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Loading ...Chile to Ratify the London Dumping Protocol
Friday, September 18th, 2009President Bachelet has sent the 1996 Protocol to the London Convention on Dumping to the Chilean Congress for ratification, and initial indications are that both houses view ratification favorably. If they do so, it will change Chilean law on disposing of wastes at sea and make Chile only the sixth Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) […]
Espirito Santo Adopts Law on Products Containing Heavy Metals
Thursday, May 21st, 2009Last month Paraná (PR) adopted a law on mercury-containing products, now Espírito Santo (ES) has adopted a law on products containing heavy metals. Which Brazilian state is next, and will it adopt PR’s single-substance approach, or ES’ broader wider net? Points of Confusion Article 1 of the brief ES law requires “suppliers” and distributors of […]
Brazil Bans DDT
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009Brazilian President Lula just signed a law banning all manufacture, import, export, stocking, sale or use of the organochlorine pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, more commonly known as DDT. The law also requires (a) the incineration of all existing DDT stocks in Brazil within 30 days; (b) federal agencies to complete a study within two years of the environmental […]
Paraná Adopts Take-Back Law for Mercury-Containing Products
Saturday, April 18th, 2009Earlier this month the governor of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná (PR) signed a brief law that would require the take-back of fluorescent lamps, piles, cell phone batteries “and other artefacts” that contain metallic mercury. Who Collects? The law requires resellers of such products in the state to provide suitable collection bins on their […]
A True Solution to Aruba’s Waste Problem, or Just Fluff?
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009Temas Note: I’m not familiar with neither the technology mentioned, nor the company, but I’m frankly skeptical until I investigate further. Is this really the best solution to that island’s waste problem? _________________ From WasteAway: Island of Aruba Chooses Wastaway Technology to Solve Trash Problem Bouldin and Lawson, a subsidiary of Bouldin Corporation, recently secured […]
Brazil to Release GHG Inventory for Waste & Sanitation Sectors / Brasil vai divulgar dados sobre a emissão de gases de efeito estufa do setor de resíduos sólidos e efluentes
Monday, December 29th, 2008While many developing nations — including most Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) nations — are content to submit the minimum communication required under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Brazil has not taken the easy route. If you check the Temas listing of national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, you’ll see that no less […]
Brasil vai elaborar cenário nacional de emissões de gases de efeito estufa em 2030 / Brazil to Prepare National Scenario for Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2030
Thursday, November 6th, 2008Synopsis in English: The World Bank is funding the preparation of a national scenario for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for Brazil for the year 2030, which Brazil hopes to have ready to forward in 2009 to the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Brazilian team includes the Science and Technology […]
Brazil Adopts New Battery Rules
Friday, September 12th, 2008Brazil’s National Environment Council (CONAMA) just replaced the country’s groundbreaking 1999 rules on the environmental management of batteries and piles (pilhas) with even tougher ones. Manufacturers should take note, since legislators and regulators in other Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) nations will. The original rules served as a reference point for many LAC policymakers, particularly […]
Mato Grosso’s E-Waste Law / A Lei de Mato Grosso Sobre E-lixo
Sunday, June 1st, 2008Last month, while The Temas Blog was still on hiatus, the central Brazilian state of Mato Grosso (MT) became the first Latin American jurisdiction to pass a specific law on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), or “technological trash” (lixo tecnológico) as Brazilians tend to call it.* The new law creates a take-back regime and […]
Amazonas “Visionary” on Climate Change?
Friday, September 7th, 2007In June Amazonas became the first Brazilian state to adopt a state law on climate change, together with one creating a State System of Conservation Units (UCs). The laws were widely praised by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working on environment and conservation issues. A Greenpeace spokesman even declared them to be “almost visionary, but perfectly capable […]