The environment in the news thursday, 12 June 2008
Independent: New recycling plant to create a virtuous circle for plastic
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- =============================================================== ROA MEDIA UPDATE THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWS 12 June 2008
- Africa: Satellite Images Show Climate Change Toll
- General Environment News Uganda: Environment Students Call for Innovation
- Uganda: Namugongo Gets Waste Management Training
- Nigeria: AEPB and FCTs Waste Management
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- 1- Barbados - Barbados to hold workshop on disaster risk management 06 – 11 - 08 BRIDGETOWN, Barbados
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- Developing disaster plans
Independent: New recycling plant to create a virtuous circle for plasticA small corner of east London is set to help tackle the UK's waste mountain by turning used drinks bottles into safe, reusable food packaging By Rachel Shields Sunday, 8 June 2008 As a new survey reveals that packaging waste is now the biggest environmental concern in the UK, Britain is poised to make a dramatic leap forward in its recycling efforts with the opening of the nation's first "closed loop" recycling plant. The £13m facility in Dagenham, east London, will turn millions of used drinks bottles and sandwich wrappers made out of PET (polyethylene teraphthalate) back into "clean" wrapping. According to the survey, by the communications company WPP, a quarter of UK adults now believe that the huge amounts of waste packaging that we are producing and failing to recycle is extremely worrying, compared with just 15 per cent who are worried to the same degree about the impact of greenhouse gases. This shift in public opinion has increased pressure on big companies and the Government to reduce the tons of waste consigned to landfill or exported for recycling every year. Joan Ruddock, the environment minister, moved to address growing concern yesterday when she said: "My priority now is both to reduce excessive packaging and increase the recyclable content of essential packaging. The new plant will help accelerate progress and I'm confident more facilities will follow." Supermarkets have also responded to growing public concern on the matter, with Tesco, M&S and Sainsbury's trying to reduce the amount of packaging they use. Asda, meanwhile, has launched a campaign for better recycling collections. Some 1.2 million tonnes of mixed plastics from the UK – everything from salad bags to yoghurt pots and drinks bottles – end up as landfill every year. The processes used in the new plant have been employed in Switzerland and Germany for over a decade. The plant can also process HDPE (high-density polyethylene), the super-tough plastic that milk bottles are made out of, producing pellets that can be turned back into fresh milk cartons. "This is a massive step forward – the UK is really leading the way here" said Liz Goodwin of Wrap, an organisation which helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more. Currently much of the UK's waste PET is shipped to plants in the Far East and China, before the recycled material is shipped back – pumping out tons of carbon along the way. It is estimated that food packaging currently accounts for between 5 and 10 per cent of each person's carbon footprint. "Companies can't just steam along contrary to public opinion, and people want to know what it happening to our resources" said Chris Dow, an Australian environmentalist responsible for setting up the plant. According to Mr Dow, who made the Sydney 2000 Olympics "carbon neutral", the new system has obvious environmental benefits. "The idea behind closed loop is simple: we collect discarded packaging from waste management companies, offices, retailers, and turn them back into plastic suitable for food packaging," he said. "There isn't the national infrastructure here that there is abroad. When you try and make improvements to the systems, people just say 'you can't recycle that!' and until now that has been true" Mr Dow said. "Commercially it makes sense. Companies used to make recycled products cheaper than their virgin equivalent, which sent the industry downwards, and devalued recycled products. I've no doubt closed loop will make money." With the UK's recycling industry now worth £1.4m a year, and each ton of recycled PET worth £800, he might be right.
