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Australia's University of Southern Queensland researchers awardec a grant to recycle plastic mulch film. The Australian government has provided a $1.8 million grant to further the conversion of difficult-to-recycle plastic [...]

Increasingly stringent regulatory regimes, in conjunction with landfill development in environmentally sensitive locations and the large number of abandoned landfill sites, are significantly increasing the responsibilities of local authorities and environmental agencies. These responsibilities include the identification and/or monitoring of: locations of contaminated land; boundaries of waste sites; nature of the landfill content; location, extent, content and depth of closed landfill sites; leachate plumes escaping from both operational and closed sites and the performance of landfill liners. Probabilistic risk based modelling is a standard methodology for monitoring and managing the environmental impact of landfill sites. A critical problem in the implementation of probabilistic risk based modelling is the large uncertainty in the shallow geology, internal structure and leachate distribution of landfills caused by the severe lack of both surface and subsurface information from within and outside the landfill site. The utility of two non-invasive ground based geophysical monitoring techniques, ground penetrating radar and reflectance spectroscopy, as aids to characterising the three-dimensional structure and distribution of leachate within a landfill has been investigated. Strong correlations between red edge inflection position and chlorophyll and metal concentration have been demonstrated from grassland species affected by leachate contamination of the soil adjacent to the landfill study site. The results of this study have demonstrated how recent advances in equipment, techniques and software mean that field-based reflectance spectroscopy and Ground Penetrating Radar can now provide environmental scientists with cost-effective, rapid techniques to characterise landfill sites in three dimensions, aid landfill managers in positioning additional boreholes and field sampling surveys, and provide data as inputs to leachate migration modelling. KEY WORDS: England, landfill, leachate, ground-penetrating radar, reflectance, spectroscopy

Recent years have seen a rapid rise in the political saliency of the ever growing volumes of municipal waste produced in the UK. In this paper, we examine how one particular part of the municipal waste stream - biodegradable waste - has come under the policy spotlight. As targets to divert biodegradable waste from landfill under the Landfill Directive come into force, the need to focus explicitly on recovering value from biodegradable materials has risen up national and local policy agendas, not least with the introduction of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme. Accompanying this new rationality for managing waste has been a suite of different policy interventions. In this paper we examine the impact of the changing nature of municipal waste policy and the ways in which it has sought to rework the disposal and collection of biodegradable waste. We argue that the predominantly technical framing and instrumental rationality of these interventions does not sufficiently challenge entrenched understandings regarding the boundaries between public and private responsibility for waste, and thus short-circuits their capacity to engage with everyday community/individual waste practices. In conclusion, we suggest that, in order to move waste management towards sustainability, there is a need both to engage with the institutional and infrastructural dimensions of the systems of provision within which waste management occurs, and to take seriously the everyday contexts within which making waste is practiced. KEY WORDS: North-East England, waste management, biodegradable municipal waste, everyday practice, public participation, governance

The effectiveness of institutional arrangements and policies for governance has become a key question within the sustainability paradigm. The term Coastal Partnerships' describes a variety of arrangements in the UK that bring together interested stakeholders to coastal management (ICM). This paper considers the unique role, achievements and challenges facing local Coastal Partnerships in the UK. The paper examines empirical evidence of how Coastal Partnerships are contributing to sustainable coastal management. The first section considers their shortfalls, the second section their achievements, and the final section discusses their potential role in the context f the evolving policy framework. The policy drivers include European Directives, the reform of the Terrestrial Planning System, and proposals for Marine Spatial Planning through a UK Marine Bill. The authors present a blueprint for the future of Coastal Partnerships, based on this policy analysis. The findings contribute to the ongoing debate in geographical literature on how the scale and structure of governance can be best organised to deliver local sustainability. KEY WORDS: coastal partnerships, integrated coastal management (ICM), coastal and marine policy, governance, evaluation, UK

An in-depth analysis of the report, The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change by economist Nicholas Stern, is presented. The issue of whether the benefits of decisive actions to slow global warming far outweigh the cost of not acting is discussed.

The article examines the eStern Review on the Economics of Climate Change,E by Nicholas Stern. The questions on how much and how fast governments should react to global warming threats depends on the assumption of the near-zero time discount rate combined with utility function. Graphs on the optimal carbon tax in alternative runs and rate of return on capital in alternative runs are presented.

The usage of bio fuels in European transportation sector is discussed by focusing on Germany and the United Kingdom.

The economic and environmental implications of negotiated climate change agreements, which are aim at reducing pollution rate in climate in United Kingdom are presented.

Public reactions to environmental tax reforms in the United Kingdom and suggestions to improve the tax design are discussed.

In an increasingly dangerous and uncertain world, preparedness, at all levels, for a range of threats is a key aspect of effective emergency management and of public reassurance. Preparedness is [...]

A study examining the technical possibility of accomplishing the reductions of carbon dioxide emissions in excess of 60% in UK's housing stock by 2050 is presented.

