Posts Tagged ‘waste management’
WEEE Recycling: Data Destruction is Essential
May 5, 2012 | 
Author Your company data may no longer be of value to you once you have done what you need to do with it, but it is gold dust to your competitors. That is why any media, from paper to Flash memory cards, that contains business data must be thoroughly erased before disposal.
The risks of disposal of disks containing data that you may believe has been erased but has really just been lightly erased include putting yourself or your customers at risk for identity theft as well as making data available to unscrupulous individuals. Even recycling a computer to comply with WEEE recycling regulations does not include proper data destruction techniques.
These techniques include degaussing, in which magnetic patterns that conform to actual data are realigned so that the data is inaccessible and unrecoverable, shredding, which entails shredding media into very fine bits that cannot be reassembled, and software wiping, in which all HEX values on the entire volume of a disk are overwritten using special software. In the United kingdom, such software must meet Data protection Act standards to be considered effective for data destruction.
Laptops, including internal hard disk drives and other internal media storage devices, must be recycled according to WEEE regulations (EU). However, if data remains available on any part of the device before, during or after WEEE recycling procedures, it still poses a threat to your business security. Therefore, devices that hold data and are subject to WEEE recycling regulations must undergo a thorough process of data destruction before recycling should take place.
Hard drive destruction is absolutely imperative before WEEE recycling can start. This is because even when a disk drive is seemingly erased, the information on it can be recovered and made available without your knowledge. Ensuring that an expert with security cleared personnel destroys the hard drive by methods such as degaussing and shredding is the only way you can be sure that any data that was ever available on a drive that is slated for disposal can never be accessed again. Software wiping is recommended only for hard disk drives that will be reused after the data stored on them is fully destroyed.
Media tape drives are also easily accessible if they are not fully and professionally destroyed prior to disposal. Degaussing and shredding are the most recommended techniques for destruction of media tape drives.
Even CD’s and DVD’s which contain sensitive and confidential data should never be disposed of without making the data completely inaccessible. Complete physical destruction of the media through precision shredding that is offered by professional media disposal firms is the only way to ensure that data on a CD or DVD is fully inaccessible.
Flash memory cards, external memory sticks, and similar devices must also be subject to data destruction measures if they have ever held sensitive data. A specialist firm which handles data destruction should be consulted regarding such memory devices as their small size makes it very easy for them to end up in the wrong hands.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
Posted in computer recycling, Data protection, Edinburgh Recycle, Edinburgh WEEE, eee, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, Glasgow waste, glasgow weee, landfill, London Recycle, London WEEE, Packaging Waste, Plastic Recycle, Plastic Recycling, Plastic waste, Recycle Edinburgh, Recycle London, Recycle UK, recycling, UK Recycle, UK WEEE, Waste management, Waste Plastic, weee, WEEE Edinburgh, WEEE London, WEEE UK | 
Tags: Business, Change, computer recycling, Data, Destruction, edinburgh recycle, Edinburgh Recycling, Edinburgh WEEE, electrical waste recycling, Energy, Environment, ENVIRONMENTAL, glasgow eee, glasgow recycle, glasgow recycling, glasgow weee, recycle, Recycling, Reduce, Security, uk weee, Vital, Waste, waste management, weee | 
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Taking Action on Waste
Glasgow recycling is all about how we need to be taking action on waste, which is essential for our continued sustainability.
We consume natural resources at an unsustainable rate and contribute unnecessarily to climate change. there are many facilities in and around Glasgow which can help you recycle your waste.
Failing to recycle means that most of our waste ends up in landfill, where biodegradable waste generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. And much valuable energy is used up in making new products which are later disposed of, also contributing to climate change.
That people produce waste is a fact of life we cannot change. However, we can change how much we produce, how we manage it and what we do with it. Indeed, managing waste in a sustainable way, optimising recycling and re-use, as well as limiting production, forms a core part of Government policy to protect the environment.
Recycling is a way every individual can help the environment every day – and it is easier to do than it has ever been. Indeed, the latest figures show that in general we have not only met, but exceeded, our targets for recycling and composting household waste.
Moving to more sustainable waste management requires enormous changes: new facilities, new skills, new investment and new attitudes. As such, there are immense challenges ahead for Government, local authorities, and the public.
Although waste awareness initiatives are not a new concept, engaging the public remains a high priority; only then can we hope to encourage more householders to use more recycling facilities, more of the time.
At Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
Posted in carbon emissions, computer recycling, Edinburgh Recycle, Edinburgh WEEE, eee, ghg emissions, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, Glasgow waste, glasgow weee, landfill, Recycle Edinburgh, Recycle UK, recycling, Skip Hire, UK Recycle, UK WEEE, Waste management, weee, WEEE Edinburgh, WEEE UK, wheelie bin | Tags: computer recycling, edinburgh recycle, Edinburgh WEEE, electrical waste recycling, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, Recycling, Waste, waste Glasgow, waste management | No Comments »
Waste Management| Made simple
Mention waste management to most men and women and they either don't have a clue what you're talking about, or they really are not interested! It just sounds a load of rubbish, what do you care what other men and women do with stuff they don't want? Even so, once you begin delving into what waste management is all about, then you realise there’s a whole cycle of events going on and it is quite an interesting topic to discover about.
Waste management is basically how rubbish and trash is disposed of without causing any harm to other people or the environment. You will find several aspects to waste management; these consist of monitoring, collection, transportation, processing, and disposal or recycling. When carried out properly, waste management is efficient and extremely environmentally friendly, and in today’s world is some thing each and every conscientious firm ought to take responsibility for.
You will find specialized environmental firms that provide advice and services for waste collection, not only for householders, but also for industries and companies. They're experienced in all areas of waste management solutions and will remove all of your waste efficiently and quickly, transporting it to be disposed of within the correct manner, or recycled.
A few of the waste services provided to industrial clients consist of waste collection, recycling and disposal, hazardous waste management, emergency response, laboratory services, asbestos removal and re-Insulation.
Inside the 1st instance the environment service is concerned with monitoring, this is to identify the kind of waste produced and in what quantity; they can then evaluate the processes they need to put into place to decrease the quantity of waste produced. Records are kept to see if methods put into place are working and, if not, strategies could be changed and re-examined to make their implementation much more efficient.
Once the waste has been monitored and assessed it really is time for the collection method. Skip bins and containers have to be emptied just before they become too full and prevention of overspill or produce to rot is really essential. Depending on the quantity of waste produced will dictate the size and number of containers needed, and how frequently collections will likely be needed. You will find different containers for every kind of waste, some of these consist of drums for hazardous liquid waste, tanks for acid or caustic waste, collection bins for e-waste and bulk bins and skip bins for construction site waste.
Next within the cycle is organizing the transportation of all waste products collected.Specially created waste vehicles make scheduled collections and are responsible for safely transporting it to the landfill, or treatment site where it will be treated and then processed for Recycling. Vehicles have to meet safety standards and be licensed for this purpose, as waste could be a health hazard and even hazardous if not handled properly, drivers and personnel connected with the transportation are needed to have the required training and expertise to deal with any possible danger.
Once the waste has all been collected it needs to be processed. This entails separating the waste collected, treating and then packaging the raw materials and sending the parts that could be recycled to the several factories that are all component of the recycling process. Materials that can’t be recycled will likely be transported to a landfill, and liquid and hazardous wastes will likely be disposed of safely.
Improvements and new practices in waste management and environmental solutions are within the news all the time, thanks to analysis and development projects that are committed to discovering much more efficient and secure ways of disposing of waste. There are several things that are recyclable now that just a couple of years ago would have been thrown into a rising landfill, everyday items including paper, glass, newspapers and plastic bags to printer cartridges, corks, mobile phones, even fluorescent lamps could be treated and re-used.
Society has experienced a huge learning curve within the truth that if we don't take action now to make certain our waste is processed properly; nature will gladly do it for us, and in ways which could be detrimental to our environment.
Posted in computer recycling, Edinburgh Recycle, Edinburgh WEEE, eee, Energy, Food Recycling, Food Waste, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, Glasgow waste, glasgow weee, landfill, London Recycle, London WEEE, Packaging Waste, Plastic Recycle, Plastic Recycling, Plastic waste, Recycle Edinburgh, Recycle London, Recycle UK, recycling, UK Recycle, UK WEEE, Waste management, Waste Plastic, weee, WEEE Edinburgh, WEEE London, WEEE UK, wheelie bin | Tags: Basics, computer recycling, edinburgh recycle, Edinburgh Recycling, Efficiency, electrical waste recycling, Environment, ENVIRONMENTAL, environmental management, glasgow eee, glasgow recycle, glasgow recycling, glasgow weee, ISO14001, London recycling, Management, Recycling, Reduce, Reducing, uk recycling, uk weee, Waste, waste management, waste recycling, weee | No Comments »
Increased fine for Company Charged with breaching waste regulations
A FIRM who broke waste dumping laws had their fine increased more than 11 times to £90,000 recently.
The Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh upheld a challenge brought by the Crown over the level of the sentence imposed on Doonin Plant.
They were originally fined just £8000 for breaking environmental laws as they dumped waste at Bardykes bing between Blantyre and Cambuslang, Lanarkshire.
Lord Clarke said the conduct of the company had involved “a blatant and complacent disregard” of its responsibilities.
The judges said they were satisfied that the original fine was unduly lenient.
(source Daily Record)
Could this be just the start of increased fines for companies flouting the environmental regulations?
Posted in computer recycling, Edinburgh WEEE, eee, Energy, Environmental accounting, Food Recycling, Food Waste, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, Glasgow waste, glasgow weee, London Recycle, London WEEE, Packaging Waste, Plastic Recycle, Plastic Recycling, Plastic waste, Recycle Edinburgh, Recycle London, Recycle UK, recycling, Skip Hire, UK Recycle, UK WEEE, Waste, Waste management, Waste Plastic, weee, WEEE Edinburgh, WEEE London, WEEE UK, wheelie bin | Tags: Business, computer recycling, edinburgh recycle, Edinburgh Recycling, Edinburgh WEEE, Emissions, Energy, fines, Footprint, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, glasgow weee, Waste, waste management, waste permits | No Comments »
5 Steps to Effective Waste Management
5 Paths to Effective Waste Management
What is effective waste management?
There is more to waste management than collecting rubbish and dumping it at landfill. Although this is a vital step in the process, there is a lot more to it!
Effective Waste Management is a system : Monitoring, Collection, Transportation, Processing, Disposal / Recycle. Through these steps a company can effectively and responsibly manage waste output and their positive effect they have on the environment. Not to mention the potential to save/make money from waste sources.
Monitoring is identifying the waste management needs, identifying recycling opportunities and ways to minimize waste output, and reviewing how waste minimization is progressing. Through keeping records of the different waste streams, a customer can see the results of their efforts in becoming more environmentally friendly, and a more efficient business.
Collection involves the logistical organization to guarantee that bin containers will not overfill and waste sit time does not become too long. The correct bin container size and service frequency is a must to prevent overspill or excessive smell. The correct bins for different wastes must be available with sticker and bin colour identification. Locks, chains, lids and bars prevent public access and non-trained personnel putting rubbish in the incorrect bins.
Cooperation between the waste company and customer is vital. Bins must be accessible to the truck driver at the agreed times. Access to work premises outside work hours will cause an issue if unaddressed. Bin wheels can allow customers to move bins from convenient areas to serviceable locations.
Transportation is the organizing of waste transport vehicles with the authorization and ability to transport the specified wastes from a customer’s work residence to landfill or processing plant. A waste must be transported by the vehicle designed for it. For example, general waste requires a vehicle with thicker compacter walls, to that of a cardboard and paper waste transporting vehicle. Therefore, a customer may require a series of vehicles to meet their waste management needs.
Vehicles, drivers, and companies need licenses and approval to transport waste. EPA standards need to be upheld as well as General Public Safety. Safety standards are vital to the transportation of clinical and hazardous wastes. Drivers must undergo training for emergency circumstances that may arise.
Processing involves the separation of recyclables for treatment, and then after treatment are packaged as raw materials. These raw materials are sent to factories for production. Non-recyclable wastes by-pass this step and are delivered straight to landfill or processing plants. Liquid and hazardous wastes are delivered to treatment plants to become less hazardous to the public and environment.
Disposal / Recycling is the disposal of non recyclables into landfill. Landfill sites must be approved by legal authorities. Legal authorities guarantee that specific wastes are buried at the correct depth to avoid hazardous chemicals entering the soil, water tables, water systems, air, and pipe systems.
In this step the raw materials made from recyclables are produced and sold as products on the market. Companies can purchase such products to further sustain the environment and natural resources.
In conclusion, waste management is a science that addresses the logistics, environmental impact, social responsibility, and cost of an organization’s waste disposal. It is a detailed process that involves human resources, vehicles, government bodies, and natural resources.
Learn more about waste management by contacting Be Seen Go Green.
