News Archive
Latest 31 news articles
China blighted by soil pollution, figures show
Chinese farmers are fighting a continuous battle against soil pollution, it has been suggested. A report published in the Southern Metropolis Daily has indicated that ten per cent of agricultural land in the Asian country is blighted by contaminated water. As a result, many soil samples have been found to contain excessive levels of heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury. This has placed whole villages in danger of poisoning. "Heavy metal pollution incidents have occurred repeatedly in r...
Research highlights nuclear soil pollution in Japan
Some farmers in Japan are unable to safely cultivate their land due to soil pollution caused by the atomic disaster in Fukushima earlier this year. A radiation leak was recorded at the nuclear power plant following a huge earthquake and resultant tsunami. Now a team of researchers have warned that food grown in some nearby regions will be blighted by high levels of caesium found in the soil, the Associated Press reports. The research has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy...
UK Soil Association laments pig farm plans
The UK Soil Association has called for plans to build a giant pig farm in the Midlands to be put on hold, after it raised fears over potential air and soil pollution. Midland Pig Producers wants to build a "mega" pig farm in Foston in Derbyshire, which will be capable of housing up to 25,000 of the animals. However, representatives of the Soil Association have highlighted a new study conducted by the Health Protection Association (HPA), which indicated that people living in the vicinity of the...
Bright Future for West Yorkshire as Sustainable Clean Up of Chemical Works Gets Underway
Aeternum (UK), the developer that owns the former Hickson Chemical Works in Castleford, West Yorkshire (UK), are awaiting the findings of an expert industry group as it nears the end of a £1.2 million trial to look at techniques to clean up residual contamination left behind on parts of the site by nearly a century of chemical industry. This is the latest phase in the clean-up and sustainable regeneration of the site by the Aeternum team, who have already been working closely with Wakefield Coun...
Standard Helps Bring ‘Brownfield’ Land Back Into Use
Disused and potentially contaminated land, or ‘Brownfield’ land as it’s sometimes called, is a long-standing headache for many communities in the UK the British Standards Institution (BSI) reports. Under the Environmental Protection Act, regulators are mandated to assess and make safe any contaminated land that could potentially pose risks to human health, the environment, waters and buildings. In an ideal world that would mean investigating and cleaning up every potentially contaminated...
High Demand in US and EU for In Situ Thermal Remediation in 2011
TerraTherm (USA), a rapidly growing provider of environmental remediation services and technologies, is expanding both North American operations and a key licensing partnership in the European Union to accommodate surging adoption of their technologies. The company also announced that it anticipates completion of their 60th ISTD site sometime in 2011. Fifty-nine sites on five continents have been remediated with TerraTherm’s In Situ Thermal Desorption (ISTD) technology and numerous projec...
Environmental Remediation Veterans Join TerraTherm Management Team
TerraTherm (USA), a rapidly growing provider of environmental remediation services and technologies, announces that it has added accomplished industry veterans Prakash Acharya and Philip Theriault to its management team as part of its continuing growth strategy. As Engineering Department Manager, Acharya is responsible for TerraTherm’s process, detailed engineering, regulatory and permitting efforts. In the role of Field Operations Manager, Theriault will oversee construction and operations of U...
Mobile Thermal Soil Remediation
World leaders in Mobile, Thermal Soil Remediation, Nelson Environmental Remediation, Ltd. (“NER”, www.ner.ab.ca, continues a strong year of soil remediation services, capturing two new projects in Canada, set to begin in late-2010 / early-2011. “We are very pleased with the prospects for our services in Canada, Europe, the United States and Asia, after what has been a marketing and business development-intensive year for us”, said Darryl Nelson, President & CEO of NER. “We are positioned to fini...
Soil Remediation Specialists Reports Record Year
Nelson Environmental Remediation (“NER”, Canada) reports a record year of contaminated soil remediation via their Mobile, Thermal Soil Remediation (MTSR) technology. “We have completed our single largest run of soil treatment with a major Canadian oil & gas client recently, being awarded Prime Contractor status on what was in excess of 100,000 tonnes of material remediation”, said Darryl Nelson, President and CEO of NER. In addition, NER has been awarded a contract in the Province of Saskatche...
U.S. Air Force Sustainable Remediation
AECOM (USA) has been awarded a follow-on 12 month contract with the United States Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE) to further develop AFCEE’s publically available Sustainable Remediation Tool (SRT™), which AECOM first developed in 2008. According to Erica Becvar, head of the AFCEE Technology Transfer Outreach Office,” the SRT serves three vital purposes: 1) optimizing existing remediation technology systems, 2) planning for future remediation technologies, and 3) com...
Succeeding in challenging times: an international approach to brownfield projects
Ciria’s much awaited annual contaminated land conference is back and this year, it is being held at the historical American centre, in the heart of the city of London on 14th October. The construction sector in the UK and overseas has been hard hit by the current global economic crisis. However, major land regeneration projects around the world continue to develop, among many examples, projects associated with the 2012 Games in London and the Commonwealth Games in 2014 in Glasgow are progressin...
