September

Badana Project: turning banana plants into plastic

A team of researchers in Belfast working on the Badana Project have successfully used the banana plant to make plastic. A technique known as rotational moulding was used in the process.

When the bananas are harvested, the remaining plant goes to waste and becomes decomposition material. An estimated 25,000 tonnes of the natural fibre that could be used in the Badana Project is dumped each year. The Badana Project promises to prevent this, as these 25,000 tonnes of sustainable plant fibre can be used to make everyday household items such as wheelie bins.

It is hoped that this new development will help to create employment in the banana industry as well as promoting sustainability.

EU Action Plan on urban mobility

On 30^th September, the European Commission adopted an Action Plan on urban mobility. This plan aims to encourage local, regional and national authorities to further their aims in sustainable urban mobility.

The Action Plan makes twenty suggestions to help the authorities. For example, the promotion of clean, energy-efficient vehicles, and improvements of urban transport through better co-ordination. EU funding will also be made available for research on zero-emission vehicles.

A review of the Action Plan will take place in 2012.

For further information, see the European Commission website.

Kiev Protocol on Pollutant Release & Transfer Registers to enter into force

On 8th October an international protocol for the recording and reporting of 86 pollutants came into force. The protocol, which was agreed in 2003, requires a minimum of 16 states to ratify it before it can be entered into force.

In July, France reached this threshold and became the 16^th state to ratify the protocol. Hungary and the UK quickly followed suit, bringing the total number of ratifications so far to nineteen.

Under the protocol, companies will have to make annual reports on emissions of certain pollutants. These will be recorded on the new European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR).

Full details of the protocol are available on the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) website.

European Environment Agency (EEA) & European Water Partnership (EWP) partnership

The EEA and the EWP have announced that they will work together in a bid to improve water usage in Europe. They will collaborate on implementing the ‘vision for water in a sustainable Europe’ that was launched in 2008.

Awareness-raising will be another key aspect in the cooperation between the EEA and the EWP. This will include informing those involved in sectors using high volumes of water such as agriculture, water utilities, industries and transport, as well as the general public. To help inform these various sectors, the EEA has developed indicators and benchmarking on water use.

The partnership also plans to improve water information management in Europe, and provide direct information from those involved in water businesses on efficient water use and sustainable solutions.

Further details are available on the EEA website.

€500m invested in Ireland’s green-energy industry by EIB

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will invest up to €500m in Ireland to help secure our green electricity supplies. €300m is to be invested in Eirgrid’s construction of the Ireland-Wales electricity interconnector, which will allow Ireland to import and export wind energy.

EIB will lend the remaining €200m to ESB for the development of its renewable energy business. This will help fund the installation of 248MW of wind power in different locations around the country by 2012.

At the moment, imported fossil fuels account for 95% of Ireland’s energy supplies. The investments from EIB will help the Government achieve its aim of providing 40% of Ireland’s energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.

Experts predict at least two metre rise in sea levels

At the Climate Change Conference in Oxford earlier this week, experts predicted that the world’s sea levels will rise by at least two metres. This, they believe, would be extremely difficult to prevent, even if the world reached a stage of zero GHG emissions.

Stefan Rahmstorf, a scientist at Potsdam Institute in Germany, estimated that a 3% rise in temperature over the next 300 years would result in the sea level rising by five metres. Rahmstorf believes that the only way to prevent such a dramatic rise in sea levels would be if we could cool the planet.

Delegates are meeting in Bangkok from September 28^th – October 9^th to try to pave the way towards the ambitious global deal on climate change in Copenhagen in December.

Northern Ireland’s GHG emissions drop

According to AEA Technology’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report, Northern Ireland ’s GHG emissions have fallen by 13% between 1990 and 2007. During the same period, carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced by 9%. The savings have been earned in the areas of electricity supply, waste management, domestic and agricultural use.

The report can be downloaded on the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) website.

Plastic bag levy likely to increase

The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has indicated that a new Bill expected to be published next month may lead to an increase of the plastic bag levy to 44 cent.

A 15 cent levy was first introduced in March 2002, which was subsequently increased to 22 cent in July 2007.

Ireland's first bio-degrabable plastic bottle

The Clare Spring Water Company has announced that they are developing Ireland’s first bio-degradable and compostable plastic bottles, which will be made from plants. It is estimated that 90 new jobs may be created over the next three years as a result of the company’s expanded operations, mainly in the areas of manufacturing, recycling, engineering and sales.

