Virgin racing and tyre recyclers Carbon Green have united in a move that could see top level motor racing becoming a little bit more environmentally friendly.

Both companies have announced the plans June 13 following Lewis Hamilton’s victory in the Canadian formula one race.

Carbon Green which is based in Canada, will become a sponsor of Virgin racing and Sir Richard Branson has declared it the ‘first truly green highly relevant’ deal in the sport.

The recycling firm transforms old tyres into useful products and Sir Richard hope the deal with make Virgin Racing more environmentally friendly.

Carbon Green has also opened its first tyre recycling plant in Canada, in south Ontario over the weekend.

Virgin Racing boss, Sir Richard, said: “I am delighted Virgin Racing is partnering with Carbon Green at their home country GP here in Montreal.

“I want Virgin Racing to drive the introduction of green technology into F1 and Carbon Green’s tire recycling company is, I believe, the first truly green and highly relevant sponsor in the sport and I hope only the first of many.

“I also want to congratulate Carbon Green on the announcement of their first production plant here in Canada.”

President of Carbon Green, John Novak, said: “We are thrilled to be in Montreal with our partner Virgin Racing, to witness the return of Formula one to Canada and Virgin’s inaugural race on Canadian soil.

“We have identified Canada as a world leader with very high standards of environmental practices which fits with our expansion plans for our unique proprietary technology that 100% recycles used tires into high grade commodities.

“We are therefore pleased to announce that we have chosen the southern Ontario region as the first location to launch our standardized plant roll-out in North America.”

The world cup is fast approaching so I thought I’d try and find out what South Africa have done in order to lower the environmental impact of the tournament.

An estimated 2.8m tonnes is likely to be released due to the world cup, that’s roughly equivalent to 6,000 space shuttle fights, three quiet years for Mount Etna, or 20 cheeseburgers for every man, woman and child in the UK. An estimated 1.2 million people will see matches live, so that works out at a massive carbon cost of 2.3 tonnes per spectator.

With the support of Global Environment Facility (GEF), the city, Pretoria has launched two projects to help reduce emissions and raise awareness among South Africans and visitors.

In 2008, South Africa began work to update public transportation systems in seven of the nine cities where football matches are being held to lower the potential emissions caused by transportation. The biggest improvements have been the creation of a rapid transit system of buses and the improved infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists.

The plan for South Africa is to maximise the potential of the international investment by leaving a legacy for more extensive improvements of public transport in their cities.

Another big step towards lowering emissions comes from the installation of solar panels and efficient light on the streets, stoplights and billboards in the six cities hosting the event. They are also pushing very hard on creating awareness of climate change and how to prevent wasted energy to the public.

When the competition is over an analysis will be conducted regarding the ecological projects that were introduced relating to the World Cup to determine what was successful and what wasn’t.

One of the largest offshore windfarms in the world will begin construction next year an energy firm has announced. The £2bn Gwynt y Mor windfarm will have 160 turbines about 10 miles away from the shore, near Colwyn Bay and Llandudno.

Work will begin the later part of next year, the windfarm is expected to begin generating power as early as 2013 but the RWE Innogy-led project is not expected to be completed until 2014. The project will also involve two other partners, Stadtwerke München and Siemens.

Some of the residents in Llandudno have tried to stop the project claiming it will destroy the resort’s view out to sea.

The government’s decision to grant planning permission was criticised by protesters who also said wind energy was unreliable.

There is a possibility that 1,000 jobs will be created regarding the construction and supply of materials.

Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan said: “This is excellent news. Gwynt y Mor will be one of the single biggest private investment projects ever seen in Wales, creating up to 1,000 quality jobs and contributing many millions of pounds to the regional economy of north Wales.”

“It will also become one of the largest offshore windfarm projects in Europe, able to provide enough clean, green electricity to power the equivalent of around 400,000 homes.”

“In Wales we are ideally located to embrace the economic benefits of green technologies. Surrounded by wind, wave and tidal resources, we are in a prime position to be able to benefit from investment in the green economy whilst making a significant contribution to the [UK] government’s carbon reduction targets through safe, clean renewable means.”

Shadow Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said, “This £2bn investment in north Wales, which was previously opposed by David Cameron, is only happening thanks to the pioneering work undertaken by Ed Miliband when he was Labour’s Energy Secretary. Gwynt y Mor will be Wales’ largest wind farm, capable of powering around 400,000 homes, and preventing the release of 1.7m tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.”

After the announcement that the Government has given permission, contracts worth £2.2m have already been awarded to companies based in Wales. More contracts and jobs are expected to be awarded throughout the development and to provide maintance once complete.

UK Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said: “This is the first of what I hope will be many examples of how we can make the most of our island’s huge renewable energy potential.

“I want to make sure we grab all the opportunities the rapidly expanding renewables industry has to offer, and that wind power can come of age under this government.”

RWE has invested in other windfarms off the north Wales coast such as North Hoyle and Rhyl Flats.

Rhyl Flats, which was officially opened at the end of last year, is currently Wales’ largest wind farm.

We here BuilderScrap are truly excited by the action Wales has taken to become a more energy efficient country.

Continuing the BuilderScrap.com recycling around the world series… we look at DENMARK

Waste is not just waste. That is the underlying philosophy of one of Europe’s “greenest” countries. For decades, the Danish environment policy has been to regard waste as a resource.

Tough standards have been set by consecutive governments, but it is up to the local authorities to collect whatever waste households may produce.

In 2003 that averaged 559 kg of waste per Dane, ranging from plastic and paper to bottles and batteries. In those councils where not all types of waste are collected at the house, nearby disposal sites or citizen helplines are in place.

Nearly 10,000 Danes are in the business of collecting waste – more than 0.1% of the entire population.

The hard push towards a greener Denmark has given he country a proud record.

Government figures for 2003 suggest that 31% of all household waste was recycled, while 62% was incinerated. The remaining 6% was landfill waste.

However, often the total amount of waste is not big enough for Denmark to have its own recycling plants. In particular, plastic waste, waste from electrical and electronic products, and batteries and metal are sent abroad for recycling.

The government also aims to limit the waste mountain by encouraging industry to promote products that leave a minimum of waste after use.

InterBuild 2008 was a fantastic experience for us. As well as launching the site to the industry, we were able to have a look what others are doing in the industry, particularly concerning the environment.

There were several companies promoting green products and businesses, including:

• Green Estate – green roof specialists who create, supply and maintain vegetation on roofs. The benefits of green roofs are lower energy costs, reduced drainage and water storage requirements and increased property values.
• Mark Group – energy saving products for house builders including air source heat pumps, solar electricity and solar hot water heating.
• Smith Bros Ltd (Enviro materials) – Suppliers of Exwood, an eco-friendly material which looks, feels and has many of the same characteristics of wood.
• Monodraught – Heat-Harvester –By sucking hot air in at ceiling level and blasting it back down to floor level the heat harvester can cut energy and heating bills by 50%! They also have other products such as Cool-Phase the passive cooling system
• Sustainable Homes – training and consultancy for sustainable housing
• Durisol UK – the original stay in place wall form system made from 80% recycled wood
• Elmhurst Energy – a provider of accreditation, training and technical support for the creation and lodgement of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)
• Steico – suppliers of environmentally products, including thermal insulation made from hemp and wood
• Continental Underfloor Heating -more environmentally friendly heating products
• KdB Isolation – provides sustainable insulation solutions

All of these products are aimed at helping the industry reduce it’s effect on the environment. I hope you find this information useful, if you have any questions or comments, please let us know.