A national framework that intends to bring citizen-collected environmental data into mainstream catchment management is set to move into its next phase after the Catchment Systems Thinking Cooperative (CaSTCo) secured a one-year extension from the Ofwat Innovation Fund. The extension is intended to shift the programme from pilot projects towards wider implementation, with plans to […]

The UK government is to legalise plug-in solar panels for household use from 27 August, allowing consumers to generate electricity from small photovoltaic systems connected directly to a standard domestic socket without the need for professional electrical installation, provided products comply with newly introduced safety requirements.1 The move, first reported by Engineering & Technology magazine, […]

Cleaning solar panels. Commercial building owners could be losing a significant proportion of the electricity generated by their rooftop solar arrays through gradual build-ups of dirt and bird droppings, according to maintenance data released by UK commercial solar specialist Absolar. The company says routine servicing carried out as part of its annual maintenance programme has […]

Improving injury rates are masking the continued threat of fatal accidents across the offshore marine contracting industry, according to the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) after its latest Annual Safety Statistics Report revealed fatalities more than doubled despite overall safety performance improving. The report, said to be based on one of the largest safety datasets […]

Second-hand sofas at a furniture reuse centre (image credit: The James Hutton Institute). A new study appears to confirm the unseen benefits of furniture reuse, and that these go beyond simply helping the environment. The work was carried out by Scottish interdisciplinary research institute The James Hutton Institute, and DePaul University in Chicago. Dr Alice […]

More than a year after Simpler Recycling rules first came into force,1 murmurings from the waste sector suggest many organisations are still grappling with implementation. This article shares recent reports and findings along these lines, and looks at what’s coming, so that firms can better prepare for changes in the way recyclable materials are collected […]

Illustrative image of a plasma discharge. Plasma-based techniques can provide the energy needed to break the exceptionally strong carbon-fluorine bonds found in PFAS compounds. Researchers in Germany have developed what appears to be a new approach to destroying persistent PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in contaminated water, using two complementary treatment techniques based on cold atmospheric plasma […]

The roadmap highlights advances in rail, including superconducting traction transformers and power cables that could improve energy efficiency. Superconducting technologies have the potential to supercharge the decarbonisation of transport, saving gigatonnes of emissions in the future, a new paper suggests. The ‘roadmap’ paper examines how the transport industry, which creates around a quarter of energy-related […]

Image credit: Richard OD / Shutterstock One of Britain’s largest discount retailers has been fined £2 million after admitting serious food hygiene offences linked to widespread mouse infestations at three Birmingham stores, in a prosecution likely to renew attention on the need for rigorous pest control and food safety management across large retail estates. B&M […]

AI’s expanding electricity needs could encourage greater deployment of energy storage and flexible grid infrastructure, argue researchers. AI’s unprecedented demand for power is turning big tech companies into builders of their own energy infrastructure – and under the right policies and market rules, data centre investment could help accelerate innovation and deployment of clean energy […]

Trade body says housing target, AI data centre expansion and wider economic growth all risk being constrained by outdated assumptions over future water demand England’s water planning framework is failing to keep pace with the Government’s ambitions for housing, artificial intelligence and economic growth, according to Water UK, which is calling for urgent reforms to […]