The UK is in danger of building too many waste treatment plants and could reach over-capacity by 2015, new research warns.

A study from Eunomia Research & Consulting claims that if all of the facilities which have been granted planning consent are built and if waste arisings remain flat, then the country will have 5m tonnes more capacity than it requires.

The situation will be exacerbated if any plants which are currently in planning or unannounced are also built, or if waste arisings continue to fall, as they have for the past five years.

A German development aid organisation said on Thursday it was in talks with the Indian government to dispose of 350 tonnes of toxic waste from the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster.

“We are in discussions with the Indian government,” a spokesman for the government-run Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) said, adding that Indian officials had approached Germany with the request.

No contract had been concluded yet, he said.

Details of the possible deal were unclear, but the GIZ would likely transport the toxic waste to Germany for treatment.

GUWAHATI: A workshop on ‘National Environment Awareness Campaign, 2011-2012’ on the theme ‘Forests for sustainable livelihood’ was organized by Environmental Watch and Management Institute (EWMI) very recently with support from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

The workshop stressed the need of proper management of waste disposal near the banks of wetlands and other water bodies. The programme was held at Chakardeo Deshbhakta Tarunram Phukan ME School near Deepar Beel. The programme was inaugurated by Bhupen Chandra Thakuria, head master of Chakardeo Deshbhakta Tarunram Phukan ME School by planting a Neem sapling.

New options for processing degradable and plastic waste are being considered for Kochi.

The civic administrators of Kochi, who are touring Pune and Delhi for familiarising themselves with the innovative techniques of management of municipal solid waste, have extended invitations to two groups to demonstrate their methods in the city. A company operating a plant capable of producing fuel from plastic and another one which owns the technology for converting biodegradable waste into manure in 10 days have been invited to Kochi.

Corporation team to study Chinese waste management methods. The solution to the city's garbage problem may come all the way from Shanghai with a team of Chennai Corporation officials visiting China this week.

The nine-day mission to hunt for suitable technology will cover visits to solid waste management facilities of cities in China with focus on technology adopted in Shanghai. The Chennai Corporation is likely to collect data on waste management in Shanghai in its pursuit of waste-to-energy facilities.

India has sought Japan's assistance in setting up more urban transport systems like monorail projects, intelligent transport networks and the Regional Rapid Transit Systems (RRTS). Japan has already been extending financial assistance for the construction of Delhi Metro.

Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, now in Tokyo participating in the India-Japan Business Summit, has acknowledged Japan's assistance in the development of India's urban transportation, elicited more assistance and invited investors to the Indian markets.

The UK consumes an astonishing 165 million cups of tea every day, but most of the teabags that go to making the nation's favourite hot drink still end up unnecessarily in landfill.

Now manufacturing giant Unilever has teamed up with two Essex councils, Brentwood and Chelmsford, together with Wrap the government's advisory body on waste, to encourage people to compost their teabags with their food waste.

Unilever UK is the manufacturer of tea brand PG Tips, while the group is the largest tea buyer in the world, buying about 12% of the world's tea supply of black tea.

Karachi Municipal Corporation has entered into an agreement with a Turkish firm on bringing about an improvement in the solid waste management system of the city, a statement said on Wednesday.

It recalled that a memorandum of understanding in this regard was signed by the two sides recently in Islamabad.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Shri Babulal Gaur called on Union Urban Development Minister Shri Kamalnath here today and handed over to him an action plan chalked out for Narmada River’s conservation by the State Urban Administration & Development Department. He demanded funds to the tune of Rs. 1298.87 crore for solid waste management, sewerage, construction of rain-fed drains and nullahs, cleanliness and plantation.

Residents oppose use of garbage as filler material for platform

With the proposal for using garbage as filler material for platform construction at the Kochu Veli railway station also hitting the roadblock, the State government is now bringing the focus back on source-level waste treatment projects. The government is now considering a proposal to provide subsidy for hotels, chicken stalls, hospitals, private schools, and other institutions also for setting up independent waste-processing plants on their premises.