The UNEP's atlas of Africa documents similar changes across the continent, graphically illustrating how the face of the continent is changing as a result of climate change, population growth and development. General Environment News Uganda: Environment Students Call for Innovation New Vision (Kampala): The Government should help rural communities add value to their produce to fight poverty, graduate students of environment from the Netherlands have advised. In a research conducted at Kasejjere village, Kikandwa sub-county in Mityana district, Kim Hagen and Angela Tejada discovered that local communities lacked innovative skills to add value to their products to fetch more income. The project is meant to benefit residents under the Kikandwa Environment Association. Hagen and Tejada are pursuing masters programmes in Environment and Resource Management at Urije University, Amsterdam in the Netherlands. They concluded their research recently, with a call to communities to promote locally-made products. "Innovation, cleanliness and value-addition to your produce are the key factors if you are to penetrate both local and international markets. You have more resources that are not fully exploited," said Tejada. She said local communities should take advantage of the booming Agro-Tourism industry to fight poverty. http://allafrica.com/stories/200806110101.html Uganda: Namugongo Gets Waste Management Training New Vision (Kampala): Proper waste management is a critical environmental problem among developing countries, the secretary of the Elsamere Field Centre has said. Jean Kucutte said: "Our societies, especially in developing countries like Uganda, still face a big problem of waste management. We need a policy on protection of land, air, water quality as well as human and animal health," she said. Kucutte, who is in the country to assess the impact of the centre, was recently visiting the Wildlife Club of Uganda Martyrs' SS Namugongo and Namugongo Girls Boarding Primary School, where she sensitised students on waste management. Her visit to the school coincided with the World Environment Day, which is marked every June 5. Kucutte was in company of Samuel Gashoka, the manager of Elsamere Field Centre International-Uganda. She taught students waste-management practices, which involve the reduction of waste at the source of generation. The method, she said, reduces the cost of waste management. http://allafrica.com/stories/200806110167.html Nigeria: AEPB and FCT's Waste Management Daily Trust (Abuja): The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) says it is repositioned to meet the waste management challenge in the FCT, therefore it has become paramount on the board to contract licensed contractors to collaborate for effective and efficient waste disposal. In an interview with the senior staff officer in charge of solid waste department of AEPB, Mr Amos Odunfa, on behalf of the Director, he said the concession to contractors is based on the determination and efficiency of the companies tasked on the need to ensure cleanliness and environmental sanitation in Abuja. He explained that there are clauses in the contract agreement to checkmate any contractor found wanting in the discharge of his activities. In this case, the AEPB draws attention in an attempt to redress and surcharge him accordingly; at times the board deducts amounts from the contract agreement as a way to deter others. This, he noted, is an internal check to penalise defaulting contractors. http://allafrica.com/stories/200806110256.html Back to Menu _______________________________________________________________________ ROLAC MEDIA UPDATE June 11, 2008 OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS: I English: 1- Barbados - Barbados to hold workshop on disaster risk management 2- Brazil - Pest threatens Brazil's Sao Paulo cane fields 3- Chile - Environmental alerts issued for Santiago 4- Cuba - Saharan Dust Inhibits Hurricanes 5- Cuba - A City Drinks in Change 6- Guyana - Hoteliers urged to move towards solar heating 7- Jamaica - NCB, NGO work to develop disaster plans 8- Peru - 93 sanitation projects to be financed by Spanish Water Fund for Latin America
1- Barbados - Barbados to hold workshop on disaster risk management 06 – 11 - 08 BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: The Barbados government is taking steps to develop a Risk Management Strategy and Plan of Action for the Caribbean tourism sector. This follows recent tragedies worldwide, including last month’s earthquake in southwest China and the tropical cyclone in Myanmar, as well as the earth tremors in the Caribbean last November. To this end, the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), will conduct a national workshop entitled “Risk Management Strategy and Plan of Action for the Tourism Sector in the Caribbean”. The one-day forum, which takes place on Monday, June 16, aims to promote region-wide sustainable tourism and foster the transfer of knowledge, skills, and experience on key issues of disaster risk management. According to a Ministry official, “essentially, it is expected that the final plan will provide the model for the development of future national disaster risk management strategies and action plans for the tourism sector in the Caribbean region.” Other agencies involved in the implementation of such a plan over the period January 2007 to June 2010 include: the Inter-American Development Bank in collaboration with the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality and the University of the West Indies.
