Ecowatch: Positive sustainability and environmental stories to keep an eye on
Whenever we hear about the environment on the media, it is usually negative, worrying stories about our depleting resources and ever-changing climate. But not all news is bad news!
Yes, there is a lot of work to be done to improve our planet’s outlook, but we find comfort in learning about new developments that get us a little bit closer to net-zero living. So this week we are shining a light on positive environmental news. From biofuel uptake to new ways of breaking down plastic, below are some recent stories that have caught our eye:
Beavers back in London after 400 years
Two beavers were released into a special enclosure in Enfield, London, aiming to help restore nature and river habitat and reduce flood risks in the area.
The two-year plan, devised by Enfield Council and Capel Manor College, hopes to tackle the effects of climate change.
Beavers are now found living in the wild on a number of rivers in Scotland and have also been introduced into enclosures in a number of English counties.
Read more here.
Turning plastic into protein powder
Plastic is an issue. It is almost everywhere, they recently found micro plastics in human blood, and it doesn’t simply dissolve or go away. That is, until US researchers at Michigan Tech University found a way of turning plastic into protein powder, by using bacteria that thrive on plastic waste. This discovery could help tackle two important global challenges: plastic pollution and hunger.
Plastic’s structure means that it is very hard to break down, and whilst some kinds of plastics can be recycled, this is not the case for all of them. The first step is to break down the complex plastic structures in a reactor and turn them into a mixture of oily compounds that the bacteria then thrive on; the result will be more bacteria cells that are then dried and turned into protein powder.
At the moment, this process is working in a lab setting, however the research team hope to develop this same system in a portable box format that in the final stages can be solar powered and deployed across the globe.
Read more about this here.
UK supermarkets to offer refillable groceries to every shopper
Waitrose, M&S, Morrisons, Ocado and supply-chain company CHEP have formed a refillable grocery partnership that will offer shoppers in the UK the option to refill their groceries in large supermarkets or on home deliveries. The roll out is expected to start by the end of the year.
Whilst the aim is to reduce the amount of single plastic used in packaging goods, there is also the idea that refill products might be slightly less expensive than packaged ones.
The roll out is expected to begin with dry goods (pasta, cereals, grains, etc.), personal (shampoo and conditioner) and household products (washing up liquid, laundry liquid) and hopefully expand to other categories in the long term. Consumers will be encouraged to bring their own containers for refill but recycled paper bags will also be available.
British Airways and Airbus reaching SAF milestones
The aviation industry is one of the biggest consumers of fossil fuels globally, unsurprisingly as you can imagine how many tonnes of fuel is needed to reach dreamy, faraway lands in a few hours. But as the industry aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050, there are already changes taking place.
One of them is the use of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), produced from sustainable resources such as used cooking oil, waste fats and agricultural residues. This reduces emissions by about 80% compared to traditional jet fuel.
The development has been such that Airbus recently had its first 100% SAF powered A380 flight take to the skies, its largest plane model. While all Airbus aircraft is certified to fly with up to a 50% blend of SAF mixed with kerosene. The aim is to achieve certification of 100% SAF by the end of this decade.
In a similar fashion, British Airways has reached an important milestone, by becoming the first airline to take delivery of UK produced SAF for commercial use. The airline has agreed to purchase enough fuel, produced in Lincolnshire, to reduce its lifecycle CO2 emissions by nearly 100,000 tonnes, which could power the equivalent of 700 net zero flights between London and New York. Additionally, by using SAF produced locally, the carbon emissions of SAF transportation is minimised.
Bike industry vows to reduce plastic waste as brands introduce eco-friendly packaging
In a lifestyle change that has been developing for a few years, and accelerated with the Covid19 pandemic, more people are taking up cycling. Be it because it helps them keep fit, or it reduces their carbon emissions, or a mix of both. However a problem we can encounter when buying a bicycle is the amount of plastic and packing it brings with it.
This is why at the end of March about 70 bike companies (including Shimano and Brompton) pledged to reduce plastic packaging and remove unnecessary packaging from the supply chain, in a bid to make Europe “cleaner, greener and more liveable”, with its goal being that all supply chain packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
Read more about here and here.
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