A state-of-the art composting facility contracted by Oxfordshire County Council to help reduce landfill is now up and running. The £5 million In Vessel Composting (IVC) facility, built by Agrivert Ltd at Ardley, has begun receiving its first deliveries of food and green waste from Oxford city and the Cherwell district. It is designed to convert thousands of tonnes of food and green waste into high quality compost for use as a fertiliser on local agricultural land. read more...

Transport for London and the London Development Agency have signed up to a 10:10 campaign to cut carbon emissions from head office buildings and save £400,000 off energy bills and have launched the UK’s biggest hydrogen fuel cell housed in a building. Based at the Palestra building in Southwark, it will generate cleaner, low carbon energy on site, saving thousands on energy bills. read more...

Affordable homes are desperately needed in many rural areas, yet NIMBYs are using a Victorian “village green” law to block attempts to build new homes in many villages, according to the National Housing Federation. And the Federation claims the tactic is costing taxpayers millions of pounds in red tape and delaying new affordable housing schemes for several years. Individuals fiercely opposed to any new building in their rural community have frustrated not-for-profit housing charities/builders across the country by claiming land due to be developed on should be reclassified as a village green and protected from development read more...

With the UK public predicted to spend £7.3bn on electricals in the run up to Christmas this year, a new survey from Recycle Now has revealed that more than a third of us (35 per cent) still believe we can’t recycle the small electrical and electronic goods we are replacing, such as kettles, games consoles, phones and garden power tools. However, 80 per cent of people surveyed said they would make more effort to recycle if they knew how. read more...

Fuel poverty continues to rise, according to government figures released today. DECC published figures that show that up to 4.6 million homes in England could be in fuel poverty in 2009, this is up from 2.4 million in 2006. Fuel poverty is defined as spending more than 10% of household income on fuel. However, energy saving measures for the poorest are to be stepped up, with British Gas implementing street by street insulation work in low income neighbourhoods. read more...

Urban householders are being urged to consider keeping bees in their gardens, rooftops or even balconies to help protect declining honeybee populations. Natural England, which is backing the launch of a new easy-to-use design of beehive, also wants people to support wild bee species such as bumblebees by planting insect-friendly plants in their gardens. read more...

Ever wondered what becomes of all the compostable materials collected by local recycling depots ? A new series of WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) projects being established across the country have placed Scotland at the forefront of trialling innovative new applications for quality compost that will help shape policy and practice across the UK. read more...

Sustainable building products supplier Green Building Store is launching a new range of Passivhaus products which can help create homes and buildings which use 90% less energy for heating than standard UK buildings. read more...