Green energy will also be used in the manufacturing of the bottles. One wind turbine is expected to provide almost one third of their power/energy needs.

First shark sanctuary in the world created

Palau, a small Pacific nation, is set to create the world’s first shark sanctuary. A ban on all commercial fishing will be put in place in order to protect over 130 shark and ray species that are in danger of extinction.

Many sharks are hunting solely for their fins. These are a highly-valued in Asia , where shark fin soup is a symbol of wealth. An estimated 73 million sharks are killed every year, and as sharks have low fertility rates they are highly threatened by overfishing.

The protected area is to extend 200 miles from Palau’s coastline. Although there will be considerable difficultly in monitoring the shark sanctuary area, President Johnson Toribiong is hoping for cooperation and support in Palau’s move to help wildlife conservation.

Strogs: new environmentally friendly straw briquettes

Niall McGrath, a farmer from Fingal, Co. Dublin , has created a new eco-friendly solid fuel product. ‘Strogs’, which are straw briquettes, are about 35% cheaper than coal and provide a green alternative to fossil fuels. They can be burned in all types of stoves and open fireplaces.

The key benefits of using Strogs:

They are100% carbon neutral
They are 100% natural biomass
They produce 3-5% ash, which is pure potash and is an excellent fertiliser

McGrath won with the FBD Young Farmer of the Year Innovation/Alternative Enterprise Award for his new product, Strogs.

Ireland Wales electricity grid approved

EirGrid has been granted permission by An Bord Pleanála to build a 500MW electricity Interconnector between Ireland and Wales . This new electricity link will provide a two-way transmission of power, and will enable Ireland to export renewable power.

The converter station will be located at Woodland, Co. Meath. The project is expected to increase the development of Ireland ’s renewable energy industry.

The East West Interconnector is expected to be operational by 2012.

Irish Hotel wins EU Ecolabel Communications Award

The Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon, which was the first hotel in Ireland to be awarded the EU Ecolabel earlier this year, has won the Service Provider category of the first EU Ecolabel Communications Award. The hotel was commended for its work in promoting the label.

The awards were presented by the European Commission in Brussels on 23rd September. They will be given annually in recognition of exceptional achievements in raising public awareness of the EU Ecolabel.

The EU Ecolabel was launched in 1992 to encourage environmentally friendly services and products across the EU, and is currently being used on 20,000 products.

Effective use, quality and creativity will be taken into account when the judges make their decision on the winner later today. Applications were submitted by companies in 18 companies from 10 countries in the EU.

There were joint winners of the Producer category. These were the French paints and varnishes company ONIP, and the Italian ceramic tile maker Gruppo Concorde.

New species found in Papau New Guinea

A team of biologists have discovered a giant rat, unusual frogs and spiders living inside the extinct volcano of Mount Bosavi in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

The Bosavi wolly rat is almost 3feet long, while some of the frogs were found to have fangs. It is estimated that the team of biologists have found 40 new species. These include 16 species of frogs, 1 species of gecko, 20 species of spiders and insects, 1 bat and 3 new fish species.

EU greenhouse gas emissions continue to fall

Estimates released by the new European Environmental Agency (EEA) show that the average greenhouse gas emissions continued to decline in 2008, for the fourth consecutive year.

In comparison to the 2007 emissions, the EU annual reduction in GHG emissions is estimated to be 1.3% for the EU-15 and 1.5% for the EU-27. The 2008 EU GHG emissions for the EU-15 are estimated to be 6.2% below the Kyoto-base year emissions. The EU-27 GHG emissions will be approximately 10.7% below the 1990 levels.

Further information is available on the EEA website.

New ENFO service

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. John Gormley, TD, launched the new ENFO environmental information service on Tuesday, 8^th September 2009. The new service provides:

Clear, authoritative content, constantly updated, on the www.enfo.ie website
A portal to Irish environmental sites providing newsfeeds and events listings, and a search across environmental websites
An online Kid's corner providing interactive learning resources for children and teachers supporting the children’s play areas and reading material available in the 350 public libraries nationwide
Online access to free environmental databases within public libraries
Online access to Environmental Impact Statements coming soon
Access to downloadable information leaflets and posters
Environmental exhibitions and workshops in libraries throughout the country
Electronic exhibitions online
Access to environmental books and DVDs countrywide through www.borrowbooks.ie

Further information can be found on the website at www.enfo.ie. Contact details are available at www.askaboutireland.ie/contact-us/ . Please note that the ENFO office on 17 Andrews Street closed on Friday, 4^th September 2009.