Philippines to re-open 'cesspool' Boracay after clean up

AFP Yahoo News 24 Oct 18;

The Philippines re-opens its crown jewel resort island Boracay to holidaymakers on Friday, after a six-month clean up aimed at repairing the damage inflicted by years of unrestrained mass tourism.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the island shuttered in April for a major effort to fortify weak infrastructure and crack down on the rampant overdevelopment that had left it, what he termed, a "cesspool".

When the government throws open the doors, Boracay will have fewer hotels and restaurants, a cap on the number of visitors and anti-beach boozing rules aimed at taming its party-hard reputation.

All of this is intended to protect the bruised beauty of the island's turquoise waters and expanses of white sand beaches which were being loved to death by two million tourists per year.

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Plastics have entered human food chain, study shows

Marlowe HOOD AFP Yahoo News 23 Oct 18;

Paris (AFP) - Bits of plastic have been detected in the faeces of people in Europe, Russia and Japan, according to research claiming to show for the first time the widespread presence of plastics in the human food chain.

All eight volunteers in a small pilot study were found to have passed several types of plastic, with an average of 20 micro-particles per 10 grams of stool, researchers reported Tuesday at a gastroenterology congress in Vienna.

The scientists speculated that the tiny specks -- ranging in size from 50 to 500 micrometres -- may been ingested via seafood, food wrapping, dust or plastic bottles.

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Hawaiian island erased by powerful hurricane: ‘The loss is a huge blow’

East Island has vanished after coming into contact with Hurricane Walaka, an intense storm that hit Hawaii earlier this month
Oliver Milman The Guardian 24 Oct 18;

A piece of the United States has been dramatically wiped off the map after an island in Hawaii was washed away by a powerful hurricane.

East Island, a remote spit of gravel and sand that sat atop a coral reef, has vanished after having this misfortune to come into contact with Hurricane Walaka, an intense storm that surged past Hawaii earlier this month.

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Best of our wild blogs: 24 Oct 18

Our Crazy Rich Shores: Pulau Jong
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

Will Bidadari still be a haven for the birds?
Singapore Bird Group

Singapore’s Plastics Story: Part 1
EnVoice

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British technology company Dyson to build electric car in Singapore

Channel NewsAsia 23 Oct 18

LONDON: British technology company Dyson said on Tuesday (Oct 23) it would build its electric car in Singapore, with a new automotive manufacturing facility set for completion in 2020 ahead of the first vehicle launch a year later.

The electric car plant is part of Dyson's £2.5 billion (US$3.3 billion) global investment drive in new technology.

Dyson, founded by the billionaire British inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner James Dyson, announced its plans to build an electric car a little over a year ago - a sector in which the company will face stiff competition from established players.

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Gardening plots in Ang Mo Kio and Jurong open for registration on Nov 9

Derek Wong Straits Times 23 Oct 18;

SINGAPORE - Wish to have your own gardening space? Public registration for gardening plots at Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West and Jurong Lake Gardens West will begin on Nov 9, with applications available online for the first time.

Previously, those interested had to register at the parks for the popular community gardening scheme.

There will be 50 plots available in Ang Mo Kio and 300 plots in Jurong for this round of applications, said the National Parks Board (NParks) in a statement on Tuesday (Oct 23).

In the previous exercise in February this year, all 220 plots at Bedok Town Park, Choa Chu Kang Park, Pasir Ris Park, Sengkang Riverside Park and Yishun Park were snapped up in about three hours.

Under the Edible Horticulture Masterplan announced in November last year, more than 1,000 allotment gardening plots in total will be available by next year in 11 parks. The existing 620 plots at nine parks have been fully subscribed, said NParks.

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Best of our wild blogs: 23 Oct 18

1-4 Nov: Singapore Eco Film Festival 2018 celebrates IYOR and Singapore shores
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

2 Nov (Fri): Free screening of 'Ubin, Sayang' at the Singapore Eco Film Festival 2018
Restore Ubin Mangroves (R.U.M.) Initiative

10 Nov (Sat): Coastal Clean Up at Sungei Seletar with Little Green Men
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

Singapore’s First Guide For Rating F&B Retailers On Their Efforts To Reduce Plastic Disposables
Zero Waste Singapore

Full Speech: Towards a Plastic-Lite Singapore Adjournment Motion (Oct 1)
Your Voices in Parliament

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New service to help companies cut carbon emissions, generate savings

Brandon Tanoto Channel NewsAsia 22 Oct 18;

SINGAPORE: Singapore companies can now subscribe to a service that will help them cut energy usage and carbon emissions by about 10 per cent, and in turn, generate savings.