The giant cane borer (Telchin licus), which is common in Brazil's northeastern states, was spotted for the first time in Sao Paulo last July, in the Limeira area and "has disseminated," the Sugar Cane Technology Center said. "As it is a new plague in the center-south, combative methods have not yet been developed," said Enrico De Beni Arrigoni, technological research coordinator at the CTC. "Chemical treatments have not shown any positive results," he said, adding that in the Northeast, where the plague was identified for the first time in 1927, the only solution was to catch the insects manually in the cane fields. Sao Paulo accounts for about 60 percent of the national sugar cane crop and has the world's highest productivity. The current crop is estimated at around 340 million to 350 million tonnes. The insect larvae can reach up to 8 centimeters (3 inches) and reduces cane yields significantly, Arrigoni said. The larvae bore holes, causing damage to the cane. "After the infestations in the Limeira region, CTC draws a worrying picture for the ethanol and sugar sector in Sao Paulo," CTC said in a statement. Considering the planted area of around 4 million hectares (10 million acres) in the state, CTC projects crop losses could reach 400 million reais ($245 million) per year "just in Sao Paulo." "We do not know when the plague will arrive through the whole region, but there's no way of impeding its spread. We don't know if this would be fast," Arrigoni said by telephone. One branch of the studies to combat the giant cane borer is a genetically modified variety of sugar cane. Arrigoni said the cane pest is restricted to Brazil and Guiana. CTC is sponsored by 180 ethanol and sugar mills in Brazil's center-south. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN1034679220080611?sp=true 3- Chile - Environmental alerts issued for Santiago 06 – 10 - 08 SANTIAGO, Chile.- Given the poor ventilation conditions predicted for the capital city, the Metropolitan Government has decided to declare a state of Preventative Environmental Alert this Tuesday as a way help protect residents´ heath. The measure means that stricter control will be applied to the continuous restriction on non-catalytic vehicles and catalytic vehicles with license plates ending in 5, 6, 7, or 8. The regulation will be in effect between 7:30 AM and 9:00 PM in Santiago, Puente Alto and San Bernardo. Meanwhile, authorities have reminded residents that wood burning is prohibited throughout the Metropolitan Region, even if it is accompanied by slow-combustion systems or particle capture mechanisms, called “double chambers”. The City Government also recommended that residents “abstain from engaging in outdoor athletic activities”.
Chief of the national forecasting center at the Meteorology Institute of Cuba, José Rubiera, explained to Tierramérica that small particles of dust rise up to seven kilometers in the atmosphere, forming a very warm and dry air mass that "inhibits the formation of vertical clouds, which generate rains, and thus make the emergence of tropical cyclones difficult." The effect is accentuated because the dust also blocks sunlight, cooling the ocean's surface waters. In the 2005 hurricane season, "the most active we've known, more than 10 consecutive days were recorded without tropical cyclones in August, which was related to the presence of Saharan dust," said Rubiera. Source: http://www.tierramerica.info/nota.php?lang=eng&idnews=eco&nro=371 5- Cuba - A City Drinks in Change 06 – 11 - 08 HOLGUÍN, Cuba. - Afflicted for far too long by severe drought, which concentrated all minds on how to get water to entire communities of people, this eastern Cuban city seems at long last to be drinking its fill, and its appearance is completely different from what it looked like two or three years ago. Cafés, restaurants, snack bars and opportunities to combine leisure and culture are beginning to flood into the historic centre of Holguín, the capital of the province of the same name, as the most visible sign of a government project to embellish the city and restore services that have been in poor shape since the 1990s. And one of the most important things is that "the Cuban peso is returning to its former prominence," Rigoberto Romero, the provincial government coordinator for the project to restore the boulevard running through the heart of Holguín, which is also known as the City of Parks, told IPS. "Services paid for in national currency should have the same quality standards as those that are paid for in hard currency. We are trying to add character to the venues with cultural options, as well," he said. And so La Caverna de Los Beatles appeared, followed by a jazz club, a piano bar at the Hotel Majestic, and