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Revenue for contaminated land work slowed in 2008 despite the industry as a whole faring well in the economic downturn, according to a new report by Environment Analyst.

The research showed the UK environmental consultancy sector grew by 9% in 2008 to reach a turnover of £1.46bn, but a lot of this was due to projects planned for the first half of the year.

As the financial crisis emerged the biggest single earner of the industry, contaminated land, was hit the worse as trade virtual

Polluting industries in Scotland were just 1% from making environmental targets, according to figures out this week.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said 91% of `large or complex` industrial sites in Scotland have passed their annual assessment.

A target of 92% for satisfactory Operator Performance Assessment (OPA) had been set by SEPA.

Waste businesses struggled the most with SEPA pointing out that if they were taken out of the figures the overall assessmen

US$111.9m has been earmarked for cleaning up contaminated land across the United States and its territories.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made the cash available to communities across the states to help them clean up sites known as brownfields.

These may be contaminated by hazardous chemicals or pollutants from various industries from oil to manufacturing.

Communities in 46 states, four tribes, and two US Territories will share these funding to help revitaliz

An east London waterway is being dredged so construction materials can be transported to the Olympic site by barge.

A 60 tonne boat has started dredging almost one and half miles of water from from Bow Locks on Bow Creek to the Waterworks River next to the to the site of the planned Olympic pool.

Around 30,000 tonnes of silt, gravel and rubble as well as tyres, shopping trolleys, timber and at least one motor car will be removed.

Richard Jackson, environment manager for the O

The Governor of New York has announced plans to ban the purchase of bottled water by state-owned agencies. he ban will cover both small bottles and those used by water coolers. State agencies will be expected to phase out their consumption of bottled water over the next six months. Governor David A Paterson said the move would save the state money as well as having obvious environmental benefits.

The move will make New York the second state, after Illinois, to scrap the use of bottled water.

Community groups will now be able to mix waste paints for reuse thanks to new guidelines issued by Scotland`s environmental watchdog.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has published an interim position statement declaring not-for-profit organisation need not apply for a licence to mix non-hazardous waste paint for reuse.

The statement says: `There is currently no specific exemption for the bulking up or mixing of waste paint. However, SEPA would not wish to discourage

Catchment management plans will be vital if the UK is to improve water quality and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, according to environmental scientists.

Experts from environmental consultancy ADAS said the plans could help to tackle diffuse pollution at the source.

Speaking at the Water Concerns conference, organised by ADAS, experts from the water industry said many traditional end-of-pipe treatments for pollution are no longer sustainable or cost-effective.

Diffuse wa

The way we treat sewage needs to undergo a revolution on the same scale as we have seen attitudes change to household rubbish and industrial waste.

That was the core message of an event hosted by consultants Aqua Enviro this week.

While the value of most other resources is widely recognised, we tend to have a devil-may-care attitude to water consumption in the UK, perhaps in part due to the climate.

The current wastewater treatment regime does almost exactly what it says on t

The global carbon market grew substantially in 2008, despite the downturn in other global commodity markets - and the EU`s trading scheme was responsible for most of this activity. According to analysts Point Carbon, nearly 5bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent changed hands across the world during the course of the year - an increase of 83% on the activity in 2007. The market`s total value for the year also grew to an estimated EUR 92bn (US$125bn), which was more than double its EUR 40bn value in 2007.

The weak pound may be making life difficult for importers and tourists, but could provide a much-needed boost for UK plastics recyclers. The sterling`s weakness is allowing UK businesses costing their services in pounds to be more competitive abroad, according to one UK company. Manchester-based Axion Recycling said it has found that its business is now more price-competitive for customers elsewhere in Europe. It has seen increased interest in the high-grade recycled plastics it makes from waste