This month shops in the UK will begin to phase out traditional tungsten bulbs as part of a government plan to replace them completely by 2011 and save 5m tonnes of carbon emissions a year. However the current crop of low energy light bulbs are coming under criticism for causing skin complaints and migraines, releasing Mercury into the environment on disposal and not being as energy efficient as new LED equivalents.
From synthetic fibres to lethal dioxins, some sanitary products are a lot less innocent
than those glossy television ads would have women believe. Pat Thomas reports
Last Friday, former waste minister Ben Bradshaw announced the end of the £30 million 'Real Nappy Campaign', claiming that "there was no significant difference between any of the environmental impacts of the disposable, home-use reusable and commercial laundry systems that were assessed".
Environment Secretary David Miliband's proposed reforms to the British waste collection system have caused no end of bitter debate. But would the public be more welcoming if the Secretary of State took a leaf out of Ireland's book?
Just over one week ago, the Ecologist posted a story on its website detailing the Environment Agency's failure to sue Monsanto for dumping tonnes of highly toxic chemicals in a Welsh landfill site.
The Environment Agency (EA) is within weeks of letting Monsanto escape its liability for dumping thousands of tonnes of cancer-causing chemicals – including all the ingredients of the DDT defoliant Agent Orange – in two quarries in Wales.
One third of the contents of an average British fridge ends up in landfill, a new report from the government's waste and recycling body, Wrap (The Waste and Resources Action Programme), is expected to reveal.
36 of the UK's leading construction companies, including British Land, Land Lease, HBOS and Barratt Homes, have launched a UK Green Building Council that will aim for "zero carbon, zero water and zero waste", according to its chairman Peter Rogers.
The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has been found guilty by a court in Scotland of dumping radioactive nuclear waste into a conventional landfill site and allowing radioactive particles to leak from its Dounreay reprocessing plant.
Are SUVs a crime against civilisation, or paragons of efficiency? Are they ugly, arrogant and antisocial, or bright, beautiful and mobile? And do the polar passions they arouse pit the politics of envy against the Americanisation of British culture? Paul Kingsnorth and Michael Harvey discuss
Imagine you could turn 30 per cent of your household waste, at no cost, into high-quality compost for your plants, while also reducing toxic emissions from incinerator plants...
Do you want the best for your baby, but don’t want to harm the environment? Then use reusable nappies. Contrary to popular belief, modern reusables are cheaper and more hygienic than disposables, and you won't have to spend hours cleaning them.
Many people dismiss environmentalism as a middle-class luxury that few can afford. But in Mexico City a group of impoverished street punks are pioneering radical social alternatives because their survival depends on it. Holly Wren reports.
Why do we dispose of organic waste in landfill sites? Shouldn’t we – individuals, councils and businesses – all be using worms to compost it? By Janis Crawford.
Twice as expensive as petrol, three times the price of milk, and 10,000 times more expensive than tap water. Is it worth it, and what impact is it having on our environment?