Las Tres Lucías, a café decorated with stills from the Cuban film "Lucía" (Humberto Solás, 1968), which shows videos and films to its customers. The pedestrianised boulevard did not exist early this decade, but now harbours a large number of eateries with prices in national currency, which have resurrected popular and economic dishes like croquettes on bread or "al plato", breaded fish fillets and fresh fruit juices. Smaller shops selling water, milkshakes, ice cream and coffee at subsidised prices are comfortably elbow to elbow with restaurants, cafeterias, bars and pubs that are a little more expensive, but still accessible because they charge in national currency. "We’re open 24 hours a day. Towards midnight, the clientele are mainly intellectuals. Then the young people arrive when the discothèques close, and at about four or five in the morning, people who are on their way to work come by," Lisandro Fernández, who works at a coffee bar, told IPS. The legalisation of the dollar in 1993, together with the severe economic crisis that hit Cuba in the 1990s, led to a decline in services offered in national currency, and the emergence of a parallel market in hard currency that gradually became virtually the only option for Cuba’s 11.2 million people. The government of President Raúl Castro regards revaluation of the Cuban peso as one of its economic priorities, but has recognised that it will be a slow process, requiring "an integrated approach" that will include eliminating the present dual currency system on the island. Meanwhile, in cities like Havana, most restaurants still charge in convertible Cuban pesos (CUC), and the equivalent of five U.S. dollars will only buy lunch for one person at one of the most inexpensive cafeteria chains. At the state exchange bureaus, the CUC is worth 25 Cuban pesos, or 1.25 dollars. In spite of government efforts, the venues accepting national currency still do not satisfy demand in Holguín, one of Cuba’s biggest cities. Official sources indicate that in late 2007 there were 334,046 residents of Holguín, to which must be added a floating population of another 45,000 people. "In the boulevard area alone, 75,000 daily rations are being sold. Sometimes, supplies run out," said Romero. Prices vary from 0.70 pesos for a croquette on bread to 100 pesos for lunch for three at the restaurant known as 1545, one of the most upscale in the city. In dollar terms, an average family would spend five or six dollars for lunch at one of Holguín’s new wave of restaurants. Among the new developments, three hotels which charge in national currency have been restored and reopened. "We get reservations for honeymoons or company events, but around 50 percent of our guests are ordinary people who book their own visits as they please," Leonides Romero, manager of the Hotel Majestic, told IPS. At Isla Azul, the most economical chain of state hotels that only take hard currency, a double room including breakfast costs about 50 dollars, whereas at the Majestic the bill is 75 Cuban pesos a night, equivalent to about four dollars. Located in the centre of Holguín, the Hotel Majestic was founded in 1932 and rescued from a state of ruin in 2007. The aim is to "restore rundown old buildings in the communities and save the local heritage, while adding an element of modernity, and creating new options with three basic elements: utility, beauty and culture," said Miguel Díaz-Canel, first secretary of the Communist Party for Holguín province, in an interview on local television. The initiative, known as the Imagen project, is being applied in all the municipalities of this province of over a million people. In addition, a state aid plan for the eastern part of the island has led to more than 100 economic and social projects being inaugurated in late 2007. The list of projects, published in the local newspaper Ahora, includes electrification in several neighbourhoods, generators installed in mountainous areas, refurbished or newly-built sports facilities, public health centres, centres for the elderly, housing, hydraulic plants in isolated areas, maternity homes and children’s parks. In spite of what has already been achieved and the plans for more progress this year, there is still much to be done, in Romero’s view. "All the cultural development in the city is taking place basically in the historic centre. We should start decentralising city services towards the outskirts," he said. Dissatisfactions aside, and although provincial development plans have continued without interruption, Holguín is a flourishing place compared with what it was in 2004, when the drought was at its height. "This city is changing day by day," Manuel Escobar, who works at the Taberna Ahumados, told IPS.