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WEEE-waste Continues to Grow
UK WEEE-waste Continues to Grow
Technology advances have proved to be worthy for the entire human race but it has also given us a challenge in the form of weee-waste. With the increasing use of electronic devices and electrical equipment, the collection of weee-waste is also mounting.
WEEE-waste or electronic waste is a term used for those electronic equipment that has reached its end of life in the hand of its current user. These devices when disassembled or destroyed are either taken for reuse or slated for hazardous disposal. Some of the electronic waste can be recycled, while those which cannot be reused is categorised as “waste”.
E-Waste Market Size
The global market of electronic waste is estimated to be £2 billion, and it is predicted to increase at average annual growth rate of 8.8%.
Due to the rising demand of high value engineered plastics, the recycled plastics sector will register the maximum revenue growth. It will grow at 10.2%
The recycled metals market will continue to be dominated by the growth in metals mined from end of life electronic waste, growing at an of 8.1%.
Percentages are approximate.
Recycled glass is low valued hence the recycled glass market continues to be stagnant.
Reasons for Increasing WEEE-Waste
Due to the increasing areas of information society and the dependency of businesses on computer and Internet, the weee-waste has been mounting. Wee e-waste is the fastest growing area of the waste stream. WEEE-waste has been mounting rapidly with the rise of the information society. In developed countries, e-waste constitutes approx 2% of solid waste but it is expected to grow. The developing countries including, China will be the fastest growing segment of the weee-waste market. The electronic waste in developing countries has the potential to triple the amount of current rates of weee waste.
The rising mount of electronic waste isn’t going to be cut any time soon without businesses and consumers facing up to their responsibilities.
Electronic equipment sales, along with that the rate of obsolescence of electronic equipment is increasing. The life-cycle of the electrical and electronic equipment are shortening. The life period of a television set is reduced to 10 years while that of a computer remains only 2-3 years. All the above mentioned facts are equally responsible for the rising e-waste. In spite of such horrendous situation manufacturers and governments have not kept pace with electronic waste policy and practice. Eventually a high percentage of electronics are ending up in the waste stream releasing harmful toxins into the environment.
At BE Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
Posted in computer recycling, Edinburgh Recycle, Edinburgh WEEE, eee, Food Waste, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, Glasgow waste, glasgow weee, landfill, Recycle Edinburgh, Recycle UK, recycling, UK Recycle, UK WEEE, Waste management, weee, WEEE Edinburgh, WEEE UK | Tags: computer recycling, Continues, edinburgh recycle, Edinburgh Recycling, Edinburgh waste, Edinburgh WEEE, Electrical, electrical waste recycling, electronic waste recycling, EWASTE, glasgow recycle, glasgow recycling, Glasgow waste management, glasgow weee, Grow, Market, Recycle UK, recycling scotland, scotland recycling, Size, uk recycling, uk weee, waste Glasgow, waste management, weee, weee edinburgh, weee recycling, WEEE UK | No Comments »
WEEE: Questions to ask yourself if you sell EEE
I sell directly to household users. Am I a distributor?
- Yes.
I sell EEE only to Offices users. Am I a distributor?
- Yes, but some distributor obligations do not apply in relation to sales of non-household EEE.
However your customers may ask you for information about the registered producer of
the EEE, and that producer may ask you for information about non-household
customers and sales so that they can report their sales correctly. Please note sole traders and partnerships are classed as consumers.
I only sell second-hand equipment. Am I a distributor?
- Distributor obligations only apply in relation to the provision of EEE that has not been
previously placed on the UK market. However you will still require {permits, licences] to operate
I sell only ex-demonstration, mail-order returns, open-box or surplus EEE. Am I distributor?
- Yes, ex-demonstration, “open box” EEE and mail-order returns are regarded as new
EEE and therefore normal distributor obligations apply.
I provide EEE incidentally to my main business (credit card rewards, loyalty bonus, and advertising). Am I a distributor?
- Yes. If you provide EEE to household users on a commercial basis, then you are a
distributor.
If I allow take-back, do I have to allow consumers to bring back any Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment?
- Consumers may bring back items of equipment which they are replacing with an
equivalent new product on a like-for-like basis. If you offer take-back you must do this
for all types of EEE you sell. So, for example, a consumer buying a new microwave
oven would be entitled to take-back of one old microwave oven as WEEE. You would
not be expected to take back a completely different type of equipment, for example a
washing machine for a DVD player.
