Saturday 29 March 2014

The Guardian / Unilever: "Food waste around the world"


Link to web site

"Jeong Ho-jin dons a pair of plastic gloves to show off his most proud achievement as a district official in Seoul, South Korea, and then uses his keys to unlock a large, rectangular contraption that looks like some kind of futuristic top-loading washing machine. Loaded with bins half-filled with decomposing ginseng, lettuce and other meal remnants, this, it turns out, is South Korea's high-tech solution to food waste.

"Jeong works in one of two districts in Seoul where the high-tech food waste management program is being piloted. The program works by giving each household a card that has a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip embedded in it, containing the user's name and address. They scan their card on a small card-reader on the front of the high-tech bin to get the lid to open, then dump the food waste into the bin and onto the scale at the bottom, which gives a numerical reading of the waste's weight and disposal cost.

...

"... In Malmö, Sweden, we stick our food waste into frustratingly flimsy paper bags, and drop them into a plastic bin downstairs, from where they go to make the gas that powers the city's buses. Malmö uses anaerobic digestion carried out by bacteria and other methane producing organisms to produce methane gas. Each batch spends three weeks in the digester to complete the process. The resulting gas is then purified so it can be used for a fuel. Each paper bag apparently produces enough to drive a car 2.5km."

Surrey Comet: "Lawyers brand Sutton Council's incinerator decision 'unlawful'"


Link to web site

"Lawyers have branded the council's decision to give the go-ahead to a controversial in incinerator 'unlawful'.

"Lawyers representing Croydon man Shasha Khan have served a letter on Sutton Council saying they believe the council broke the law in giving planning permission for an energy recovery facility (ERF) in Beddington Lane.

"The ERF will burn rubbish from Sutton, Croydon, Merton and Kingston and convert it into energy and heat for nearby homes. Planning permission was granted last year and a legal agreement was reached earlier this month meaning - pending a judicial review - the project can now go ahead."

Thursday 27 March 2014

Ham & High: "BBC chief backs education centre plan for Alexandra Palace’s TV studios"


Link to web site

"The BBC’s director general has thrown his support behind the plans to transform Alexandra Palace’s television studios into an interactive education centre.

"Tony Hall, who took over as head of the corporation last year, welcomed the plans for the proposed centre, which will use digital imagery and historic artefacts important to the tale of broadcasting at the Palace and beyond.

"The BBC studios at Ally Pally were the venue for the world’s first high definition public television broadcast in 1936."



Click below for BBC web site...

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Edie.net: "Call to launch landfill bans to create 47,500 jobs in the UK"


Link to web site

"The UK could create 47,500 skilled jobs if it kept five key waste materials out of landfill, according to new research by think tank Green Alliance.

"New analysis by Green Alliance urges the Government to ban wood, textiles, electronics, food and plastics. It states that banning wood could create 3,200 jobs; banning textiles could create 6,600 jobs, banning electronics 9,500 jobs, food 12,100 jobs and plastics 16,100 jobs.

"According to the report, reuse, remanufacturing and recycling creates new and valuable products. Selling these generates profit which supports skilled jobs."