Thursday 19 December 2013

Study Warns That E-Waste Could Grow By 33% By 2017

New data gathered by the United Nations, governments and science organisations has revealed that the total amount of electronic waste across the world could rise by a third in the next four years, reaching the weight of 200 Empire State Buildings, which is the equivalent of 72 million tonnes.

The data gathered, which has been used in a new initiative named 'Solving the E-Waste Problem' (StEP), includes a map of electronic waste around the world that gives information from 184 countries with estimations of the electronic devices sold in each of them and the amount of waste this will eventually generate. The map is published online and is aimed at helping national governments, as well as the business sector, tackle the electronic waste they produce. Currently, the United States and China are the biggest e-waste producers, with 11 million tonnes and 12.2 million tonnes, respectively.

Electronic waste includes all electrical and electronic appliances, from TV sets and irons to mobile phones and tablets - anything that needs a battery or a power cord to function. In view of the huge increase in its amount over the next years, businesses, as well as individual users of electronic and electric devices, should start looking for ways to reduce the waste they produce. For individuals, recycling or donating their unused gadgets for charity to be reused are the readily available options, while businesses would do well to consider some long-term strategies such as sustainable energy solutions and lasting technology that would need increased investment but will service them over a longer period.

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Thursday 12 December 2013

Nationwide Campaign To Ban Food Waste In Landfills

A national-scale campaign was launched by the government with the aim of banning food waste going into landfills by 2020, after estimates showed that this could bring in savings of over £17 billion a year, the Guardian reports.

Titled Vision 2020: UK Roadmap to Zero Food Waste to Landfill, the initiative is being backed by local councils along with food production, retail and restaurant industries.

Figures released last month showed that the average British family throws away food worth £60 every month, which translates into around 4.2 million tonnes of food waste every year. According to the figures, compiled by government advisory group Wrap, one-fifth of the food households buy is thrown away, and 60% of this could have been eaten and drank. To remedy matters, the report proposes obligatory food collection by local councils as the core measure to eliminate food waste in landfills. At the moment, only 40% of local authorities collect food separately. According to the Local Government Authority, which took part in the report, a 50% reduction in "food contamination" of recycling would bring in savings of £1 billion by 2020.

In general, the report urges all participants in the supply chain to collaborate on devising best practices on reducing food waste, making the best use of what's left of it for soil fertiliser and for power generation.

Food recycling through anaerobic digestion, for example, can make 1.3 million tonnes of fertiliser a year, or can generate more than one terawatt-hour of electricity over the same period. This power is sufficient to cover the power needs of 600,000 homes, the report says.

This article was brought to you by Fonehub Limited.

Thursday 5 December 2013

Samsung Rumoured To Work on S5 Metal Body

The much anticipated addition to the Samsung Galaxy family may have a brand new feature that, albeit not entirely unexpected, will take Samsung's design into a complete new direction. The South Korean manufacturer is reported to be preparing a new metal body for its upcoming S5.

According to a report by Korean website EMSOne, Taiwanese-based supplier Catcher is ready to start shipping metal components to Samsung. It is believed that the South Korean company has turned to HTC designers who came up with the acclaimed aluminium- body models, technology news site Crave reports.
The new S5 may be revealed as early as January 2014, but it is more likely that the official presentation of the device will be held in March. Based on the popularity of the Galaxy series, the manufacturer is reported to have ordered up to 30 million metal bodies.


Samsung had been rumored to have plans to ditch its plastic design for years, so the report is not a surprise to industry experts. The transition from plastic cases to metal bodies may have been in the works ever since the launch of the Galaxy S4, which faced serious criticism over its less than premium design, reports said. However, the switch to metal has been expected even before the release of the S4, but rumors then were proved wrong. This time the change may actually happen, since Sony and HTC have both launched their flagships standing at the higher end of the market. We will just have to wait and see.

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