What is “equivalent” Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment?
- Distributors are expected to adopt a reasonable interpretation of equivalence. For
example, a customer should be allowed to bring back an old video cassette recorder
when purchasing a new DVD player/recorder, as even though this is not strictly a like-for-
like replacement, the new product is intended to fulfil the same function.
How long after a purchase should I give consumers to bring back their Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment?
- The WEEE Regulations do not lay down a minimum period for which take-back should
be offered. However, given that it is unlikely that customers will carry WEEE with them
while shopping, distributors are should accept WEEE within a reasonable period following a sale (e.g. 28 days). You may wish to endorse the sales receipt to govern
deferred in-store take-back of WEEE
Are faulty items returned to me classed as Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment?
- No. Items intended for repair and return to use are not regarded as waste. However,
once it becomes clear that items are beyond repair and hence are to be discarded they
should be regarded as WEEE. From this point they should be dealt with in accordance
with the WEEE Regulations.
Can I charge customers if I offer collection-on-delivery services?
- It remains at the discretion of retailers whether to charge or not for any collection on
delivery services that they provide to consumers, but any such services would not fulfil
your take-back obligations.
How do I do take-back if I am a mail order distributor?
- Distance sellers must either join the DTS, offer in-store take-back through one of their
local stores (where these exist) or provide the customer with an alternative local route
for free take-back. The distributor must tell customers how they can dispose of WEEE,
for example via their catalogue, website, sales receipts, or through a leaflet included
with the purchase.
The producer demands a large product display to show his recycling costs. What should I do?
- The WEEE Regulations give producers the right to display any costs associated with
recycling historical WEEE. A distributor of EEE may not obscure or remove a sticker on
the product, but would not be obliged to erect an in-store display with the costs.
Producers and distributors may negotiate between themselves the appropriate means
of display.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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Packaging Waste
Moves to cut packaging waste received a boost as group of leading firms pledged to curb waste levels across their supply chain. Environment minister Lord Henley called on more Big names to follow suit.
The government-backed Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) announced that seven more firms have signed up to its Courtauld Commitment 2 scheme since it was launched in March, taking to 36 the total number of businesses to have pledged to meet voluntary waste reduction targets under the initiative. (Scotland has compulsary targets)
New members include Marks & Spencer, Heineken UK, Burton Foods, and Dale Farm, the first Northern Irish firm to join the scheme.
Under the second round of the Courtauld Commitment scheme, firms signing up to the initiative pledge to reduce the carbon impact of grocery packaging by 10 per cent, cut household food and drink wastes by four per cent, and reduce supply chain product and packaging waste by five per cent by 2012.
The group held its inaugural meeting yesterday to identify the measures and best practices that will be required to try and meet the new targets.
The Courtauld Commitment was set up under the previous government, but has already secured the backing of the coalition with recently appointed environment minister Lord Henley telling the meeting that he wanted to see more retailers join the scheme.
“This government is right behind you – the Prime Minister has pledged this will be the greenest government ever, and waste is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing this country,” he said. “We must all work together, exploring ideas, sharing innovations and successes.”
At Go Green, we offer solutions for a to help you achieve these reduction targets. Please click on the following link to contact us.
Posted in computer recycling, Edinburgh Recycle, Edinburgh WEEE, eee, Food Recycling, Food Waste, Footprint, ghg emissions, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, Glasgow waste, glasgow weee, landfill, Packaging Waste, Recycle Edinburgh, Recycle UK, recycling, Skip Hire, UK Recycle, UK WEEE, Waste management, weee, WEEE Edinburgh, WEEE UK, wheelie bin | Tags: computer recycling, edinburgh recycle, Edinburgh Recycling, Edinburgh waste, Electrical, electrical waste recycling, electronic waste recycling, food packaging, food waste, glasgow eee, glasgow recycle, glasgow recycling, Glasgow waste management, glasgow weee, packaging, packaging waste, Recycling, waste management, WEEE UK, wrap | No Comments »
Ignorance is NO Excuse!
The amount of times I hear company directors say ” I didn’t know we needed to be” or ” I thought it only applied to large companies” is staggering. There really is no excuse for not knowing about what environmental legislation affects their business. The buck stops with them!
A recent case concerning Anderton Concrete Products Ltd highlights this ignorance, the following is directly from the EA:
Concrete company fails to comply with packaging regulations
Leicestershire concrete manufacturer ordered to pay over £50,000 fines and costs for failing to register and recycle packaging waste.