Export Officer of Solar Dynamics, Ms. Chenella Bailey said that energy is the major force of the global economy and a critical ingredient to development in terms of providing fuel for electricity, transportation and communication. She pointed out that energy level affects both the quality of life as a people and the level of production of a country and any change in the cost of energy would have ripple effect in other sectors of the economy. “The sun is the primary force for most forms of energy found on earth; solar energy is clean, abundant, widespread, renewable and free,” Bailey attested. “Various companies use different technologies to capture the solar energy…we are one such company,” she noted. Solar Dynamics based in St. Lucia, has over 30 years experience and are the largest distributor, manufacturer and supplier of Solar Hot Water Systems in the Caribbean, she informed the gathering. Bailey said the company manufacture, supply and install quality Solar Water Heaters with a three year warranty. “We help consumers save money and we help contribute to saving the environment,” she posited. Explaining how the System works, the Export Officer noted that harnessing energy from the sun is nothing new since solar water heaters have been commercially available since the late 1800s. “What is remarkable is how prevalent solar water heaters have become today,” Bailey added. Solar Water Heaters are an environmentally sound way to reduce energy bill and remains one of the most efficient and the least expensive of the renewable energy technology, she explained. The Export Officer said that the Solar Water Heater has two main components: the storage tank which keeps the water hot until it is ready to be utilised and the collector panel which traps the heat energy. She said the two types of installation are the thermosyphon system or natural circulation and the photovoltaic/pump system. “The money that you put out for a Solar Hot Water Systems, it is not the price of the water heater, it is an investment…if you put out any amount of money and after 18 months you are getting free hot water from that money for the next 15 to 17 years,” she noted. She reiterated that a Solar Water Heater is the economical and environmental choice and used by many hotels and resorts in the region. “The recent increases in the price of fuel with a result in the increase of consumers electric bill has been a catalyst for growth and sales in our industry,” she noted. In closing, Bailey quoted the words of one of the greatest pioneers of solar energy in the region, the late Professor Oliver Headley of Barbados: “The sun will still shine when the oil runs out”. In brief remarks, Managing Director, Mr. Andrew Mendes said that Farfan & Mendes Limited which is the sole distributor of Solar Dynamics Hot Water Systems in Guyana began business in Guyana in 1960 as a subsidiary of a well known Trinidadian company, F. T Farfan and Sons Limited and the company was officially incorporated in 1967, as Farfan and Mendes Limited. “We eventually started the installation of Solar Dynamics in the year 2002 and we have been growing from strength to strength,” Mendes said. “It has been relatively successfully in the last two years…mostly in private homes as people see the benefits of having solar dynamics compare to electrical,” the Managing Director noted. He also noted that the Solar Hot Water System also offers the possibility for hinterland lodges to provide hot water to their guests.
C-CAM will work closely with members of each community in developing disaster plans for hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and fire. The community disaster plans will be simple guides for residents on what to do in the event of one of these natural or man-made emergencies. The plans will identify disaster shelters in each of the communities; emergency numbers; and how to prepare and respond before, during and after one of these crises. The AIC Ltd Disaster Response Project, which is administered by NCB Foundation, will also fund the establishment of a disaster relief warehouse that will be managed by C-CAM. This warehouse will be stocked with relief supplies for swift distribution to affected residents in the Portland Bight area. The communities that will benefit from the AIC Ltd/NCB Foundation project are Portland Cottage, Mitc Source: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080611/news/news3.html 8 - Peru - 93 sanitation projects to be financed by Spanish Water Fund for Latin America 06 – 09 – 08 LIMA, Peru.- Some 93 sanitation projects have been prequalified as of today, and in the coming days they will be formally presented to Spanish Water Fund for Latin American, the minister of Housing, Construction and Sanitation Enrique Cornejo said Monday. "All these projects have the viability of the National System of Public Investment (SNIP), and are important due to their geographical location and social and regional impact", he said. In November 2007, Spain committed to allocate 1,500 billion dollars in the next four years to support clean water projects in Peru and the countries of Central and South America under the Ibero-American Water Fund. Cornejo said this fund takes into account the experience of the Peruvian social program "Agua para Todos" (Water for All), that develops works that support projects related to improving water management and provision of basic services for the poorest population. He noted that the 93 prequalified projects will need an investment of 80 million dollars to expand the coverage of drinking water and sanitation within the country. "I understand that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will be the financial operator to develop these works, which projects will be presented in Spain in the coming days", he said. Despite these works will be funded and implemented by the government until 2011, the private sector could also participate in developing these projects, he added.
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