Eco Expo Asia receives strong support from the Hong Kong Environment Bureau
Following its success in 2008, Eco Expo Asia, Hong Kong’s only trade fair that is dedicated to products, services and solutions for environmental protection returns with a new co-organiser, the Hong Kong Environment Bureau. Last year’s event attracted over 6,000 visitors from around the world, an increase of 20% as compared with 2007. The fourth edition of the fair will run from 28 – 31 October 2009 at AsiaWorld-Expo, with strong support from both loc...
Biological Treatment and Recycling Facility Set to Expand in Support of Landfill Diversion Initiatives by Local Authorities
New Earth Solutions (UK) biological treatment and recycling facility in Poole, England is set to expand in response to an increased demand for the processing of mixed municipal household waste, including kitchen scraps and cardboard, via bio stabilisation and mechanical recovery (MBS) technologies. The existing facility, which is being expanded in order to process 50,000 tonnes per annum of municipal and commercial waste, will be extended to provide an additional 2100m2 floor space capacity fo...
New polystyrene processing technologies saves landfill space
Ever wonder where those Styrofoam® school cafeteria trays, end up? Not to mention those Styrofoam coffee cups. What about the Styrofoam packaging that comes with appliances, such as TV’s and computers? For most of America, they get tossed into the garbage and hauled to the landfill. But why. . . they take up valuable space in land fills, and take years to decompose. In Florida, an Innovative Waste and Reduction Grant between the State, and RecycleTech Corp...
DAIRY UK WELCOMES BV DAIRY ANAEROBIC DIGESTER
Dairy UK today welcomed news that member BV Dairy is to trial technology that turns waste into power. Dorset-based BV Dairy is receiving government funding for a demonstration anaerobic digestion project, which should supply a significant part of its energy requirements. BV makes a range of fresh dairy products at its Shaftesbury dairy. Dairy UK Environment Manager Fergus McReynolds said: “I’m delighted to see this project going ahead. Anaerobic digestion technology can play a major role in re...
RIXONWAY KITCHENS ARE DEDICATED TO REDUCING THEIR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Social housing kitchen manufacturer Rixonway Kitchens (UK) acknowledge their environmental obligations and take their responsibilities very seriously. To meet the current environmental challenges, they have developed a variety of tools, policies and strategies to reduce their environmental impact. Some 10 million tons of wood waste are produced each year in the UK, of which only 1.5 million tons are recycled. Rixonway salvages 100% of the wood waste from its production process and feeds it into...
PDM Group wins food waste recycling contract with BaxterStorey and Land Securities
Commercial caterer, BaxterStorey, has awarded the food waste collection and recycling contract for Land Securities’ headquarters on The Strand to PDM Group, the UK’s largest food waste recycler. With strong corporate environmental targets, Land Securities wanted to ensure that the food waste from the company’s canteen did not go to landfill. To deliver this requirement, BaxterStorey has joined forces with PDM, which has been handling food waste for more than 80 years, to collect the waste produ...
New single-shaft shredder for the domestic and commercial waste sector
MeWa Recycling Maschinen und Anlagenbau (Germany) offers a high-performance solution for the pre-shredding of domestic and commercial waste. The AlphaCutter series is a slow-running single-shaft shredder for difficult materials with high throughput quantities. In three different rotor sizes ranging from 2,200 to 3,700 millimetres in length, the new development can prepare up to 50 tonnes per hour. ‘Particularly in the area of domestic and commercial waste as well as with heavy materials such as...
Sewage Sludge Dewatering Using High Efficiency Decanter Centrifuges
Clean water is one of our most important resources. A characteristic of the modern waste water treatment is high technical and economic efficiency. The more efficient the treatment the higher the amount of generated sewage sludge. Depending on origin and pre-treatment, the composition of waste water is variable. Since requirements and legal stipulations for waste water treatment are getting more and more stringent, several processes for treatment have been developed. Accordingly, the composition...
New research results in tighter control on risk assessment of waste sites
New research released by Cranfield University in England will provide tighter risk assessment procedures for composting and organic waste treatment sites. The research, which was funded by the Environment Agency (EA), addressed a number of issues common to waste processing operations including odour and bio-aerosols. The potential impact of these on communities and their quality of life was also assessed. The research has resulted in new guidelines being drafted that will affect the way wa...
New Atex Certification of QED Landfill and Remediation Pumps
To better serve European needs for safe and reliable equipment for landfill and groundwater remediation pumping, QED has recently achieved EU ATEX factory certification of its major products. In a first for the European market, QED`s highly regarded free product recovery/groundwater remediation equipment is now available with full ATEX certification. QED`s AutoPump® air-powered automatic pumping systems are the world`s leading choice for difficult pumping applications, including for pumping...
