Author page: Paddy Trower

Wishcycling: when rubbish ends up at the recycling centre

What’s going on here?  If only all our waste problems were solved by dropping things in the recycling bin and saying, “that’ll do” and then walking away thinking we’ve done something good today. This (very) common behaviour is known as wishcycling. It refers to the act of putting incorrect items into the recycling waste stream in the hope that they will end…

“It’s the coffee we have for breakfast, the chocolate we eat, the coal in our barbecues, the paper in our books.”

What’s going on here? These are the words of Pascal Canfin, of the European Parliament (environment committee) which has recently passed a law banning the importation of goods that are linked to deforestation. This approach aims to prevent products entering the European market which are produced at the expense of natural forests and habitats. What does this mean?  The new rules will…

The mammoth and the meatball

Whatʼs going on here? The mammoth and the meatball. Sounds like it could be one of Aesop’s fables, right? Well, the life lesson you could pick up from this article is about your future food choices, based on how the meat industry is shifting; this is spotlighted by the recent  creation of a meatball using cells that replicate that of the long-extinct…

Landmark lawsuit against Shell

What’s going on here? Oil and gas giant, Shell, is facing legal action on multiple fronts – including a landmark lawsuit which is the first notable one of its kind. The new lawsuit will target Shell’s senior leadership directly. What does this mean? Shell’s board of directors is being sued by Client Earth, an environmental law charity, on the grounds that they…

England set to introduce a ban on single-use plastics

What’s going on here?  The UK government has set out plans to ban the sale of certain single-use plastics. This includes items such as plastic cutlery, plates, and polystyrene trays. The ban is set to come into effect by October 2023. What does this mean? The environmental impact of plastic pollution is well understood. Plastic pollution is so pervasive that it has…