Tag Archive for Israel Environment

| June 23, 2015
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New Israeli waste-center to turn plastic detritus into fuel

New gov’t-operated waste management facility plans to extract 600 kg of an oil substitute from every ton of discarded plastic, instead of it being buried in landfills.

By Dan Lavie

 

The Environmental Services Company Ltd., a government body established in 1990 to handle hazardous waste in Israel, will soon begin operating a unique facility designed to recycle plastic and turn it into fuel.

A new facility that will recycle plastic and turn it into fuel – Environmental Services Company Ltd.

According to the company’s assessments, the facility will be able to derive 600 kilograms (1,320 pounds) of an oil-like substance from every ton of plastic waste they treat. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Israel News | Tags: , ,
| February 25, 2015
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Hebrew University of Jerusalem decides to use only recycled paper

The new initiative will boost the Israeli recycling economy, reduce environmental waste and will include employment of the disabled, said Dr. Meni Neuman, the project overseer.
• To reduce waste, the University will soon promote printing on 2-sided paper.

By Yael Branovsky

 

Hebrew University in Jerusalem is going green: this week every department in the university switched to using recycled paper.

Hebrew University is the first Israeli university to implement the eco-friendly initiative.

Manager of the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens on Mount Scopus Dr. Meni Neuman oversaw the new initiative. Neuman says adopting the use of recycled paper is a significant statement and is a testament to Hebrew University’s role at the vanguard of environmental preservation: “People often do not see the connection between their day to day activities and the effects they have on the environment.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| March 14, 2014
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Israel plans 1st eco-friendly building contest

 

 JNF sustainable development board member Dr. Orr Karassin explains “A building’s footprint on the environment is huge in its use of electricity & water.”

The competition has 2 tracks, one for professionals & the other for students

By Nitzi Yakov and Israel Hayom Staff

 

Israel is holding its first eco-friendly architecture competition, in which two winners will have their designs constructed and showcased to the general public.

Israel challenges architects to think green [Illustrative] – Photo: Dan Lavie

The contest, hosted by the Jewish National Fund and Israeli Green Construction Council, intends to raise awareness for eco-friendly construction among the Israeli public and to train planners and architects to think green when starting new projects. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries | Tags: , , ,
| February 13, 2014
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Israel’s coastline belongs to whom?

Ashkelon beachfront kiosk controversy raises questions as to local authorities, or even state’s abilities to protect their public spaces.

By

 

Can a real estate developer annex a part of the natural coastline that was intended to be public property, then turn it into a prosperous commercial enterprise? What are the state and local authority supposed to do to ensure that the coast remains designated for public use only?

File photo: The Ashkelon beach.

The Ashkelon beach. – Photo: Eliyahu Hershkowitz

These fundamental issues are today being put to the test in the wake of a controversy over the future of a property on Ashkelon’s beachfront, in a spot where a commercial enterprise is operating.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| February 12, 2014
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Israel to legislate the end of plastic bags in supermarkets

 

In order to prevent further pollution, the Environmental Protection Ministry is drafting a law that bans distributing plastic bags in chain stores.

By Dan Lavie

 

Plastic bags have long been part of the Israeli landscape — for better or (mostly) for worse. In fact, Israelis are practically addicted to these bags, with every citizen consuming some 275 plastic bags on average a year, playing their part in polluting the environment. But now the Environmental Protection Ministry aims to put a stop on this: The office is drafting a bill that will prohibit retail chain stores do distribute free plastic bags.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| May 5, 2013
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Settlers & Palestinians band together against problematic waste dump

Regional Arabs & Settlers all agree with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel saying their dump is environmentally unfriendly.

By SHARON UDASIN, TOVAH LAZAROFF
 

 

 
Trash issues have trumped the conflict, as settlers and Palestinians band together to protest a new German funded landfill near a nature reserve in Area C of the West Bank.
THE NAHAL MAKOCH Nature Reserve

THE NAHAL MAKOCH Nature Reserve – Photo: Roee Simon/SPNI

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) is leading the battle against the dump, because along with the settlers and Palestinians, it believes that the landfill is environmentally problematic.

