Conservatives' 25-year green plan: main points at a glance
Moves to cut plastic, create a new environmental watchdog and boost wildlife habitats are among the new measuresTheresa May defends green plan amid criticism it’s too vagueOne of the most heavily...
View ArticleUK retailers see rise in sales of reusable coffee cups
Home and kitchenware shops report growth in sales of portable mugs as government hints at a tax on disposable cupsSales of reusable coffee cups are soaring in the UK, retailers are reporting, as the...
View ArticleA hollow ring to Theresa May’s pledge on plastics | Letters
Theresa May’s new green strategy lacks regulatory bite, says Ray Georgeson,and, according to Maureen Evershed,is short on humility. Stephen Sibbald reckons an important problem has been ignored, while...
View ArticleThe Observer view on the government’s environment and obesity plans |...
Only when she tackles producers and retailers will May have workable strategies on recycling and healthy eatingLast week, Marks & Spencer withdrew the “cauliflower steak” from its shelves....
View ArticleSalvage operation: Made in Stoke-on-Trent
In the bowels of an old pottery factory, a group of determined men eke out a profit from stripping down and recycling electrical waste. All of them have some form of mental health condition or...
View ArticleEU declares war on plastic waste
Brussels targets single-use plastics in an urgent clean-up plan that aims to make all packaging reusable or recyclable by 2030 The EU is waging war against plastic waste as part of an urgent plan to...
View ArticleIs it possible to live without plastic? Readers' tips for tip-free living
We asked you to recommend the best ways to reduce your plastic consumption and avoid excess waste. Here’s what some of you saidFor 70 years, the world’s plastic usage has grown inexorably from humble...
View ArticleWhy do supermarkets sell organic products wrapped in non-cyclable plastic?
We find organic mushrooms in non-recyclable trays next to plain veg in compostable wrappingMy environmentally conscious wife Clare is the keenest recycler possible. She even collects and recycles the...
View ArticleGloucestershire is building a big bonfire of waste. To last for eternity
A 70-metre-high waste incinerator is being built next to the M5Marooned on the flatlands between the Severn river and the Cotswolds escarpment, Stonehouse in Gloucestershire isn’t the sort of place to...
View ArticleUK opposes strong EU recycling targets despite plastics pledge
Exclusive: government accused of hypocrisy as documents show opposition to urban waste planThe UK government is opposing strong new recycling targets across the EU despite its recent pledge to develop...
View ArticleBottled water is a nonsense. Just ban it and fill our towns with drinking...
Plastic-free aisles just don’t go far enough – the government must be decisive if it is to fulfil its green pledgesThe airport: not the most fun place to while away a couple of hours. Most modern...
View ArticleThe Guardian view on the Whitechapel fatberg: the shock of the poo
The huge clots of waste that clog the sewers of ancient, affluent cities like London are part of the cost of progressThe Whitechapel fatberg was 250 metres of impacted waste that constipated London’s...
View ArticleNice threads: the waste-based fibres cleaning up fashion
New textiles, made from discarded orange peel, milk or algae, are reducing the environmental impact of the world’s second-most polluting industryOrange peel is the unlikely by-product behind a new...
View ArticleGlastonbury festival set to ban plastic bottles in 2019
Emily Eavis says festival is working on ‘enormous project’ to ban plastic bottles on site when it returns after year off in 2018Glastonbury festival is to implement a site-wide ban on plastic bottles...
View ArticleStarbucks trials 5p takeaway cup charge in attempt to cut waste
People buying hot drinks in cardboard cups in 35 London branches will pay ‘latte levy’Starbucks will be the first UK coffee chain to trial a “latte levy” – a 5p charge on takeaway coffee cups – under...
View ArticleGovernment 'dragging its feet' over plastic bottle scheme, say MPs
A deposit return scheme to tackle the billions of bottles not recycled every year is being kicked into the long grass, say MPsThe government is “dragging its feet” on introducing a deposit return...
View ArticleI love salvaging items from the street. That's how I got my new dryer |...
At council pick-up time, I’ve been able to get a new clothes dryer, microwave and a table football set. What household items have you been able to recycle? Tell us in the commentsA few months ago our...
View ArticlePlastic is so over. So why do some fashion houses still treat it as cool? |...
The catwalk positively oozes fossil fuel just as we begin to uncouple our lives from itAt the risk of sounding naively optimistic, there have been days when it’s felt like the enthusiasm to push back...
View ArticleTories lambasted for rejecting 'latte levy' on takeaway cups
Government accused of warm words but no action on reducing throwaway packaging wasteThe government has rejected calls for a “latte levy” to be introduced on takeaway cups to reduce the amount of waste...
View ArticleAustralia's kerbside recycling system in crisis following China ban
Recycling industry in Victoria and NSW on verge of collapse, Senate inquiry toldAustralia’s kerbside recycling systems are at risk of collapse, a Senate inquiry has heard. China’s ban on importation of...
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