In South Asia

Spoilt milk Nestle Lanka, the Sri Lankan subsidiary of a multinational food firm, has had to send back a consignment of radioactive milk powder imported from Poland. In November 1993, Sri Lankan customs officials found the milk powder contained more radioactive particles than permissible. Sri Lanka resumed checks on imported milk foods after Bangladesh recently rejected a consignment of milk that was found to be radioactive. Polythene bags out

Biodegradable plastic

IN THE near future, plastic won't be an environmental pejorative. The Japan Corn Starch Co Ltd, in collaboration with US business firm Grand River Technologies of Michigan, will produce a fully biodegradable plastic from corn starch that decomposes readily and can be used as compost for the corn crop (New Technology Japan, Vol 21, No 9).

Vegetable strength

ADDING the genes of broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower to those of rapeseed could yield an oil that can be used to make superstrong plastics. Presently, rape-seed oil yields only 66 per cent erucic acid and is expensive to purify. Researchers at the National Research Council of Canada's Plant Biotechnology Institute say adding broccoli or cauliflower genes can result in oils with more than 90 per cent erucic acid.

Vegetables perk up Ladakh's winters

NOT SO long ago, Ladakhis would have laughed at the idea of growing vegetables in winter when the mercury nosedives to about -300 C. Not any longer. The greening of the Ladakhi winter market has begun, as defence scientists successfully grow fresh green vegetables in greenhouses.

Burdened by refuse

GERMAN industries and town councils agreed in the first week of September, to loan $345 million to the Duales System Deutschland (DSD) to rescue the country's ambitious recycling programme from the brink of bankruptcy.

A matter of identity

SORTING out similar types of plastics from waste may now be possible through a system based on the different ways various plastics reflect a near-infrared light (Environmental Science and Technology, Vol 27, No 7). The different reflection patterns are then analysed by an artificial nerve-like computer programme, which is "trained to recognise" the plastic by its resin type. Kathy Alam and her team at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, who developed the system, claim it has been used to sort out most types of plastics with absolute accuracy.

Trading in recyclables

AFTER the pollution rights auction held earlier this year (Down To Earth, May 15, 1993), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) now plans to develop a market in recyclable materials. CBOT will develop an electronic bulletin board on which bids for reusable wastes can be displayed. The exchange will initially focus on glass and certain kinds of plastic, although it can also be used for other recyclable wastes.

Fireproof plastic

A FORMER British hairdresser, Maurice Ward, who traded his shears in the early 1970s for an executive desk at a plastic-recycling firm that he set up, says he has invented a fireproof plastic called Starlite. Ward says the plastic can withstand temperatures as high as 10,0000 C and can be blasted with lasers without getting scorched. Ward demonstrated to an incredulous audience that a raw egg encased in Starlite and held against a welding torch remained uncooked.

Eco-labelling doubts linger

HAS THE "eco-angel" fallen from grace? Fourteen years after West Germany adopted eco-labelling, its efficacy is still in doubt because of faulty selection and inadequate evaluation of product impact.

Fibrous substitute

Plastics are a major environmental problem because they are not biodegradable. One exception is polyhydroxybutyrate-hydroxyvalerate (PHB-V), but manufacturing it is expensive and its use is restricted. A Swedish researcher has combined PHB-V with wood fibres to come up with an inexpensive alternative he calls "fibrewood," (Science, Vol 257 No 5076).