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2004.11.011 Byline: R. Woodard, M. Bench, M.K. Harder Abstract: Local authorities in the UK have been set challenging new targets for recycling household waste for 2003/4. This means many of them are urgently trying to determine which parameters in kerbside schemes are most important for increasing recycling rates. In this work information from previous kerbside schemes was used to plan significant improvements in an existing scheme in Horsham District, UK, and a trial was conducted using 1000 homes including a control group. It used fortnightly collection of residual waste with sets of recyclables collected on alternate weeks. The new scheme resulted in improvements of participation rates from 72 to 84%, and set-out rates from 45 to 59% (falling to 76 and 50% respectively, some months later). Details on participation and set-out for different groups of materials are given, as well as levels of excess waste and participation in the collection of garden waste. Author Affiliation: Waste and Energy Research Group (WERG), University of Brighton, Lewes Road, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK Article History: Received 30 January 2004; Revised 5 November 2004; Accepted 9 November 2004

The study highlights alternative and renewable forms of energy sources like biofuels, solar energy, nuclear energy and others to minimize the carbon emissions in United Kingdom (UK) in order to achieve the target of 60% fall in carbon emission by the year 2050. The other factors that needs to be given importance in order to have low carbon emissions viz. judicious use of energy, decreased cost of low-carbon energy supplies to manufacturers, behavioral changes in people and others have been discussed

The U.K. government is making efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in industrialized countries. The 2003 Energy White Paper is a step towards developing a stronger energy economy. To efficiently meet its goals the government should implement energy policy that would reduce rate of consumption of fossil fuel and move towards using renewable energy resources.

The Sixth Environment Action Programme 2001-2010 by the Economic Union to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol is examined.

The United Kingdom's climate change levy's implications on competitiveness and environmental impact are examined.

This paper examines variations in firm-level adoption of environmental management systems (EMS)--ISO 14001 and the European Union's Eco-Audit and Management Scheme (EMAS)--in the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. Drawing on insights from club theory, institutional theory, and stakeholder theory, it argues that despite the fact that these EMS are created by supranational organizations (one regional and one international), firms' perceptions of their costs and benefits are largely determined by domestic factors. In particular, these perceptions are shaped by how EMS are promoted and information about them is disseminated in each country (supply aspects) and how the constellation of stakeholders (suppliers, environmental groups, regulators, general public) support their introduction (demand aspects). The paper concludes that there are numerous ways governments and interested stakeholders can encourage companies to adopt voluntary environmental codes. The key is to find the right mix of incentives for specific national contexts.

Issues are presented concerning the use of taxation by the government of the United Kingdom to encourage the adoption of its environmental policies. The introduction of the Climate Change Levy in April 2001 is discussed.

An analysis is presented on non-monetary aspects affecting UK fishermen's compliance with quota restrictions. These include moral values, social pressure, perceived validity of quota restrictions, and the perceived legitimacy of the regulatory agency.

The Groundwork Network was organized by local trusts in the UK to enhance the environmental, economic and social well-being of the communities. Groundwork projects were usually initiated by the Dept of the Environment or by the local authorities. As of 1997, 41 Groundwork projects in 120 towns were already established. These included sustainable lifestyle projects and sustainable resource management.

Delay in legislation related to pollution and the management of watercourses in postwar Britain arose to some extent from the low priority given to river pollution. Some delay was because of difficulty in taking up such a fundamental issue. It took almost a century after 1879, when a proposal of watershed districts was put forth, to achieve that and to get three strands of river management together, including prevention of flooding and pollution along with providing water.

The roots of the modern environmental movement that emerged during the 1960s is traced to the conditions that created the first European conservation movement in the early twentieth century. Decisive preconditions had developed by the end of the nineteenth century that allowed conservation initiatives and organizations to emerge in both England and Germany. The organizational and ideological development of the nature movement in these two countries is due to a combination of pro-modernism and anti-modernism influences.

Do UK corporations understand the need for environmental strategies, and if so why? Introduction Over the last decade, environmental issues have become increasingly significant to policy makers in both the [...]

The creation of the Nature Conservancy in the UK in 1949 was a result of environmental and sustainable development interests that arose at the end of World War II. A Conference on Nature Preservation was held to include environmental concerns in post-war reconstruction plans. Government committees then addressed the creation of a series of nature reserves that would take a long-range view of nature conservation. This led to the creation of the Nature Conservancy.

This paper, an account of the Shetland Islands oil spill (1993), examines the public health controversies surrounding the spill and the clean-up response. It critically examines the risk management policies of both the United Kingdom and the Shetland Islands Public Health Office, and suggests that the withholding of critical information contributed to increased anxiety and suspicion among the disaster victims. In an attempt to reassure the victims, the policies contributed to an increased air of uncertainty. It is further argued that the withholding of information prevents those who are at greatest risk from participating in critical decisions that may affect their health and livelihoods and asserts that a right-to-know policy is a critical first step in risk management practices. KEY WORDS: Shetland Islands; oil spill; risk management; right-to-know; technological disasters.

To list environmental health programs conducted in the United Kingdom would be redundant as they are nearly the same as those conducted in the United States. Them are twists to [...]

The UK government is required, under the terms of the 1992 Climate Change Convention, to draw up a national plan for carbon dioxide emissions control up to the year 2000. A computer modeling tool is used to investigate the options available to the government and the feasibility of each choice in relation to alternative policies. The results show that the strategy laid out in the UK's Climate Change Program will only have limited effectiveness and of the various options available, only the energy/carbon tax has the potential for long-term success.

Introduction On the trip home from the 1992 Annual Educational Conference in Portland, my wife, Holly, also an environmental health professional, suggested that I enter the sabbatical exchange program competition. [...]

The potential effects of sea-level rise have heightened growing concerns over the effectiveness of the existing legal and administrative frameworks operating in the coastal zone. Of particular significance has been concern over the lack of coordination between coastal planning and coastal defence, together with the prevailing view in the past that coastal erosion and flooding are not planning issues. This paper outlines a number of the ways in which the Department of the Environment and local authorities have begun to address these issues.