Be Eco Friendly

Thames Water has announced plans for a super sewer which it hopes will cut the 39million tonnes of raw sewage poured into the River Thames every year.

London’s sewage system was built in the Victorian era and while, it still works well, increased pressure means untreated human waste flowing into the Thames on a weekly basis.

There are 57 overflow points along the river, which were built as a safety feature to prevent the sewers – which capture both sewage and rainfall – from backing up into streets and gardens when full.

Read full article: http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=18690&src=tw

A new GBP1.5 MILLION green energy scheme will turn a Cumbrian stream into a mini power station and be the biggest hydro-electric project in the Lake District.

The renewable energy scheme will provide electricity for hundreds of homes from a small weir on a mountain stream. It involves a 60cm buried pipe running 1km downhill, and a small stone and slate barn housing the water turbine and other generating equipment.

Located at Logan Gill, a tributary of the River Duddon, near Broughton in Furness, the hydro-electric project will provide enough energy to cater annually for 1,000 people, equivalent to the size of the village of Grasmere, and will save 1,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

It is one of the first renewable energy schemes in UK to benefit from the governments new ‘Clean Energy Cashback’ initiative, a scheme that allows energy suppliers make regular payments to householders and communities who generate their own electricity from renewable or low carbon sources.

Read more: http://ecofriendlytip.com/2010/09/09/biggest-hydro-electric-project-in-the-lake-district-launched/

According to survey data from recycle body Recoup, the UK has recorded a six per cent rise in plastic bottle recovery.

Recoup’s 2010 UK Household Plastics Packaging Collection Survey is set for publication next month and will reveal that nearly 260,000 tonnes of plastic bottle waste was collected for recycling in 2009. Previously at a rate of 39 per cent, the UK has increased its PET collection rate to 45 per cent for a six per cent rise in collection rates.

Marcel Arsand, Recoup’s senior project manager, said that the group was encouraged to see such a positive increase in progress in the UK. He added that the increase was a reflection of local authorities and waste management sectors across the board.

According to the report, 40,000 tonnes of mix, non-bottle plastics were also collected during 2009. The report comes in the wake of a Swiss-based research project publishing a controversial report indicating that landfill may be the more environmentally friendly option for PET bottles.

Met with accusations by local environmental groups and UK authorities, the report stated that unless recycle rates for plastic bottles could be increased than continuing to recycle would be an unsustainable option for the UK.

Source: http://www.recycle.co.uk

File this one under “holy crap,” but scientists at MIT have discovered molecules that spontaneously assemble themselves into a pattern that can turn light into electricity — essentially a self-creating solar panel. In a petri dish.

The researchers set out to create a synthetic process that imitates photosynthesis. Certain molecules respond to light by releasing electrons; the trick was discovering a substance that sticks them together in a consistent structure. Phospholipids do just that, and they also attach themselves to carbon nanotubes, which conduct electricity. With the nanotubes holding the phospholipids in a uniform alignment, the photoreactive molecules are all exposed to light at once, and the tube acts as a wire that then collects the resulting electrical current.

Read full article: http://dvice.com/archives/2010/09/scientists-disc.php

Welsh manufacturers could be poised to receive nearly  £50,000 to increase their recycled material use under a new scheme that was launched today by WRAP Cymru.

According to research from WRAP, 78 per cent of manufacturing businesses in the small to medium enterprise sector believe that direct financial aid would help the initial costs of smaller firms transitioning to using recycled content. WRAP Cymru has responded by launching their own funding scheme.

WRAP will now give away grants to funding applicants that can be used to equip existing facilities with new technology for recycled material use or be used to build new production and packaging plants. The grant money can also be applied to any promotional costs needed to relaunch the newly packaged product.

Read more: http://www.recycle.co.uk/news/2597000.html