Polytag system prints invisible tag on to containers, which can be picked up by readers located at recycling centres
Marks & Spencer is teaming up with a recycling technology group to enable the retailer to trace what happens to its drinks bottles, cartons and other plastic packaging.
The Polytag system prints an invisible tag on to containers, which can be picked up by electronic readers located at recycling centres.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
05/15/2024 - 10:36
Footage on social media showed roads full of cars evacuating the suburbs of Fort McMurray in the western Canadian province of Alberta. A growing blaze threatened the city and its surroundings, which experienced devastating fires in 2016. Local officials have ordered thousands to evacuate as the fire grows in size and strength, with winds fanning the flames. 'We’re seeing extreme fire behaviour. Smoke columns are developing and the skies are covered in smoke. Firefighters have been pulled from the fire line for safety reasons,' Josee St-Onge of Alberta Wildfire told reporters
Canada city devastated by 2016 wildfire faces evacuations as new blaze nears
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Australia’s budget has ‘gaping hole’ in funds for DV victims, environment and housing, advocates say
05/15/2024 - 10:00
Labor touts cost of living package as ‘substantial’ but advocates say changes are inadequate
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The federal government’s decision not to further increase funding for jobseeker, housing and domestic violence is a “gaping hole in the heart of the budget”, advocates have warned, with politicians and civil society dismayed there was not more cost of living support announced on Tuesday.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said the budget’s cost of living package was “substantial” and targeted at “middle Australia”, listing the revamped stage-three tax cuts, $300 energy bill rebates, a slight increase to rent assistance and freezing medicine prices as the highlights of its response.
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05/15/2024 - 10:00
Most Australians don’t know what to do with their dead pets, vapes and lightbulbs, a waste survey has found
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While Australia may be a pet-loving nation, a majority seem perplexed at what to do when a beloved animal dies.
Survey results commissioned by the waste management company Veolia show 80% of Australians do not know how to dispose of dead pets, with 38% putting them in the bin and 42% not knowing what to do at all.
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05/15/2024 - 09:12
South West Water has detected ‘small traces’ of parasite in drinking supply that can cause diarrhoea-type disease
Boil your tap water before you drink it, residents in Devon have been told, after 22 cases of a parasitic disease were confirmed.
South West Water has detected what it calls “small traces” of a parasite that can cause a diarrhoea-type disease in the drinking supply around the town of Brixham.
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05/15/2024 - 09:00
Read more from The DIY Climate Changers, a new series on everyday people’s creative solutions to the climate crisis
Beverly Lofton’s home in south Los Angeles used to have a water-guzzling grass lawn. Today, it’s a verdant microfarm that uses solar power and recycled water to grow carrots, beets, potatoes and more, with the bounty distributed to her neighbors. The 67-year-old’s switch was a bold move in a city ruled by cars and concrete, and where the impact of extreme heat and water shortages are acutely felt. It’s also a powerful rebuttal to food insecurity and big agriculture, in a neighborhood considered a “food desert”.
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05/15/2024 - 06:56
Fossil Free Books’ statement also demands that the book festival sponsor stops investing in ‘companies that profit from Israeli apartheid, occupation and genocide’
More than 200 authors including Naomi Klein, Sally Rooney and George Monbiot have signed a statement by Fossil Free Books (FFB), which puts increased pressure on investment management firm Baillie Gifford, sponsors of the Baillie Gifford prize for nonfiction. In addition to the reiteration of its previous demands that the company ceases its investments in the fossil fuel industry, the group is asking that Baillie Gifford also divests “from companies that profit from Israeli apartheid, occupation and genocide”, as it believes that “solidarity with Palestine and climate justice are inextricably linked”.
Literary organisations that accept sponsorship from Baillie Gifford “can expect escalation, including the expansion of boycotts, increased author withdrawal of labour, and increased disruption until Baillie Gifford divests,” the statement reads.
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05/15/2024 - 06:30
Clean river campaigner says pollution poses threat as Labour MP calls for water industry to be taken into public ownership
A clean river campaigner has warned of a serious risk someone will die from swimming in English rivers and seas because of the level of E coli from water pollution.
Charles Watson of River Action, speaking on Wednesday as the bathing water season officially opened, said that with warm weather approaching and half-term in a week, thousands of children and families would be taking to rivers, lakes and seas. Most of these sites are not monitored for E coli, as they are not designated bathing sites.
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05/15/2024 - 05:47
Ban Khun Samut Chin, a coastal village in Samut Prakan province, Thailand, has been slowly swallowed by the sea over the past few decades. This has led to the relocation of the school and many homes, resulting in a dwindling population. Currently, there are only four students attending the school, often leaving just one in each classroom. The village has experienced severe coastal erosion, causing 1.1-2km (0.5-1.2 miles) of shoreline to disappear since the mid-1950s
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05/15/2024 - 05:23
Oscar-winning film-maker Craig Foster on his first octopus encounter, the price of fame and his new video book about the power of connecting with animals
When the film My Octopus Teacher aired on Netflix in 2020 it was a huge overnight success, going on to win an Oscar the following year for best documentary. The simple but touching tale of the tender bond between film-maker Craig Foster and his young undersea companion had audiences spellbound worldwide. Some, like Sir Richard Branson, even gave up eating octopus after watching the film.
Yet for Foster himself, the overnight fame was emotionally debilitating. “You’re working on this little story that you think a few people might be interested in and suddenly you’re in front of 100 million people,” he says. “I didn’t think it would affect me so much, but it was very difficult. Terrifying, to be honest.”
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