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NYC has lagged behind the UK in waste disposal. But with wheelie bins replacing bin bags, we’re finally catching up

Last year, 200 composting bins were rolled out in New York City, with a unit on every other corner you could open and close via an app. This was exciting for those of us who have hit an age when rubbish disposal is something we think about. For a while, my kids indulged me in my need to discuss composting – whether our bag would fit in the bin; how good the exercise made us feel; whether it actually did anything useful or not – before pointing out I was talking about it too much. This week, a new fleet of wheelie bins has been introduced across the city, and the excitement has been almost too much to bear.

The “trash revolution” as Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, put it while placing a black bin bag in a wheelie bin in front of reporters on Monday, sounds like a characteristic piece of hyperbole from the man, but for once he wasn’t exaggerating. Like banking technology, rubbish disposal is one of those baffling areas in which the US in general, but New York in particular, is wildly behind Britain.

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist

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Lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from plastics will more than double by 2060 under a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, with fossil fuel-based production continuing to dominate, according to a statement by 70 financial institutions calling on petrochemical companies to transition to more sustainable alternatives.

A company with plans to build an offshore wind farms is taking federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen to court over a decision not to grant it a licence.

The post Offshore wind farm proponent takes Bowen to court after missing out on licence appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Carbon standard Verra has put the call out for verifiers to review its draft methodology for accrediting early coal-fired power station closures, it announced Thursday.

NT government says the batteries, funded through Arena, will have a significant impact on local network constraints and expand rooftop solar capacity.

The post Top End to add 16 community batteries to its small, solar-heavy grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Clean energy generated a record-high 44% of China’s electricity in May 2024, pushing coal’s share down to a record low of 53%, despite continued growth in demand.

The post China’s clean energy pushes coal to record-low 53 pct share of power in May appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Fortescue withdrawal deals blow to Middle Arm precinct, which now risks leaning heavily towards fossil fuels.

The post Fortescue pulls green hydrogen and ammonia plan from NT’s Middle Arm precinct appeared first on RenewEconomy.

There is considerable pressure to quickly approve the HumeLink transmission project. But can the AER be confident it is worthwhile, and the best option?

The post Is HumeLink worthwhile? The $5 billion dilemma facing the energy regulator appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Huon Hoogesteger from Smart Commercial Solar talks about almost everything but solar, as batteries and other bespoke energy solutions step into the light. Plus, Renewables in Agriculture.

The post Solar Insiders Podcast: New dawn for household batteries appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A team led by an Australian researcher captured the pair swimming about 1.5km after two failed attempts

A record-breaking swim by two lion brothers across a predator-filled African river has been documented by a team led by a researcher from an Australian university.

The two-male lion coalition was filmed crossing the Kazinga Channel in Uganda at night using high-definition heat detection cameras on drones.

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Stakeholders questioned the possibility of earlier cuts to cap-and-trade allowance budgets prior to finalising rules, as ARB staff discussed the “complicated” status of 2025 allocations with implementation of ETS changes delayed to 2026, during the agency’s pre-rulemaking workshop on Wednesday.

An energy crisis helped Denmark to launch the global wind industry. Can the climate crisis do the same for offshore wind in Australia? A crucial ingredient is missing.

The post Offshore wind’s biggest hurdle in Australia? It just might be the election cycle appeared first on RenewEconomy.

An oil and gas producer has entered into a strategic partnership valued at up to C$2 billion ($1.47 bln) with the Canada Growth Fund (CGF) to develop carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) infrastructure across its steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) oil sands facilities in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The term stroad is portmanteau of street and road. Stroads try to be both a thoroughfare for vehicles, and a place for people. Typically they fail at both, and the result is unpleasant for everyone. Liam Davies, Lecturer in Sustainability and Urban Planning, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

China's steel industry has the potential to lower its CO2 emissions by as much as the entire annual EU steel sector emissions from the 2020 peak by reducing steel output and raising the share of low-carbon production in the next two years, a report has found.

California regulator the ARB sped up its issuance of compliance-eligible offsets, narrowing the year-on-year gap of issuance thus far in 2024, agency data released Wednesday showed.

The already giant Supernode battery project in the north of Brisbane is to treble in size after the developer Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners extended its off-take deal with Australia’s biggest utility, Origin Energy. The first stage of the battery – sized at 250 MW and 520 MWh – is already under construction after the two companies […]

The post Giant Brisbane battery trebles in size after Origin extends deal for life beyond baseload appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Coffee farmers in Puerto Rico have received inaugural incentive payments from a mitigation programme funded by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), with the eventual aim of producing certified carbon credits for the voluntary carbon market (VCM).

New project claims to have offtake deals and a partnership with GE Vernova, but is yet to secure land or test its first technology module.

The post Lyon Group boss returns with a new grand plan – for 20GW of outback hydrogen plan appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New report analyses deep origins of the fossil fuel industry's fight against climate action and renewables, and the key players in Australia.

The post Fossil fuel industry’s anti-climate and anti-renewables playbook goes back 57 years – they are still hard at it appeared first on RenewEconomy.