The Binyamin Regional Council is also upset that its settlements can not use the landfill, located in their region, precisely at a time when the state has mandated the closure of the dump where they now deposit their trash.

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| February 20, 2013
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Red Sea – Mediterranean Sea railway path approved

New train tracks planned for Eilat will go through desert & wildlife reservations despite environmental groups objections. Tracks planed to become operational in 2019

Amir Ben-David

 

The Southern Zoning Committee approved a bid by the Israel National Roads Company to build new train tracks in the country’s south, despite an environmental impact report that deemed the project harmful, Yedioth Aharonoth reported.

Illustration - Photo by Index OpenThe train track are expected to run though plant and wildlife reservations, as well as known hiking trails, but unlike similar projects that aimed to minimize their environmental impact, the new project will not make use of the usual solution of tunnels, as suggested by the Environmental Protection Ministry Israel Nature and National Parks Service. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| February 17, 2013
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Abandoned quarries being rehabilitated into parks, lakes, amphitheaters

Used quarries throughout the country have been amazingly rehabilitated by the Quarry Rehabilitation Fund.

 

As the sun set on Thursday in the Avital Valley – a few kilometers from the Syrian border – miniature replicas of cone-shaped volcanoes that once erupted at the site glowed again in an automated light show.

The once volcanic Avital, which later became a valued quarrying spot, is to be inaugurated as a park this Passover. It is one of several quarries throughout the country being rehabilitated by the Quarry Rehabilitation Fund.

In an effort to ensure that mine and quarry lands are economically viable after projects are completed, the fund collects royalties from developers while the quarrying is being carried out, the percentage of which depends on the value of the minerals being harvested.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| February 12, 2013
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Gov’t agency fines army for negligently exposing its troops to asbestos

Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry to impose NIS 3,830,469 worth of financial fines on the IDF for its negligence.

 

The Environmental Protection Ministry will impose NIS 3,830,469 worth of financial sanctions on the IDF due to the army’s negligence with respect to asbestos removal, the ministry announced on Monday evening.

asbestosDespite the fact that the Environment Ministry had ordered the army to evacuate an asbestos hazard from an area adjacent to Beersheba’s Natan Shalid base seven months ago, the IDF has failed to do so, according to the ministry.

Instead, panels laden with asbestos have sat exposed to the open air and have caused health hazards to soldiers, the ministry explained.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| December 6, 2012
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Are high-risk facilities properly protected against rocket attack?

Following Gaza military op, Environmental Protection Ministry reviews emergency readiness of industrial facilities housing hazardous materials

Avital Lahav

 

The recent fighting in Gaza has prompted the Environmental Protection Ministry to review the protective measures available to the various facilities processing and storing hazardous materials, Ynet has learned.

(Illustration) Photo: Hagai Aharon

During and immediately after Operation Pillar of Defense, the Environmental Protection Ministry – directed by the Home Front Command – began surveying 22 hazardous material facilities in central and southern Israel.

The review aimed to inspect the facilities’ overall emergency readiness, their crisis-response protocols and damage control contingencies. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags:
| March 2, 2012
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Israel named world’s 2nd-best cleantech innovator

Cleantech Group, World Wildlife Fund release first-ever global cleantech innovation ranking. Denmark, Israel and Sweden dominate top-three slots

 

Israel is among the top-three nations worldwide that provide the best conditions for clean technology startup companies, a recent ranking by the CleanTech Group stated. Topping the list was Denmark, followed by Israel, Sweden, Finland and the United States.

A leader in cleantech innovations per capita (Illustration)

A leader in cleantech innovations per capita Illustration

“Coming Clean: The Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2012,” is a first-of-its-kind ranking, complied by the CleanTech Group and the World Wildlife Fund. It listed the top 38 countries worldwide to offer clean energy projects the most favorable conditions. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Israel News | Tags: ,