Latest news with #metropolitan
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Liverpool: Vegetable oil-powered trucks to collect food waste
Dozens of lorries powered by vegetable oil are to be rolled out to help collect Liverpool's new food-waste bins from next order to comply with legislation introduced four years ago, Liverpool City Council will have to provide weekly food-waste collections to every home under its jurisdiction from April local authority in Liverpool, which is regarded as having the second-worst recycling rate in the UK, is to sign off on plans to acquire thousands of new bins and specially-powered vehicles, to ensure they meet next spring's law are also being considered to develop an 80,000-tonne food-waste processing plant within the wider metropolitan region. Last year, it was revealed that food waste makes up approximately a third of domestic waste-bin authority officials believe there are better ways to process food waste, and want to make it easier for people to use council recycling containers more of the looming April 2026 deadline, the initial fleet of waste-collection vehicles will be diesel-based, according to a report due before Liverpool Council's cabinet next week, as detailed by the Local Democracy Reporting to minimise the carbon emissions associated with diesel vehicles, the council is proposing using hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) - a renewable fuel made up of vegetable oil, animal fats and other liquid food-waste produces 98% less CO2 than diesel and is commonly used in the haulage industry. It has already been been adopted by some refuse-collection vehicles used by Biffa Waste Management when fulfilling their Wirral Council vehicles are understood to have an operational life of seven years, and the intention would be to move on to biogas thereafter. Food caddies Liverpool Council will initially order 20 vehicles, but this may increase to 36 trucks - at a cost of more than £3.3 - depending on how many households participate in the programme. The council will spend a further £1.1m on the food-waste caddies. Meanwhile, a cabinet report set out how the construction of a food-waste processing plant near, or close to, Merseyside could reduce council costs and create have also been carried out to look at the potential for building and operating an 80,000-tonne (78,000-tons) food waste processing plant in the Liverpool City have recommended further work to develop a high-level business case for local treatment facilities that generate biogas and support the future transition to gas-powered collection vehicles, once the infrastructure and fuel supplies are in place. Liverpool Council currently sends 130,000 tonnes of general waste by train to Redcar, Cleveland, where it is incinerated to generate electricity. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
New York Times
16-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
How Cuts to Medicaid Would Imperil Rural Hospitals
To the Editor: Re 'Medicaid Cuts Would Gut My Rural Hospital,' by Kevin Stansbury (Opinion guest essay, May 3): Mr. Stansbury makes a strong point. The rural hospital is obliged to take care of the critically ill whether or not Medicaid is funded in Washington. His little facility may go belly up if it is not. I am a practicing physician in the middle of America's largest metropolitan area. Thanks to Medicaid funding, few of my patients are unable to see a doctor at least once a year for a complete physical examination. This funding permits detection and management of chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. That alone is a critical factor in saving costs to society down the road. Such simple considerations as his and mine should be sufficient to persuade lawmakers not to cut Medicaid to the states. Continuing to do so would be a good example of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face.
ABC News
13-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Households could spend $80 billion on energy efficiency upgrades, report finds
Households across the country are prepared to spend an average of $7,950 up-front to make their homes greener and cheaper to run, a report has found. But 40 per cent of people surveyed are not likely to transition away from gas appliances and install more sustainable technologies, as they do not understand the impact they will have on lowering household energy use. The PropTrack Origin Australian Home Energy Report, commissioned by Origin Energy and compiled by REA Group, surveyed attitudes on transitioning households away from gas appliances and installing technologies including solar and battery systems. More than half (56 per cent) of the 4,800 people surveyed in January planned on making their homes more energy efficient in the coming five years. Households were budgeting $7,850 in metropolitan areas and $8,400 in the regions for such upgrades. REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh said the upgrades could result in more than $80 billion being spent by homeowners on energy improvements. "It's encouraging to see that there is a large number of Australians motivated to make these changes," she said. The responses identified challenges that could slow down the transition of households towards sustainable energy technologies. Two out of five people surveyed did not know how to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, with "renters and younger Australians facing the biggest knowledge gaps". There was little awareness of the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) — the government's system for rating the energy efficiency of new homes — as 71 per cent of people said they had no understanding of it. "There's also a lot of confusion around available government rebates or technologies," Ms Creagh said. "Many people see energy efficient upgrades as expenses and don't recognise the long-term savings. "Without better education, many households will continue to be locked out of those benefits." Replacing gas cooktops, hot water systems, heaters and other appliances with electric alternatives can result in lower power bills and reduce emissions by running on electricity generated by renewables. Upgrading one of the 8 million homes built before energy standards were introduced more than two decades ago could lead to savings of $1,033 each year, according to figures from the Climate Council of Australia. However, the REA Group and Origin report claims the up-front costs of "electrification" are preventing the trend from picking up speed. 40 per cent of people are thinking about converting their property to electric-only appliances in the future, which is 1 per cent lower than a year earlier. 28 per cent of people ruled out making the change, and 32 per cent were on the fence. Of the more than 4,800 people surveyed, 6 per cent had ditched gas appliances to go all electric. "It's probably going to be a pretty slow-moving journey," Ms Creagh said. "Better and more targeted education and industry support can certainly help people in terms of overcoming knowledge gaps, which are barriers towards making energy efficient upgrades in the home." The report found 68 per cent of people were motivated to upgrade the energy efficiency of their homes because it often resulted in lower power bills, while 55 per cent recognised the environmental benefits. Increasingly, electricity is being generated from renewable sources including solar and wind farms in Australia, and so replacing gas appliances with electric alternatives results in less fossil fuels being burned. Utility provider Origin Energy is a generator and retailer of energy from coal-fired power and gas. But the shift towards renewables is also underway within the industry, with Origin planning to shut down its Eraring coal-fired power plant and increasing its investment in renewable technologies, including wind farms and battery projects. The survey data was collected in January, before the federal Labor government was re-elected, and before it campaigned on 30 per cent subsidies for solar battery costs for households, small businesses and community facilities. Ms Creagh said the policy would help address some of the challenges highlighted by the survey data. "The reduced up-front cost — and coupled with those ongoing savings — are likely to make [installing a solar battery] more attractive option for households." The government estimates the $2.3 billion program will add more than 1 million new batteries by 2030. 70 per cent of people surveyed had changed their habits to cut down their energy use in the past year, motivated primarily by the high cost of living. The most common measures were turning off lights (52 per cent) and appliances (42 per cent). Age clearly delineated who was adopting energy-saving habits, the report found. People over the age of 65 were most likely to have changed their habits, but also had "the financial ability to fund upgrades". Meanwhile, 41 per cent of people under the age of 35 were prepared to cut their energy use — 6 per cent more than the average. The report concluded "renters, younger Australians, and lower-income households face the greatest challenges" when it came to lowering both their household energy bills and carbon footprint. "The survey responses really showed that younger Australians are facing higher levels of climate anxiety, and they certainly do care about making these changes," Ms Creagh said. "But in many ways, they're unable to because a higher proportion of them are renters, and feel like they don't have control over making those energy-efficient changes in the home." Renters wanting to act could install smart plugs, LED lights and talk to their landlords about upgrades, the report said.
