A Regional Waste Exchange for Central America
Monday, August 3rd, 2009For years I’ve advocated establishing and heavily promoting subregional (or in the case of huge and diverse market of Brazil, at least a national) waste exchanges as one way to promote more reuse and recycling and to minimize wastage. It certainly makes more sense than national waste exchanges, particularly in the case of a collection […]
Eye on Ads: Latin American Idol Urges Paper, Tetra-Pak Recycling
Friday, June 19th, 2009An interesting ad from Panama, featuring Margarita Henriquez Vuela, the 2008 Latin American Idol winner (this is the Latin American version of the hit US television contest, American Idol) from Panama. Paper packaging manufacturers and Tetra-Pak, the lead manufacturer of aseptic packaging, are pushing a recycling campaign with Margarita as one of their spokespersons.
Oaxaca Gets a Comprehensive Waste Law
Friday, June 5th, 2009The legislature of the Mexican state of Oaxaca (OX) just sent the governor a gift for World Environment Day: a comprehensive state solid waste law. Since Mexico adopted its federal General Law for the Prevention and Integrated Management of Wastes in 2003, the Federal District (DF) and many states have adopted their own general waste […]
IFC Supports PET Recycling in Mexico / IFC respalda el reciclaje de PET en México
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009From the International Finance Corporation (IFC): IFC Supports PetStar’s Launch of Recycling Facility to Reduce Waste in Mexico IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, supported the launch of operations for Petstar SA de CV’s bottle–to-bottle recycling facility, which is expected to significantly reduce the volume of non-biodegradable waste and contribute to greater longevity […]
An E-Waste Bill for Colombia
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009After months of rumbling on the issue (here and here), Colombia finally has its first formal proposal to regulate waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE or “e-waste” or “e-scrap”) — in this case, in the form of a bill introduced in the Colombian Senate. Whether or not the bill manages to pass before the 2010 […]
Salvadorian Industry Initiative Recovers 2178 Tons of Plastic Waste in 2008
Friday, April 3rd, 2009El Salvador’s Environment Ministry (MARN) and Health Ministry (MSPAS) just recognized the efforts of a local industry initiative known as Reciplast, which in 2008 recovered 2,178.3 metric tons (mT) of plastic waste. What is Reciplast? It owes its existence in part to MARN and MSPAS. In 2001 MARN and MSPAS launched a National Program for […]
More Argentine WEEE Proposals
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009And the momentum for regulating e-waste keeps on building in Argentina… This week saw two bills proposed in Argentina on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE or “e-waste” or “e-scrap”) this week, one at the provincial level and the other at the federal. At the federal level, a bill was introduced in the national congress […]
Mario Vargas Llosa, Recycling Ambassador
Thursday, March 19th, 2009Peru’s most famous living author, Mario Vargas Llosa, has been named “Ambassador of Recycling” by the “Recíclame, cumple TU papel” campaign. That’s him in the photo here and the video below, wearing a special white suit designed for him by Peruvian fashion designer Lucia Cuba Oroza and made from recycled paper. [Temas Observation: Seeing Vargas […]
Toward a Sustainable Photovoltaics Industry
Saturday, March 14th, 2009Photovoltaic (PV) technology usually is portrayed as a “win-win” solution that can harness “free” solar energy to address climate change, reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports and create “green jobs.” Its greater use has often been advocated for many of the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) (see here, here, here and here). […]
Government Study Calls for Mexican Battery Regulation / Estudio recomenda normatividad sobre las pilas en México
Friday, March 13th, 2009Mexico’s National Ecology Institute (INE) has just released an “environmental diagnosis” of portable batteries in that country. The study looks at the growth of battery consumption in Mexico, a recent analysis of the chemical composition of both formal and informal (“pirate”) batteries (looking particularly at heavy metal content and any other aspects that may make […]
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