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Romans staying indoors as waste burns
Roman authorities have urged residents to stay indoors after a blaze at a waste treatment plant in the Italian capital. Media reports say that TMB waste management facility in the city’s northeast has been completely engulfed by the fire. A…
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Is this a turning point for the world’s forests?
Actions always speak louder than words but a document coming out of the UN climate summit last week has the potential to halve the world’s natural forest loss within six years, and to end it within sixteen. The New York…
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More than a thousand new tree seedlings are planted every minute in Canada
In the time it takes you to read this sentence, 169 new tree seedlings will have been planted somewhere in a commercial forest in Canada. By the time you get to the bottom of the page that number will have…
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The Metro Vancouver incineration debate heats up
A recent article from the Surrey North Delta Leader is only one of many local stories published in the past week critical of Metro Vancouver’s plan to build a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant to handle up to 700,000 tonnes of residual waste…
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Newspapers and MMBC fall out over recycling fees
One of the more interesting developments in the struggle to introduce extended producer responsibility (EPR) in British Columbia is the reaction of the organization that represents the newspaper industry to the new recycling system that’s to be introduced next year,…
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Reflections on the Architects of Human-made Disasters; or Why Overlaps Often aren’t such a Bad Thing
By David McRobert (with contributions from Meghan Robinson and Sharon Sam) For decades I have struggled with an illusive, demanding and unforgiving mistress who has kept up me many nights: my muse asks, “David how can we balance economic goals…
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Ontario Bill 91 Waste Reduction Act and the role of recyclers
By stimulating innovation, strict environmental regulations can actually enhance competitiveness. Toward a New Conception of the Environment-Competitiveness Relationship Michael E. Porter and Claas van der Linde The Waste Reduction Strategy –- the Ontario Ministry of the Environment’s marketing document that…
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The Lac Megantic, Quebec explosion
It was with great sadness that I learned this weekend of the tragic train derailment, explosion and loss of life at the town of Lac Megantic, Quebec. Ironically, we had just finished printing and mailing the Summer 2013 edition of HazMat…
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New info from an in-depth article on the Deepwater Horizon spill
Our sister publication HazMat Management focuses on contaminated site cleanup, new technology and pollution abatement. We have a strong readership (and growing) in the oil & gas sector, and in oil services companies. So I thought an in-depth article that appeared on…
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Back to the Future: The Beer Store’s Recycling Plus in Perspective
Image: Sung, One of North Toronto’s numerous soft drink can recyclers, July 2012. Photo credit: David McRobert. Authors’ Note: This blog was drafted on February 17th but I was unable to load it due to technical and software…