International Business Briefs: CO2 trading and glass-lead recycling

Australian waste company Global Renewables Ltd has agreed the sale of up to one million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent reduction to energy giant BP. Global Renewables will generate the saleable Emission Reduction Units (ERUs) from its new municipal waste plant to be built in Sydney. The agreement with BP allows for the purchase of ERUs over a period of 3.5 years, beginning in 2004. Global Renewables plans to spend AUS$500 million developing 10 other projects to generate 50 million tonnes of ERUs over the next 20 years.

The World Bank has launched a US$100 million carbon fund targeted at farmers and rural communities in the developing world. The BioCarbon Fund, a public/private partnership, will provide finance for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, where farmers and communities will be able to earn income from sequestering or conserving carbon in agricultural lands and forests. Fourteen companies and governments have already expressed interest in the fund, including utilities seeking carbon credits to meet regulatory requirements.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has awarded US$8.9 million to Maryland to improve drinking water supplies. The funding will be used to provide low interest loans for communities to upgrade treatment plants, replace storage tanks and distribution lines, improve pumping stations and build wells.

Glass manufacturer American Video Glass Body has reduced its lead-containing waste by more than 95%, equivalent to 18 hundred tons, between 1997 and 2000, generating savings in raw materials and waste disposal costs while boosting production by 20%. AV accomplished the 95% reduction by substituting non-hazardous materials for leaded ones, recycling wastewater and recycling chemical solutions used in the production process.

Hong Kong metal remediation specialist KEECO has been awarded a US$368,000 contract to carry out treatability studies at the Shanghai Zhuyuan wastewater treatment plant. KEECO’s sludge stabilization technology has been used in pilot projects in Sichuan, Guangdong, and Hunan provinces, and will now be tested at the Shanghai plant.