The service – called the Co-Pilot Hub – was launched on Monday (Oct 22) and is offered by software and services provider KBC.

The hub is co-funded by Japanese electrical engineering and software firm Yokogawa Electric Corporation and through a grant from the Economic Development Board under the Research Incentive Scheme for Companies (RISC).

Companies can sign up and pay a subscription fee and pay the solutions provider, KBC, a portion of the energy savings that are achieved. KBC declined to disclose how much the subscription fee is.

KBC projects that a refinery, for example, will be able to save up to S$30 million a year through the service.

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Malaysia: Habitat of endangered Malayan tigers vanishing

The Star 23 Oct 18;

PETALING JAYA: The Hulu Sempam area which has been cleared for durian plantation is vital to the survival of the Malayan tiger, which is now considered critically endangered.

The area, said WWF’s Siti Zuraidah Abidin, had also been identified as an Expected Tiger Habitat under the National Tiger Action Plan for Malaysia 2008-2020 and its surrounding forests a confirmed tiger habitat.

“Land clearing at Hulu Sempam can cause the wider forests to be fragmented, which in turn can affect the wildlife movement,” she said.

In June 2015, the Malayan tiger was moved from the “Endangered” to “Critically Endangered” category in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.

However, with just two years to go before the plan’s end date, the number of tigers in the wild is believed to have dwindled to about 300.

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Malaysia: Sabah state govt mulls planting food for wild elephants

The Star 23 Oct 18;

KOTA KINABALU: The state government is thinking of planting food for elephants in certain protected areas to prevent them from encroaching into plantations.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew said the move could help to reduce human-elephant conflict and prevent the extinction of the species in Sabah.

“Given the loss of habitat, the remaining 2,000-odd elephants need a home so that they don’t encroach into oil palm plantations and risk getting snared, maimed or killed,” she said in a statement.

Liew, who is also Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, said the pygmy elephants are currently concentrated in three areas – Lower Kinabatangan Managed Elephant Range (MER), Tabin MER and Central Sabah MER in the Danum area.

“The aim is to create a sustainable food chain within the three MERs, a new corridor of life for the elephants and avert crop damage in the oil palm plantations and smallholdings,” she said.

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Malaysia: No information about elephant killings despite RM120,000 reward

Olivia Miwil New Straits Times 22 Oct 18;

KOTA KINABALU: No one has come forward to furnish details on the killing of elephants in Sabah although RM120,000 reward was offered.

Sabah Wildlife Department offered the lucrative incentive in August following the death of more than 20 elephants in the state.

The department director Augustine Tuuga said the public either truly had no idea about the killings or were afraid to come forward to assist in investigations.

To date, the department had reported 27 elephant deaths either due to fighting, disease, injuries related to snare traps, poisoning or gunshots.

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UK: Plastic recycling industry's problems costing councils up to £500,000 a year

Chinese ban on waste imports is significantly affecting UK councils’ ability to collect and recycle plastic
Sandra Laville The Guardian 20 Oct 18;

Major problems in the plastic recycling industry are costing local councils in England up to £500,000 extra a year, as they struggle to deal with the continuing fallout from import bans imposed by countries who are no longer able to take the UK’s waste.

A survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) revealed nearly half of councils who responded (52) say China’s ban is having a significant impact on their ability to collect and recycle plastic, due to rising costs. Fourteen councils across the country say their recycling costs have increased by an average of half a million pounds a year, in part because of rising processing charges per tonne.

“It’s clear that the ban by China on imported waste, which could soon be implemented by other countries, could have a marked impact on councils’ ability to recycle,” said Martin Tett, environment spokesman for the LGA. “It is essential that the government provide support to help councils offset the loss of income they face as a result of the ban. Councils want manufacturers to play their part to reduce the amount of material entering the environment which can’t be recycled.”

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