Grontmij CFO Resigns to Become CFO at Breevast
Douwe van der Werf, member of the Executive Board and CFO of Grontmij N.V., has decided to leave the company. For more than five years he has successfully contributed to the development of the results of Grontmij. As per April 1 Mr Van der Werf will become CFO at Breevast B.V. Breevast is a Dutch company that invests in, develops and exploits commercial and residential real estate worldwide. Douwe van der Werf will stay at Grontmij as CFO until the publication of the 2008 figures on March 12...
Trade Fair for Waste Management, Industrial Recovery and Recycling
From 24 – 26 September 2008, the first edition of ExpoRecicla, International Exhibition for Industrial Recovery and Recycling, Waste Management and Waste-to-Value Systems will be held at the Saragossa Expo Centre. ExpoRecicla is being billed as a unique chance to bring together professionals from the recycling sector in a specialised and specifically-targeted technical exhibition. This new trade fair is clearly different from other events that provide a more general focus on the subject, with...
Innovative Sequencing Batch Reactor System
The OMNIFLO ISBR system has an inherent biological nutrient removal (BNR) capability through the use of automated controls that provide optimum environments for each BNR reaction. It also produces a very high-quality effluent at varying flows and loadings. The small footprint OMNIFLO ISBR system produces a very low sludge yield of 0.05 to 0.25 pounds of biological solids per pound of BOD per day and, compared to a typical SBR system, provides increased flexibility as well as significant power sa...
Applying Science to Make Smells Sweeter and Composting Quicker
There`s good news for composting plant operators, County Mulch is using science to change composting rules, potentially halving times and eliminating odours using their advanced Mistral aeration system. Advanced Mistral has been trialled at Stanton in Suffolk, where it is composting 45,000 tonnes per year of organic waste. The incoming organic waste is firstly treated to the EU ABPR standard in a series of In Vessel composting tunnels constructed by Covered Systems Ltd (UK). The resultant compos...
Innovative Sequencing Batch Reactor System
SRM, one of Europe`s largest waste disposal companies, has developed a process that enables it to accept organic containing solids and sludges in `bulk` form, including in skips and tipper vehicles. This has become important because the final phase of the Landfill Directive now often prevents such material from being sent to landfill sites. The solids handling plant has been designed and built by SRM`s own research and development and engineering teams. The type of material it can accept include...
Toxic Soil and Waste Remediation
The Sustainable Technology Fund managed by E-Synergy has invested £1 million in toxic soil and waste remediation specialist Envirotreat Ltd. E-Synergy led the £1.7 million investment round which also included £350 and £325k respectively from co-investors Pre-X and Catapult Venture Managers. Following the investment, Envirotreat (UK) has appointed Duncan Martin, former director of hazardous waste at Veolia Environmental Services, as chief executive to lead its next growth stage. Envirotreat is an...
Alliance Formed to Meet the Increasing Demand for Catalytic Emissions Control on Combined Heat and Power Plants in Denmark
Johnson Matthey announce its strategic alliance with Denmark-based Averhoff Energi Anlæg A/S (AEA), engineering consultants to the industrial gas engines and combined heat and power (CHP) industry, to further consolidate its presence in the European stationary source emissions control (SSEC) sector. Ever-tightening legislative controls on transport emissions mean that the relative impact of air pollution from stationary sources such as chemical plant, industrial processes and heat and power gene...
Significant Breakthrough in Treatment of Toxic Waste Announced by Leading UK University
Cranfield University (UK) Health scientists have made a significant technical breakthrough in the treatment of both chemically toxic waste and highly toxic carcinogenic waste which, until now, have proven either extremely expensive, or difficult to break down. Jeff Newman, a Consultant and Lecturer in Environmental Biotechnology at Cranfield University and independent Environmental Consultant Ian Paton, have been working on a new treatment process for the last five years, driven by operator dem...
ACT - Automated Chemostate Treatment Technology is the Next Generation in Bioremediation Solutions for Refineries
Water purification in oil refineries is known to be a critical process in which significant capital, efforts and leading technologies are invested. However, the process requires numerous, cumbersome, mechanical steps, which are also complicated and very expensive. ACT, the new solution from BPC (USA), uses pioneering technology to deliver a process which is much simpler, more cost effective and exceptionally easy to implement. ACT technology directly addresses the three main drawbacks of convent...
Exclusive Non-WAC Compliant Hazardous Waste Direct Landfilling Rights Secured
The waste management team have, for a limited period, negotiated exclusive access at Teesport No. 3 Landfill for the disposal of specified granular wastes with elevated hazardous WAC limits. Woodford Environmental (UK) have recently been granted, for a limited period, exclusive rights for direct landfilling of non-WAC compliant hazardous waste (parameter: TOC less than or equal to 47%) at Teesport No.3 Landfill. This is in addition to the company`s existing rights for the disposal of WAC complia...