UK - new environmental technology projects announced

Out of 89 EU-wide projects, ten will be led by Britain, the most ever approved for the UK. In total, £36m will be injected to develop new technology and approaches to protect and enhance the environment in the UK, including some £9.4m from an EU fund.

The European Union‘‘s LIFE-Environment (the Financial Instrument for the Environment) programme, which is open to all EU countries, aims to contribute to the EU‘‘s environment policies by helping to bridge the gap between initial research and development and practical implementation of new technology and approaches.

The following British projects have been given the go-ahead by the European Commission and will be part-funded by the EU:


Cwmbran, South Wales - whilst glass recycling has increased in recent years, the types of reclaimed scrap glass that can be recycled are limited. This project will demonstrate how new technology can increase the proportion and variety of waste glass used for the manufacture of glass fibre insulation products.
Middlesbrough - the project will show how former contaminated industrial land can be used to grow crops to generate renewable energy while also providing a cost effective and sustainable way of restoring brownfield land.
Blackburn - a company has developed an innovative plant to safely and efficiently process sewage sludge, so that it can be recycled for land. The process converts wastewater sludge into a high-quality soil conditioner and produces enough methane gas to generate electricity to power the plant.
Newport, South Wales - a new chemical process is to be showcased, which is capable of reducing formaldehyde from industrial effluent waste by 100%. Glasgow - a more environmentally friendly, and economic, way of dealing with industrial waste water is to be developed.
Lewisham / Chester - the project will aim to show how local authorities can work to maintain and protect the environmental quality and biodiversity of riversides in urban areas.
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk - a project will develop new technology to deal with the increase in waste tyres by converting them into their component materials.
Sheffield - in this project, the company will build a plant to demonstrate a new method for recovering materials from clinical waste - and preparing them for recycling into new products.
Oxford - the challenge of tackling pollution from farming will be targeted in a project that aims to demonstrate a technological solution to help protect surface waters from nitrate contamination.
Newbury, West Berkshire - the project will seek to demonstrate the advantages of designing, constructing and operating sustainable greenhouses by integrating them with other buildings like offices. The project will also look at how the environmental impacts of horticultural production can be reduced.

Further information about the projects selected can be found at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/life/infoproducts/lifeenvcompilation_05_lowres.pdf

Further information on Life-Environment can be found here:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/life/