WASTE WONDERS: This had to happen: domestic and other wastes can go into making objects of daily use. A Canadian company, Low Energies Extrusion Technologies, uses flyash, clay, wire scrap and woodchips to make paving stones, tiles, chair legs and table tops. The company is running a thriving business using industrial and post-consumer wastes to manufacture advanced composite materials. The company is said to be grabbing every opportunity to produce usable products from very diverse low-cost fill sources.

CLEANER CATALYST: Coating car radiators with platinum is a surefire way of cleaning up the air, says Engelherd, the frontrunning US corporate group. It claims to have developed a catalyst which uses platinum. The platinum effectively converts ozone into oxygen, and carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide. PremAir, the catalyst, "would treat all the air covering the area upto one and a half stories or 4.6 metres high every day," claims Terence Poles, Engelherd's director of business developments.

RESEARCH RAVE: SmithKline Beecham, the UK's second largest drug company, is now "addicted" to research. The company is expanding its R&D wing, in a recently-purchased site in the US. Located at the Upper Providence township, Pennsylvania, the site originally belonged to Eastman Kodak and is equipped with aboratories and offices.

AGRO BOOM: Herbal medicines, reams, foods. And now, a herbal esticide in India. Named Agro !oom, this formula can replace hemical fertilisers and pesticides. he organic nature of the pesticide, reated by A R Rajendra Kumar and tarketed by Vishwa Tech, makes it im-toxic, non-polluting, and a bio- protectant. It contains sufficient nutrients to enhance plant growth. Besides being inexpensive (almost 50 per cent cheaper than chemical pesticides) and capable of delivering 30-40 per cent more yield, Agro Boom also ensures a considerable cut in the volume of water required for crop cultivation.

GREEN DRINK: Prince Charles, crown prince of England, is offering an "environmentally correct" drink to Britons. His company, Duchy Original% has concocted 2 non-alcoholic drinks made of apple and raspberry juice mixed with fennel and other herbs. The company claims that it is among the greenest brews to have ever graced the market.

The 5-year-old Duchy Originals launched several such green products - like an English spot-o'-tea favourite: biscuits made from organically-developed crops. Its latest products, bomb4;d in the market, failing to catch the fancy of British connoisseurs. They turned up their noses at the drinks, declaring that they tasted like 'cbmpose' and smelt like "nettle".

DRUG DRIVE: India's largest biotechnology project, a collaboration between the pharmaceutical company Torrent and the Gujarat Industrial Investment Corporation, will soon begin producing penicillin.

The project will save the government US $33 million every year against the drug's import. Currently, half the penicillin requirement of the country is imported. The Rs 193-crore project, situated near Baroda in Gujarat, is a modern plant incorporating state-of the-art technology.

Following the boost, more than 25 per cent of the country's present requirement will be met.