The EPA have recently appointed RPS to be their consultants for the formulation of the National Waste Reports for the next 3 years.

The Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government Phil Hogan TD has announced that there will be a period of public consultation on septic tanks performance standards following the legislation being enacted this week.

Cork Environmental Forum, supported by Engineers Ireland, Cork is holding a Seminar on the 'Septic Tank' legislation.

Monday 9th of January 2012 saw the arrival onsite of a number of drilling rigs to undertake Phase I of the site investigation programme that will allow the EPA to gather further data on the site and contribute to the planning of the remediation.

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Mr Phil Hogan, TD and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr Brendan Howlin, TD have jointly launched Ireland’s first Green Public Procurement Action Plan - Green Tenders.

More than 2,000 Kerry householders who are paying reduced charges for waste collection could face higher charges following privatisation of the service.

Former president Mary Robinson said she was “heartened” by the interest in climate change after more than 50 people had to be turned away from a public lecture on the issue in University College Cork last week.

Owners of older septic tanks will not be forced to upgrade them to the latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards under the Water Services Bill, Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan said last week.

The Irish Renewable Energy Summit 2012 - Delivering the economic opportunity - will take place on Thursday 23rd February at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry, Dublin.

Environment Minister Phil Hogan last week congratulated Limerick County Council on reducing its energy consumption by 45%.

A Limeric technology firm has announced that it will double its workforce to 130 employees over the next three years.

Enterprise Europe Network Austria has invited Irish companies to participate at expoEnergy, B2B meetings with companies across Europe, on 1 March 2012 in Wels, Austria.

Chambers Ireland has welcomed the publication of the Expert Commission Review in relation to the Meath-Tyrone (North-South) 400 kV Interconnection Project - noting that the HVDC underground option costing a minimum of €333 million is too expensive.

Northern Ireland's expertise in renewable energy is continuing to grow with the help of a Newtownards company.

Tidal current technology developer Marine Current Turbines (MCT) has released an independent report demonstrating that its flagship SeaGen generator, located in Northern Ireland's Strangford Lough, has had no major impact on marine life.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, TD, has announced an extension to the closing date for applications under the 2012 Bioenergy Scheme.

Northern Ireland Environment Minister Alex Attwood joined a storytelling group in Whiterock library to launch the 'Rubbish Monster' book series.

A Co. Down farmer has been fined £500 plus £31 court costs at Lisburn Magistrates' Court.

IFA Environment & Rural Affairs Chairman Harold Kingston has welcomed the consultation commenced by the Department of the Environment, regarding the reform of the delivery of water services in Ireland as “a necessary measure to reduce costs and duplication by the 34 county and city councils which have responsibility for water investment and maintenance.”

Farmers exiting the REPS 3 scheme urgently need the reintroduction of the AEOS 3 scheme, according to the IFA.

These Guidance Notes are in a series issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which provides guidance on the determination of Best Available Techniques (BAT).

The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) has published the responses received to the consultation - 'Consultation on the Proposed National Rollout of Electricity and Gas Smart Metering' (CER 11191).

About 300,000 households will be slapped with a fixed-rate water charge - irrespective of the quantity of water they use.

Family size should dictate the amount of water a house is allowed without charge when metering is introduced, a pair of researchers has found.

Meters will not be installed in every home in the country when water charges are introduced in 2014, the Government has admitted.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar has announced €100 million worth of funding for new road safety and upgrading projects at locations across the country in 2012.

The environmental lobby group that complained to the European Commission about the toxic dump in Cork Harbour fears the Government is ignoring vast areas of contamination in its long-awaited €40 million clean-up of the site.

Shell EP Ireland has received a written warning from the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources over breaches of conditions regarding the construction of its pipeline at its Corrib gas site at Aughoose, northwest Mayo.

The State's ethics watchdog has ruled there is no basis to a complaint about the handling of the Poolbeg incinerator development by former environment minister John Gormley.

Plans for an “industrial-scale” €200 million wind farm is dividing opinion among locals in a coastal west Clare community.

Although it may still be officially winter, above-average air and soil temperatures have brought bird species ravaged by two consecutive cold winters bouncing back, while confused plants think it is spring.

Industrial services group DCC has said its earnings would be weaker than expected due to an "exceptionally mild" winter, continuing economic conditions and high oil prices.

Mainstream Renewable Power, the company headed by Eddie O'Connor, has raised €40m from Irish investors and institutions according to the Irish Independent.

Businesses and schools from Dungarvan and the surrounding areas of Waterford have been finding out about the latest ways to cut their energy costs at a special energy efficiency briefing held by leading independent energy supplier Energia.

A 'boar war' has erupted over whether the wild hairy pig is an Irish native or foreign invader.

Dublin City Council’s 110 binmen lifted their last bags and wheelie bins on Friday 13 January after almost 150 years of the local authority cleaning the capital’s streets.

A Mallusk man has been fined a total of £2,250 plus court costs of £37 at Laganside Magistrates’ Court in Belfast for waste offences.

Wexford County Council has announced that, following a competitive process, AES, Bord na Móna’s Resource Recovery company, has purchased the Council’s waste collection business.

Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill has confirmed her plans to extend agri-environment scheme agreements that have not yet ended and are due to terminate before January 2013.

Pre-tax losses at French company JCDecaux, that has a host of deals with local authorities over the operation of 'superloos', doubled in 2010 to €130,595.

Following a Government meeting, Environment Minister Phil Hogan has announced plans for the disposal of the State’s electronic voting equipment.

European Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik has welcomed the overwhelming support given by the European Parliament to an updated Directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

Plumbers are almost wholly unprepared for the "drastic change" to the way the UK's homes are heated as part of efforts to cut carbon emissions, according to leading engineers - meaning householders could need to turn to architects and engineers at a potential cost of over £20,000 per house.

Full implementation of EU waste legislation would save €72 billion a year, increase the annual turnover of the EU waste management and recycling sector by €42 billion and create over 400,000 jobs by 2020 according to a European Commission study just published.

A new United Nations report launched last week urges investment in energy-efficient technologies to help achieve sustainable growth and tackle a host of global challenges from climate change to poverty reduction.

The European Commission has launched an online public consultation on possible measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships.

After earthquakes in Lancashire and tales of poisoned water and flaming taps in the US, 'fracking' for gas or oil in the English home counties was never likely to be easy.

French engineering giant Alstom has announced that it has signed a major new joint venture agreement with SSE Renewables, which will see the two companies work together on the deployment of the world's largest wave energy project off the coast of Orkney.

Any boost to renewable energy sparked by countries abandoning nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster is likely to be overshadowed by a massive increase in coal use that could have devastating consequences for the fight against climate change.

Nearly a dozen companies - including the likes of IBM, The Coca-Cola Company, CH2M Hill, Johnson & Johnson and General Motors - have joined forces to identify the innovations needed to create the next generation of sustainable practices in traceability, infrastructure, water management and logistics.

After journeying over 48,000km using only energy from the sun, the world's largest solar-powered boat docked in Abu Dhabi last week to mark the opening of the fifth annual World Future Energy Summit.

The influential Public Accounts Committee of MPs has warned that the government's plan to roll out smart meters to every home and office in the UK faces a series of serious challenges that ministers are yet to sufficiently address.

Sky is poised to take a major step closer towards its target of cutting carbon emissions by a quarter, with the commissioning of a new combined heat and power (CHP) plant that could supply up to 40 per cent of energy to the broadcaster's main studio complex.

The price of UN-backed carbon offsets hit a record low of €3.32 a tonne last week, as fears over the eurozone crisis and on-going concerns about the long-term validity of some certified emission reduction (CER) credits prompted a sell off. Prices fell by over six per cent before rallying slightly to over €3.60.

The European Lamp Companies Federation (ELC) has announced a ground-breaking project with EU Ecolabel and Green Public Procurement (GPP) in the criteria revision process.

Most modern cars have air conditioning as a standard feature. Such air conditioning needs to be powered - and, therefore, leads to greater use of fuel per kilometre driven.

Human carbon dioxide emissions will delay the onset of the next Ice Age.

Energy consumers may be missing out on millions of pounds in unclaimed compensation over mistaken energy bills and faulty meters, new research has found.

Six water treatment plants on the south coast have installed solar panels in a move that could save operator Portsmouth Water £4,000 a year in electricity costs.

London's 2012 mayoral candidates should pledge to boost investment in walking and cycling in the capital, according to the authors of a new study which found that off-road cycling routes have much lower levels of pollution than surrounding roads.

Scientists in the US claim to have found a cheaper and easier way to remove carbon dioxide from industrial smokestacks, cars and domestic heaters, which account for around half of total manmade CO2 emissions.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has unveiled a new tool that gives the public easy access to facility-level greenhouse gas emissions data.

Smart meter specialist Landis+Gyr has completed its first acquisition since it was purchased by technology giant Toshiba, shelling out an undisclosed sum for US-based meter data management software firm Ecologic Analytics.

Lufthansa looks set to conclude its biofuel trial with its first biofuel-powered transatlantic flight, after the airline admitted that the future of its biofuel programme now rested on its ability to source sufficient sustainable jet biofuels.

There is "no possibility" the UK will meet its 2050 emissions targets unless the government accelerates efforts to reduce reliance on gas boilers and dramatically improve the energy efficiency of buildings.

Global investment in clean energy reached a new high of $260bn (£169bn) last year - despite the financial crisis and the anti-environment agenda of Republicans in the US Congress, a United Nations investors' summit was told.

Wind power could actually produce more CO2 than gas and increase domestic fuel bills because of the need for 'back up' power stations, a think tank has warned.

A recent conference in the European Parliament heard that renewables are expected to have a "huge" impact on Europe's energy market in the coming years.

The EU achieved its 2010 renewable electricity target of 21% of electricity consumption according to latest analysis by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte has brought to Government and published the report on the International Expert Commission which he had established in July 2011 to “review and report, within six months, on a case for - and cost of - undergrounding (all or part of) Meath-Tyrone 400KV power lines”.

Phil Hogan, TD, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and Fergus O’Dowd, TD, Minister of State with responsibility for NewERA have announced a six week public consultation on a suite of fundamental reforms of the water sector which the Government are planning to introduce.