Summary

The Californian Legislature is considering the adoption of three bills that would limit wastewater and air pollution from cruise ships that travel in or near state waters.

Two of the bills would prohibit the release of treated and untreated sewage, oily bilgewater and "gray water" from kitchens, laundries and showers into state waters or the state's four national marine sanctuaries. The other bill would require ships operating within 25 miles of the Californian coast to use cleaner-burning diesel fuel and prohibit them from using on-board incinerators within 90 miles. The proposed legislation would be the strictest state laws regulating an industry that operates mostly beyond national borders.

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The US Transportation Department has proposed federal safety permits for trucking companies from the US, Mexico and Canada hauling radioactive and toxic material and certain explosives in the US. The truckers would also be required to meet new safety and security standards.

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The US Environmental Protection Agency agreed to set new rules for air pollution in national parks and wilderness areas by April 2005 under a court settlement with an environmental group.

The EPA would have to propose the new rules by April 2004 which would require states to impose limits on air pollution from power plants and other sources of emissions that drift long distances and lead to haze and visibility problems in remote areas.

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The Air Pollution Committee of the Japanese Central Environment Council (CEC) has agreed on the next stage emissions limits for off-road vehicles to be implemented in 2006-2008.

The standards apply to off-road vehicles rated between 19-560 kW, which are subjected to registration and are fitted with licence plates. Examples of equipment include forklifts, wheel loaders, and agricultural tractors.

The proposed standards will not require the use of exhaust after-treatment devices, such as diesel particulate filters. The CEC said it will consider adopting after-treatment-forcing standards with implementation dates around 2010.

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The Clean Air Foundation of Canada brings Switch Out, an award winning pollution prevention program to Alberta. Switch Out diverts mercury from the environment by working in conjunction with the Alberta Automotive Recyclers & Dismantlers Association (AARDA) to remove mercury light switches from cars before they are scrapped and recycled for new steel.

Mercury use in automobiles is the fourth largest source of mercury pollution in Canada. Switches collected through the program mean direct reductions in mercury emissions to the environment. A single car can have several switches, each containing about one gram of mercury. Without the Switch Out program, approximately 700 kg of mercury would be emitted into the Canadian environment every year.

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Canada has adopted new regulations that will significantly reduce future contamination of air and water from two toxic substances used in manufacturing processes across Canada. The Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) said the regulations will bring about a 65% reduction in the use of trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PERC) in substances used in solvent degreasing operations.

The Solvent Degreasing Regulations will require solvent degreasing operations that exceed a certain threshold, to reduce the use of TCE and PERC by 65% by 2007 and through reduced use, ultimately reduce the release of these substances into the environment. Some facilities have already introduced new control technologies or switched to alternative solvents or cleaning processes.

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A two-megawatt fuel cell system is to be installed at a coal gasification-combined cycle power plant in US. The system will then be able to produce pollution-free electricity and is expected to be able to produce power for 2,000 homes.

The process will use an electrochemical reaction between the fuel and oxygen from the air to produce electric power. The technology will be the largest to be fuelled by gas made from coal. The remarkable aspect of this technology is its ability to produce hydrogen from coal.

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The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released a draft strategic plan on 'Protecting National, Energy and Economic Security with Advanced Science and Technology and Ensuring Environmental Cleanup' for public consultation.

The document charts DOE's strategies for enhancing and developing environmentally sound technology for renewable energy sources to assure diversity in the sources of energy supply.

Some of the proposed strategies are:

1. To research renewable energy technologies and work with the private sector in developing resources such as natural gas, coal, nuclear and hydropower;
2. To pursue carbon sequestration as a way to achieve near-zero greenhouse gas emissions;
3. To focus on superconducting materials and distributed generation including small-scale and modular energy generation devices;
4. To accelerate the shift to a hydrogen economy by developing technologies to produce hydrogen using renewable and nuclear sources;
5. To develop fuel-cell technologies.

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The government of Canada has committed $1 billion to implement its national climate change plan, with 20 percent of the funds directed to renewable energies.

The sum allocated to renewables was an extension of the Renewable Energy Deployment Initiative which incentivises the installation of green heat technologies such as solar water and space heating systems, low-emission biomass combustion systems and earth energy systems in commercial buildings.

Funds were also allocated to the following areas:

1. Production of decentralized energy technologies using wind, solar and landfill gas;
2. Support for biofuel technologies such as biomass and waste conversions;
3. Development and commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies;
4. Support for the transportation industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase usage of renewable and alternative fuels including gasoline-ethanol blends;
5. Programmes to increase energy efficiency of residential buildings and partnerships with provinces to develop emission reduction initiatives.

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Cement manufacturer Lafarge has become a member of the Worldwide fund for Nature's (WWF) 'climate savers' programme, through its commitment to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 10% between 1990-2010.

Lafarge says it is committed to a 20% reduction in CO₂ emissions per tonne of cement produced worldwide, over this period, which translates to a 10% reductions by 2010 of its 1990 CO₂ emissions in industrialized countries under the 1990 levels.

Lafarge says in order to reduce its emissions it will improve energy efficiency, use waste fuels and incorporate cementitious addition, like steel slags. It says it will also look at ways to increase use of renewable energy.

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Lexmark has joined the U.S. EPA's Plug-In To eCycling campaign to increase the national recycling rate for electrical equipment.

The program is a partnership between the EPA and businesses to take positive steps toward collecting used electrical and electronic equipment. The primary goals of the program are to:

• Reduce the amount of used television, cell phones, computers and printers that end up in landfills
• Safely manage some of the potentially hazardous materials that make up these components
• Recover and reuse valuable materials
• Reduce the pollution and energy tied to the production of new electronics

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Amerol of UK has announced the launch of the new ECO-RP recycling bin.

The ECO-RP bin can be connected together to form a bank or used as an independent stand alone unit. The ECO-RP Recycling Bin accepts a standard wheelie bin of 140 or 240 litre, offering an on street solution to the challenge of waste recycling.

Each type of recycled waste is colour coded for and with the addition of moulded in graphics gives a clear indication of which type of waste should be placed in the bin. With collection apertures on each side of the bin, the ECO-RP Bin can also be used as a standard street litter bin, giving a standardized range for collection of all types of waste.