New research appears to find that the number of water scarcity events in Scotland could double by 2050, presenting a need for key industries to do more to adapt. The research, led by The James Hutton Institute, focused on how climate change is impacting water availability for the farming and whisky sectors, which could be ..read more

A new multi-trial study appears to find significant improvements in the disposal of certified compostable packaging when people are given clear instructions and consistent labelling. Independent environmental and behaviour change expert Hubbub – which completed the study with the University of Sheffield – warns that compostable packaging is not a silver bullet and should only ..read more

A new Welsh nursery is at the forefront of a mission to restore the UK’s lost seagrass meadows, says the group behind it. The project aims to equip organisations and communities with the tools to bring back biodiversity and support CO2 removal from the atmosphere by restoring these habitats. As much as 92% of the ..read more

Vinyl producer INEOS Inovyn has begun customer trials with “Europe’s first heavy-duty liquid hydrogen truck”. “Hydrogen is a game-changing energy solution that will transform truck transportation and help us achieve a zero-emission future,” said Wouter Bleukx, Business Director Hydrogen at INEOS Inovyn. “As both a major producer and consumer of low-carbon hydrogen, INEOS is in ..read more

Wyllie Recycling Ltd, a leading family-owned recycling businesses in Scotland, has invested in three of TOMRA’s AUTOSORT™ optical sorters as part of a £3 million upgrade at the company’s mixed containers MRF in Perth. Designed specifically for local authority contracts, 20,000 tonnes of mixed containers are processed annually at the MRF, specifically aluminium and steel ..read more

“The discovery that a process associated with polymetallic nodules is producing oxygen, in an area targeted by the deep-sea mining industry, provides further support on the urgent need for a moratorium,” said the DSCC. Scientists appear to have found that oxygen is being produced in the deep sea through a process associated with polymetallic nodules on the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean, in the complete absence of sunlight. This finding challenges what is known about how oxygen reaches the deep ocean and how oxygen is produced. There may also be important implications for how deep-sea mining co ..read more

The Chartered Institute of Waste Management (CIWM) has called for extended producer responsibility (EPR) for batteries (and products containing batteries) and a targeted deposit return scheme (DRS). The appeal was made in a new white paper from the group, called ‘An EPR of Everything, Starting with Batteries’. Fires caused by the batteries consumers throw away are causing a major crisis for the waste and resource management sector, taxpayers and the communities in which they occur, explains the CIWM. In 2023 there were more than 1,200 fires caused, or suspected to be caused, by batteries at U ..read more

When thinking about the construction sector and emissions, the first thing that may spring to mind is the CO2 created when heating, cooling and lighting the structure. However, is this the only and most important aspect to explore? Does it give the full picture of a building’s carbon footprint? Indoor air quality expert Volution offers a more expansive appreciation of the topic. Historically, building regulators have looked to “operational carbon” in buildings as an indication of sustainability. This metric solely focuses on the use of carbon over the lifetime of a building and has been the m ..read more

Devon man Christopher Garrett was jailed for 32 months on 14 July after he dumped thousands of tonnes of waste, including asbestos, on land by his home, in a floodplain near Kingsteignton in Devon. He was also ordered to pay a Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation sum of over £200,000, as the Environment Agency reported. Garrett is thought to be the worst offender the EA has seen in Devon and Cornwall for the quantity of asbestos he illegally disposed of. Exeter Crown Court heard that Garrett, aged 64, of Little Lindridge Cottage, Kingsteignton, repeatedly imported waste onto his land, despite b ..read more

A continuous water quality monitoring project has been the the winner in the ‘Pollution Mitigation Initiative of the Year’ category at the Water Industry Awards. Working in partnership with Meteor Communications, APEM Group managed a water quality monitoring project on the River Kent near Kendal in the Lake District. The project was implemented to help ensure the protection of water quality while treated water was discharged into the river through a temporary outfall pipe at a new location, following the damage of the original outfall by storm Desmond in 2015. Hannah Austin, Divisional Direct ..read more