Environment

Time's up for single-use plastics. Or at least that remains the hope of representatives from ten environmental organizations who gathered this week on Beacon Hill to promote bills that would ban the distribution of plastic shopping bags at retail stores statewide.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection assessed a penalty of $114,969 against a Worcester contractor for violations of asbestos regulations that occurred during work on a Worcester residential property in fall 2021.

The Devens Eco-Efficiency Center is a nonprofit providing programs to help companies make more efficient choices, such as by creating The Great Exchange, a marketplace for the reuse of materials destined for the trash.

When it comes to reaching the state’s renewable energy goals, cross-sector collaboration is the name of the game, according to speakers and panelists at WBJ’s 2023 Mass Energy Summit.

Electric Hydrogen is opening a manufacturing facility in Devens to begin building its advanced electrolyzers, which can run off of renewable energy thanks to technological advances the company has made.

Ahead of a major expansion of the electric grid and in the midst of generational retirements, utilities are working to fill positions key to keeping the lights on and hitting the region’s renewable energy goals

After incorporating changes based on public feedback, state energy officials say they expect to finalize rules by July 1 for a program that will enable 10 cities and towns to require new building construction or major renovation projects to be fossil fuel-free.

Littleton-based JETCOOL Technologies, Inc. will receive more than $1.2 million from a U.S. Department of Energy division to advance cooling technology for data centers.

As Massachusetts prepares to compete for federal funding to support climate resiliency projects, state officials can rely on an initial grant to help fine-tune their plan and seek feedback from stakeholders, including marginalized communities.

Greater Worcester gasoline prices decreased 4 cents per gallon over the past week. Though at $3.43, it is 4 cents higher than last month's average of $3.39 per gallon.