By Sharon Udasin

Last week, a cornerstone was laid to what will soon be a giant refuse-derived-fuel plant. The facility will reuse roughly half of Gush Dan's (Greater Tel Aviv Area) waste and turn it into fuel in a eco-friendly way.

A joint Israeli and Palestinian team are working in unison to make sure that water reservoirs don't contain traces of medicine and other pharmaceuticals. The project, now entering its second year, has achieved and impressive 100 percent success rate.

Pollution doesn't just come in the form of uncleanliness, it can also come in the form of noise pollution. Israeli company Huliot is tackling both issues with their new eco-friendly pipes, to be installed in several European countries.

Public transportation in Israel just got greener. Israeli bus company Dan is launching the country's first electric bus, made by Chinese company BYD, which will be part of the city's 5 line, one of the busiest in the country.

In an attempt to reduce the city's ecological footprint, Tel Aviv's municipality is trying out 25 electric scooters. If the test is successful, the aim is to eventually replace the city's 300 scooter fleet.

Taking apart delicate computer parts is a necessary task that has not been automated. A new recycling plant gives people from the special needs population in Israel a job in taking these components apart – helping both them and the environment.

The Israeli city Kfar-Sava decided to add a little more "green" to the traditional Jewish construct – the Succa. The structure, which is built by many Israelis as a reminder of the temporary houses that served the Israelites on their exodus from Egypt to Israel, will run exclusively on solar power.

Israe- based HelioFocus opened the demonstration phase of its HelioBooster system, a solar-thermal process that aims to back up existing power plants. The company's technology uses solar energy to heat air, which is then converted to steam and can drive a power plant turbine.

Caesarea-based wastewater treatment company Emefcy was named Early Stage Company of the Year and selected to the Global Cleantech 100 list for the second year in a row at the Global Cleantech 100 Summit and Gala held in Washington, DC, on Monday and Tuesday, the company announced at the conference’s conclusion.

An Israeli film depicting the advantages of using barn owls and kestrels in place of pesticides won first prize in an international film competition that concluded on Friday. The movie, less than 11 minutes long, examines the benefits of natural pest control - the barn owl and kestrel raptor.

Among the passengers aboard the Atlantis space shuttle’s final voyage was an Israeli biomedical water purification device, which was undergoing initial tests for use in zero-gravity, outer space conditions.

Twelve marine and environmental studies graduate students from the Middle East and Europe are taking part in a two-week Mediterranean research project off the shores of La Spezia, Italy, to protect the unique ecosystem shared by countries that might not typically have relations.

Israeli Ben-Gurion University's first Jordanian PhD student discusses his work in desalination and a road to regional peace through science.