Jargon Buster - Definitions of Environmental Concepts I-R
Life-Cycle Assessment Addresses the environmental impacts of a product throughout its whole life-cycle, from the extraction of the raw materials to its disposal. It is a tool to address all environmental issues that arise when making decisions about products or developments.
Local Agenda 21 Agenda 21 (21 for the 21st Century) was agreed and signed at the United Nations Conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It called on all countries to produce a strategy for sustainable development, which was to be implemented through local plans - Local Agenda 21. Your local council will have more information on its own Agenda 21.
Non-Renewable Energy Energy produced using a finite resource such as coal, oil or natural gas.
Packaging Recovery Notes PRNs 'Packaging Recovery Notes' were devised by the Environment Agency as a means of providing adequate evidence of compliance to the Waste Packaging Regulations.
PCBs - Polychlorinated Biphenyls PCBs were previously used as insulators because of their chemical properties (fire resistant, chemically stable, not vaporising easily and insoluble in water). They are found in equipment such as transformers, ballasts in fluorescent lighting, circuit breakers and switchgear. Any capacitor or transformer manufactured before 1976 should be assumed to contain
PCBs.
PCBs must also be handled with adequate protection under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1994 (
COSHH). A Directive was passed in 1996 to phase out the use of
PCBs in the
UK.
Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) This concept makes polluters responsible for any damage that they cause to the environment. It is defined further in the Environmental Liability Act, which has recently been passed in the
EU.
Renewable Energy Energy produced using a renewable resource such as wind, tidal or solar power.
Using renewable instead of non-renewable energy helps to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions and therefore the rate of global warming and climate change.
