanish designer who previously worked as a consultant in the Philippines leather goods industry.

Piñatex offers an alternative to leather as well as textiles in the fashion, accessory and upholstery markets. The ‘revolutionary’ material can be printed on and laser cut, and is produced in 218- or 150-cm-wide rolls at ‘a competitive price’. According to Hijosa, 480 leaves are needed to produce one square metre of medium-weight Piñatex.

She describes the material as ‘breathable and soft, light and flexible, mouldable and easily dyed’. Major sportswear brand Puma has already partnered with the company to create a suede shoe prototype from Piñatex. Meanwhile, Auto Interior of London has created a car seat in 100% natural Piñatex.

Ananas Anam claims it is inspired by the cradle-to-cradle vision as outlined by Prof. Michael Braungart. Currently, research & development teams in the UK and Spain are dedicated to enhancing the finishing technology to extend the material’s application.

 

Spanish designer Carmen Hijosa says that popular brands are now actively pursuing sustainable alternatives for both textiles and leather.

Jan
28

By

Smart Energy Challenge Open for Submissions

Category: National Tags:

Wellington-based initiative brings to life community-driven smart energy ideas.

Last year’s Smart Energy Challenge participants Miranda Voke and Oliver ter Ellen from Aro Solar.

Applications are now open for the Smart Energy Challenge 2015. The initiative, now in its second year, is a partnership between Wellington City Council and Enspiral to develop and fund a variety of community-driven projects that make better use of energy.

The programme aims to bring together collaborative partners from across sectors including the youth-based climate change group Generation Zero, crowdfunding platform PledgeMe, and financial advisory firm Deloitte.

“It’s great to see partner organisations from different parts of our community come together to address climate change. Only by fostering those connections are we able to have an impact,” says Wellington City Councillor David Lee.

The programme will help successful applicants take their projects from idea to real-life through a series of workshops, community events, mentoring and networking opportunities taking place in March.

The projects then launch individual public crowdfunding campaign. The Council will match-fund the amount each project raises, capped at a total of $25,000 across all successful projects.

Chelsea Robinson, last year’s programme manager, said: “The Smart Energy Challenge is a great example of a programme that can lead to something bigger. Not only did the Aro Solar team put panels on the roof of the Aro Valley Community Hall, but they’ve gone on to the Ideas for a Better New Zealand / Live the Dream summer programme with their project.”

The Smart Energy Challenge is an initiative funded by the Council’s Smart Energy Capital Programme. Last year’s pilot project won the Renewables Innovation category at the 2014 Sustainable Business Network Awards.

Applications are open from 15 January and close on Sunday 15 February at midnight. The challenge is open for ideas and projects that benefit Wellington City and its residents and visitors.

“Cities must rise to the challenge of climate change,” says Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown. “The Wellington City Council encourages innovative citizen-led solutions.”

To register for the launch event, held on 5 February in a central Wellington location (to be confirmed), apply for the challenge and find out more information go tosmartenergychallenge.org.nz

Jan
28

By

E-scrap industry hit by ‘huge losses’

Category: International Tags:

Austria: Worldwide, electronics recyclers are facing difficult times. Metal prices have declined, the metal content in electronic devices has shrunk while the costs of collection and treatment have risen, Stefan Georg Fuchs of copper recycling major Aurubis told a press conference staged during the 2015 International Electronics Recycling Congress (IERC) held last week in Salzburg, Austria.

‘For some types of computers and other IT equipment, metal content has fallen by more than 50%,’ Fuchs pointed out. ‘At the same time, the costs of collection, treatment and environmentally sound recovery have increased while prices have declined. Today, most non-ferrous and precious metal prices are on the level of four or five years ago.’

As a consequence, said Fuchs, many recycling companies have suffered ‘huge losses or even had to cease operations’. The Aurubis representative went on to underline the importance of improving the collection infrastructure. ‘Increasing the efficiency of collection systems by only a few percent can make the difference between survival and insolvency,’ he suggested.

And he also called on the industry to raise awareness of the importance of proper e-scrap recycling. ‘This counts for all countries worldwide, ranging from the EU to the US to India and Brazil,’ he said.

 

For more information, visit: www.arubis.com

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