Government
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Thailand to ban plastic waste imports from 2021
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Thailand will ban all imports of plastic scrap and waste from 2021, the Thai government recently announced, noting that although it had announced a halt to those imports in June it will take two years before existing import licenses expire and the policy can be implemented without any exceptions. Developed countries made Thailand and other…
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Updated: EU Bioeconomy Strategy
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An updated EU Bioeconomy Strategy was recently released by the European Commission, which according to EuropaBio, signals the EU’s continued commitment towards establishing itself as a world leader in renewable resource efficiency, catalyzed by transformative industrial biotechnology. The 2018 update of the Bioeconomy Strategy aims to accelerate the deployment of a sustainable European bioeconomy so as to…
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USDA amended guidelines for federal procurement of bio-based products
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Effective August 9, 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has amended the Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement by adding 12 product categories that included intermediate chemicals within which biobased products will be afforded Federal procurement preference by Federal agencies and their contractors. These guidelines are part of the USDA’s BioPreferred program.…
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Toronto to produce biogas from organic waste
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The City of Toronto, in partnership with Canada’s largest natural gas distributor, Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc., will begin installing new equipment at the Dufferin Solid Waste Management Facility later this year. The new equipment will allow the City and Enbridge to transform the raw biogas produced from processing Toronto’s Green Bin organics into renewable natural…
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RSB, QRFA partner on biofuel certification
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The Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) and the Queensland Renewable Fuels Association (QRFA) signed an MOU partnership agreement to support the certification of biofuels and endorsement of future low carbon fuel projects domestically in Queensland, Australia. The collaboration will assist with bringing together the biofuel value-chain process to align with certification. Australia is reportedly well-placed to…
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Study: Bio-crude potential in the USA
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Researchers from the US Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have released a report on the potential production of bio-crude from organic wastes such as wastewater sludge, animal manure, food waste, and fats, oils and greases throughout the USA. HTL (hydrothermal liquefaction) is one technology that the…
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EU proposes marine litter reduction measures
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The EU Commission released an EU-wide marine litter reduction proposal yesterday by targeting 10 single-use plastic products most often found on Europe’s beaches and seas (including abandoned fishing gear). These products reportedly constitute 70% of all marine litter items. Different measures will be applied to different products. Where alternatives are readily available and affordable, single-use…