ANSI on Wednesday unveiled a new standard that establishes criteria for comparing chemicals and processes. The standard, NSF/GCI/ANSI 355 Greener Chemicals and Processes Information Standard, was developed by NSF and the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute. The organizations say it will make it easier for chemical manufacturers and their customers to make greener and more socially responsible choices throughout the supply chain.
The Green Label, the Singapore Environment Council's longstanding eco-label, received accreditation from the Global Ecolabelling Network, the council announced on Thursday. The council said the Green Label is Singapore's only labeling scheme accredited as Type-1.
Some WEEE reprocessors in the United Kingdom pushed parliament on Wednesday to ban the export of used electronic equipment to the developing world until major destination countries like Nigeria and Ghana have built the infrastructure to recycle the materials, letsrecycle.com reported. Dean Overton, director of Overton Recycling, said many companies will not send electrical equipment fit for reuse outside the European Union.
Wilfried Taetow, managing director of the recycling division of the German company SolarWorld, told Recharge that last year's high-profile dispute between Europe’s crystalline silicon and thin-film manufacturers over whether solar panels should be exempt from the revised RoHS Directive is not a lingering source of tension. He said disagreements will not prevent the 220 members of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association as they negotiate with Brussels over how to include recycling of panels in the upcoming revisions of the WEEE directive.
Repic, a United Kingdom based not-for-profit company established by the electronics industry under the WEEE Directive, announced that it will collect and recycle 1.1 million tonnes of electric waste by year's end. The company said it has already surpassed the 1 million tonne mark.
The Plastics Environmental Council has announced that it will sponsor a research study with the goal of producing the first standard for landfill biodegradation of petroleum- and natural gas-derived plastics that have been treated with additives. The council said that additives that speed the breakdown of plastic in landfills, without affecting their performance during use, are important to industry, government and consumers, all of whom want to see a reduced volume of plastic in landfills.
EnviroGuard, an environmental compliance consultant, announced that it will launch more than 50 training courses to provide data center contractors, safety officers and personnel information about OSHA approved materials and the environmental health and safety. The company said the data center courses will be divided into six categories including construction safety, battery room compliance, industrial and motive power, electrical safety, hazardous material management, and general OSHA training.
GreenSoft Technology, Inc., an environmental compliance software provider, announced that it has released a new version of its GreenData Manager. The software generates product disclosure reports as IPC-1752A Class A and D XML files, contains information on new rules Rare Earth substances and Conflict Minerals and updates the REACH SVHC Candidate List and RoHS exemptions.
Kenmore on Wednesday announced that it will begin selling a suite of household products aimed at improving tap water quality. The company said its water heaters, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, water softeners and whole-home filters will remove unregulated water contaminants.
The new $127 million city hall in North Las Vegas has become the first building in the city to earn LEED certification, garnering a silver designation, The Associated Press reported.
Bluehorse Associates, a sustainability metrics and lifecycle analysis firm, announced that it has received accreditation from the Supply Chain Carbon Council for their Carbonostics Lifecycle Analysis solution.
UTICO Middle East, a private utilities provider in the United Arab Emirates, has become the first the first company in the Middle East and Africa to achieve the ISO 50001 certification, The Khaleej Times reported. Quality Austria, one of Europe’s largest certification bodies, performed the inspections.
