PROVIDENCE, RI – The Rhode Island Senate has passed four recycling bills aimed at reducing the amount of trash disposed in state dumps.

Passage of three of the bills is pending the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee. A fourth, which covers disposal of electronics, is in the House Finance Committee.

The Senate e-waste bill requires manufacturers to take back and recycle household electronics products. A similar House bill is with the state Finance Committee.

TAIWAN - Unitech PCB Corp. has announced that its newly produced solar cells will be installed in vehicles, and that the company will test drive the cars this month.

Last year, Unitech began solar cell production at the Letzer Industrial Park of Yilan County in northeastern Taiwan, at an investment of $31 million (converted) for facilities and building construction.

Mass production of the solar cells is set for the third quarter of 2008, and the company predicts that revenues from the new product may be as high as $33 million (converted from TWD) for the year.

Company executives have stated that its production line is fully booked until the end of this year. The firm is reportedly planning to set up a second and third production line.