Anderton Concrete Products Ltd, pleaded guilty today (28 Jan 2011) at Coalville Magistrates’ Court to 18 offences under the Packaging Regulations, and asked for a further 12 to be taken into account.
The company was fined £36,000, ordered to pay £5,712.55 in costs, £8,408 in compensation, and a £15 victim surcharge.
The company, of Leicester Road, Ibstock, Leicestershire, should have been registered with the Environment Agency or a compliance scheme since the year 2000 and was obliged to recover and recycle packaging waste, as well as filing a certificate at the end of each year to confirm it had met these obligations.
However, the company did not register with a compliance scheme until 2010.
The court heard a routine check by the Environment Agency in January 2010 established that the company should have been registered in previous years.
The company’s explanation for failing to comply with the packaging waste regulations was that it was unaware that it was an obligated company under the regulations.
By failing to register, the company had avoided fees and other costs of £23,615.
Speaking after the case an Environment Officer said: “The packaging regulations are designed to reduce the amount of packaging used by businesses and increase the amount of packaging waste recycled. This case highlights the need for businesses to make sure they understand their responsibility.”
In mitigation, the court heard that the company had entered an early guilty plea, had cooperated fully with the investigation and were not aware that the company were obligated under the regulations. It was an oversight not a deliberate intention to evade the regulations. In addition, the company is now fully compliant.
The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997, 2005 and 2007 (as amended).
As you can see, being ignorant really is a costly business.
At Be seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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What Are Carbon Footprints?
Carbon Footprints
It is not as easy to measure a a carbon footprint, whether it be an individuals or even a product’s footprint as some may think.
As an example, let’s take a pack of bacon:
There are several stages in the life-cycle of a food product: raw materials are produced and transported, the food is processed and packaged and then it is distributed to retailers where it is stored. But it doesn’t end there: once bought it must be transported home, stored again and consumed, all of which use energy. Lastly there is disposal – the packaging is collected and usually taken to landfill; a small amount is recycled or reused.
In each of these stages there are hundreds of complex processes, all of which will emit greenhouse gases, which can vary by each individual product. Taking the pack of bacon: At the start of the cycle we have a young pig. Its food is produced and transported to the farm where it lives. Immediately we must ask: How is it transported? By lorry, plane, rail? How is its food supply manufactured? How many tractors plough the corn field where its food is grown, and what are the emissions of each tractor? This can go on, and we are only on the first phase of the cycle. The pig farm machinery must also be taken into consideration – and each farm will be different. What of the emissions from each pig’s bodily functions?
This question may seem insignificant when compared to the many other factors, but it leads to another very important point: The carbon footprint of a product is a measure of its impact on the environment i.e. how much is it going to increase the greenhouse effect? The use of the word ‘carbon’ can be confusing here; there are other gases which when released into the atmosphere have a far greater global warming potential, relative to carbon dioxide.
And so this brings us to methane. Obviously pig’s break wind, It is emitted at other stages of the cycle too, such as landfill where waste decomposes and releases methane.
In carbon footprints, these other gases are accounted for and included. The trouble is that many of the carbon footprints quoted today can be somewhat misleading, because they are based on the global warming potential relative to CO2 over a 100 year period. If we had 100 years to address climate change, this would make sense. But it appears we have years, not decades, so it would be more meaningful to consider the effect over the next 20 years. One can see that methane is 3 times more potent over 20 years than it is over 100 years. The footprints of products would almost certainly be different if calculated on a 20 year basis.
Riverford, the largest supplier of organic food boxes in England, came across a good example of the complexity in measuring the carbon footprints of food and drink. Riverford carried out a study comparing the carbon footprint of its tomatoes grown locally to those grown in Spain. It would be reasonable to expect that the tomatoes grown abroad would have a higher footprint – they have further to travel and they must be conserved (refrigerated) on route. However the study showed that while they do indeed emit more CO2 in the transport stage, overall they are less carbon-intensive i.e. fewer greenhouse gases are released in the life-cycle of each Spanish tomato sold in the UK, than in a UK tomato sold in the UK! This is because in Spain, the tomatoes can be grown in the natural climate, but in the UK greenhouses are needed, heating is needed and the growing of the tomatoes requires energy – taken from the national grid. When this is weighed against the emissions from transport, the UK tomatoes have a higher carbon-intensity.
At Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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