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Loading ...Paper Made from Recycled Plastic
Friday, January 16th, 2009According to a report from São Paulo’s Research Support Foundation (Fapesp), a synthetic “paper” made from discarded post-consumer plastics has been developed at Brazil’s Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) and tested in a pilot plant of Vitopel, a manufacturer of flexible films with a factory in Votorantim, São Paulo. Produced as a film, the […]
Una norma andina sobre los productos de higiene doméstica / An Andean Norm on Household and Personal Hygiene Products
Saturday, December 20th, 2008Synopsis in English: Last week the Trade Ministers of the Andean Community (CAN) approved a new Community norm to harmonize member states’ (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) sanitary control regimes regarding household and personal hygiene products, such as soaps, detergents, fabric softeners, surface cleansers, stain removers, bleaches, air fresheners, sanitary towels, disposable diapers, tampons, towelettes, etc. […]
Colombia’s First Eco-Certified Hotel
Sunday, July 13th, 2008Synopsis in English: Colombia’s Environment Ministry (MAVDT) has officially delivered to Hotel Puerta del Sol in Barranquilla the first Environmental Seal ever awarded to a hotel. The Environmental Seal is Colombia’s official ecolabel, created by decree in 2005. So far award criteria have been concluded for only two categories: lodging and cleaning products. For a […]
If You Can’t Find It Here, You May Not Find It
Friday, February 1st, 2008Quite a few Temas Blog readers noticed the absence of new posts for several weeks. I was fully occupied with work day-and-night on the final stages of the total revamp and re-launch of my main site, temasactuales.com Although work continues on the Spanish and Portuguese versions (coming soon!), the burden has lightened enough that I […]
Giving LAC’s First Plastic Packaging Law Teeth
Saturday, November 3rd, 2007An interesting thing happened over the last two weeks. Well, interesting to people like me who’ve been following the packaging waste debate for decades, at least. Environment enforcement officials for Rio de Janeiro (RJ) state “blitzed” supermarkets in Rio de Janeiro city — first on 19 October in the well-to-do Leblon section, then on 23 […]
A Huge Donation for Brazil’s Chief Consumer NGO / Uma donação grande para a ONG brasileira principal de defesa do consumidor / Una donación grande para la ONG brasileña principal de defensa del consumidor
Thursday, August 16th, 2007This grant from the MIF is a major coup for the Brazilian Consumer Defense Institute (IDEC), probably increasing their operating funds by 50% and cementing their lead as Latin America and the Caribbean’s (LAC) best funded consumer group. Parabéns, IDEC e Marliena Lazzarini (a Presidente do Instituto). To understand better the importance of IDEC and […]
Greening the IDB / A Verdecer el BID
Saturday, April 21st, 2007From the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): Calling for eco-efficiency at the IDB In celebration of Earth Day, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno will challenge IDB staff to participate in a Bank-wide greening campaign On the occasion of Earth Day (April 22), the Inter-American Development Bank renews its commitment to the protection of our environment, and […]
Consumer Protection in LAC II-B – Consumer Legislation in LAC Nations
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007To make up for missing World Consumer Rights Day (March 15), I promised to give you a five-part overview of consumer protection in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In Part I, I looked at how consumer agencies and consumer NGOs in the region celebrated the Day. In Part II-A, I provided an overview of […]
Consumer Protection in LAC II-A – The Intergovernmental Actors
Friday, April 13th, 2007To make up for missing World Consumer Rights Day (March 15), I promised to give you a five-part overview of consumer protection in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In Part I, I looked at how consumer agencies and consumer NGOs in the region celebrated the Day. Today I’ll provide an overview of and guide […]
PAC’ing Brazil II: Regulatory Agencies
Friday, March 2nd, 2007In Part I, I provided an overview of what the Program for Accelerated Growth (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento – PAC) proposed by President Lula is and why it matters to the issues I discuss in The Temas Blog. I also discussed its most direct impact on environment policy, the proposed changes in environmental licensing. […]