Green IT Rating System Expanded to Brazil and Mexico
Monday, August 10th, 2009From EPEAT: The Green Electronics Council Announces Major Expansion of EPEAT International Green IT purchasing system enables electronics manufacturers to register computers and monitors in 40 countries The Green Electronics Council today announced the availability of an international EPEAT purchasing registry, a major development that enables the world’s leading electronics manufacturers to list ‘green’ computers […]
Brazil Raises Steel Can Recycling to 49%
Thursday, March 19th, 2009From the World Steel Association: Global steel can recycling rate reaches highest recorded level The World Steel Association (worldsteel) announced today that 7.2 million metric tons (mmt) of steel cans were recycled across the 37 countries reporting in 2007. This avoided approximately 13 mmt of CO2 emissions. The global recycling rate for steel cans was […]
Mexican Consumer Group Demands Vehicle Efficiency Labeling / Los consumidores mexicanos exigen etiquetado de eficiencia y de las emisiones de los vehículos
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009Synopsis in English: A Mexican consumer group, The Power of the Consumer (El Poder del Consumidor – EPC) is calling upon automobile manufacturers to label all new vehicles sold in Mexico regarding their fuel efficiency [kilometers (km) per liter consumed] and greenhouse gas emissions [primarily grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted per km], similar to […]
Update: Among the World’s Top PET Recyclers
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008Who was #2 in PET recycling in 2006 (the last year for which there are comparable figures among nations)? Did you answer Brazil? In 2006 Brazil recycled 180 kilotons (Kt), representing about 51.3% of the PET sold in the country during that year. This means that Brazil recycles at double the rate that the US […]
7-Time World Champion Recycler of Aluminum Cans
Monday, August 25th, 2008The title refers to Brazil, of course. The Brazilian Association of Manufacturers of Highly Recyclable Cans (Abralatas) — what the Brazilian Association of Aluminum Can Manufacturers now calls itself — and the Brazilian Aluminum Association (ABAL) have just released their final, official recycling statistics for 2007. For the seventh year in a row, Brazil leads […]
Are Biodegradable Plastic Bags Really Better?
Saturday, September 22nd, 2007In my rant last June about unnecessary plastic wrap being praised by Chile’s Environment Minister simply because it is “biodegradable,” I promised a guest post from an expert who can explain better than I can the debate over whether “biodegradable” plastic bags are really a substantial improvement over conventional plastic bags. I’m happy to publish […]
Dell Offers Recycling Throughout LAC? Not Yet!
Saturday, March 17th, 2007In mid-December I saw headlines in the US and Latin America announcing that Dell’s computer recycling program had been expanded to become global. A 12 December Dell press release proclaimed “Dell Completes Implementation of Global Free Recycling” and this release was echoed faithfully by GreenBiz, for example. “With today’s announcement, our efforts to make recycling […]
Quiz: Who is 5-Time World Champion Recycler of Aluminum Cans?
Saturday, January 13th, 2007Brazil is five times champion of what? Well, yeah, football (futbol, or soccer as my American friends insist on calling it). But something else too: Brazil has led the world in recycling aluminum cans five years in a row (so it is not a anomaly or “blip”!). In 2005 Brazil recycled 96.2%, higher than Japan […]