European Union Expected to Ban Phosphates in Dishwasher & Laundry Soap

The European Union (EU) is expected to follow the lead of a number of individual countries and ban phosphates in dishwasher and laundry soap.

The EU ban is expected to commence in 2013; however, countries including Germany, France and Italy already ban phosphates from soaps because they are the third biggest source of algae pollution in European rivers, lakes and seas, behind farming and raw sewage

The more phosphates there are in a body of water, the more algae that grows, leaving less

Only through a more complete EU phosphate ban can some so-called “dead” areas of water – including areas of the Baltic Sea, be brought back to life, the critics also say.

To learn more, read the article from Reuters.

Illinois Bans 17 Electronic Devices from Its Landfills

As of January 2012, it’s illegal in the US state of Illinois to dispose of any of 17 different kinds of electronic devices in landfills in that state.

Each of the banned devices – ranging from TVs and computers to DVD players, video game consoles and satellite receivers – must be taken to a registered recycler or electronics collection site for reuse or recycling.

The state legislature reportedly took the step based on the fact that consumer electronics good contain hazardous materials – such as cadmium and lead – which can seep into groundwater, thereby contaminating the water people use to drink and grow food.

The ban also covers such items as electronic keyboards, printers, FAX machines, portable digital music players and digital video disc recorders.

To learn more, read the SunTimes article. 

California May be on the Way to Banning Brass Door Handles

At first glance, this sounds kind of silly.

At second glance, too.

Nevertheless, there appears to be growing momentum in California to punish businesses that have door handles containing brass on the grounds that they pose an environmental hazard to the public

“It is hard to imagine that there is a ‘significant risk’ of exposure to lead by the average person” using a brass door handle, according to the writer of the California Environmental Law Blog.

Still, the blog writer recommends that restaurants and other businesses that receive notices “carefully evaluate” their defenses.

To learn more read the article on The California Environmental Law Blog

Top 2012 Eco-Law Issues Include Republican Attack on EPA, Fate of Keystone Pipeline

The top 10 eco-legal issues for 2012 include Republicans’ attack on the authority of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the fate of the controversial Keystone pipeline expected to transport oil from Canada into the US.

That’s according to the Vermont Law School’s Environmental Law Center.

Also making the center’s top 10 list: the “clash between the EPA and White House over ozone standards; the continuing political and environmental fallout from the Japanese nuclear plant disaster; and the recent landmark settlement under the Endangered Species Act.

To learn more, read the Watch List Article.