Subscribe to My Feed
Loading ...Upcycling Raffia Sacks
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009Ortigueira is a small municipality (about 24,000) in the rural interior of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná (PR), about 200 kilometers from the state capital. Until recently it was perhaps best known as the city with lowest human development index (HDI)* ranking for the state. Now it’s becoming known as a center of an […]
EPA to Study Puerto Rico Waters
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009From the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): EPA to Study Puerto Rico Waters and Marine Habitat For nearly two weeks, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will study water, reefs and marine habitats in the Caribbean Sea around Puerto Rico. Starting today, EPA’s ocean survey vessel, the OSV BOLD, will conduct a series of scientific […]
Santiago Sets 25% Recycling Target
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009A working group co-chaired by the National Environment Commission’s directorate for the Metropolitan Region (CONAMA-RM), the mayor’s office and the nongovernmental organization Casa de La Paz (“Peace House”) — aided by the steel firm Gerdau AZA and the German technical cooperation agency GTZ — has hammered out an action plan to have the RM — […]
Recycling Used Motor Oil Packaging in Brazil
Thursday, December 25th, 2008In past posts I’ve discussed how recovery of used motor oil is still in its early stages in Latin American nations such as Brazil and Colombia. But that’s only part of the waste problem generated by the lubricants we use in motor vehicles. There’s also the packaging that the new motor oil comes in, the […]
Pará Adopts a Recycling Policy
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008Earlier this month Governor Simão Jatene signed a law creating a State Materials Recycling Policy for Pará. The new Law is based on similar measures adopted recently by its neighbor Amapá and by several other Brazilian states, including Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Rondônia (see the Temas list of waste/recycling legislation […]
Biodegradable Containers Made from Sugarcane Waste
Monday, August 4th, 2008Synopsis in English: Three biotech enterprises and a university from the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (MG) have developed a biodegradable material made from sugarcane waste (bagasse) which they believe will be shortly be available for the manufacture of packaging and containers. The three firms (Viveiro Flora Brasil, Lótus Soluções Ambientais, Floema Nutrição Vegetal) and […]
Amapá Adopts a Recycling Policy
Friday, August 1st, 2008In early July Governor Waldez Góes signed a law creating a State Materials Recycling Policy. The new Law is based on similar measures adopted by several other Brazilian states, including Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Rondônia. It seeks to promote and provide incentives to the commercialization and industrial utilization of used […]
Apoio de R$22.9 milhões para cooperativas de catadores
Monday, October 15th, 2007Synopsis in English: Brazilian President Lula announced on 01 October the first 24 financial lines to be awarded by the National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES) to cooperatives of unofficial waste sorters/ recyclers known in Brazil as catadores. The catador cooperatives are generally composed of the very poor that live off of the recyclables […]
Minas Seeks Packaging Waste Dialogue with Tetra-Pak
Friday, September 28th, 2007Paraná forced a deal on Tetra Pak regarding waste from its long-life packaging (aseptic) packaging; now Minas Gerais (MG) wants a dialog about the same issue. If I were Tetra Pak executives, I’d start being concerned about the direction the drink packaging waste issue is taking in Brazil (if they aren’t already). As I mentioned […]
Printer Cartridges for Movie Tickets
Sunday, July 29th, 2007Colombia's Environment Ministry (MAVDT) recently heralded a new program launched in that country by Lexmark International, the global company that makes printers and toner and ink cartridges, to give people a free ticket for any movie showing at the Cine Colombia chain in exchange for turning in a used printer cartridge. Lexmark also extended to […]