Sunday, 23 September 2018

News in brief - 22nd/23rd September

War against plastic packaging
The supermarket chain Lidl is planning to remove black plastic packaging from all of its products by the end of the month, and ultimately wants to make all of its packaging either 100% recyclable or remove it completely; this is part of a wider issue around packaging and recycling, as the government is currently reconsidering how it recycles different types of plastic in England

Walk for Wildlife
Chris Packham's 'Walk for Wildlife' demonstration was a real success yesterday as he and several thousand others walked to Whitehall with a draft manifesto on ways to protect Britain's wildlife; the manifesto addresses a number of controversial issues including fox hunting and fracking

Germany's hydrogen powered trains
This week, Germany showcased its first hydrogen powered trains, which can run up to 1,000 kilometres on a single tank of hydrogen and reach top speeds of 140kmh; new research is finding ways of making hydrogen use more efficient and therefore more cost-effective, although initial outlay is still expensive

North Carolina flood fears
After coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, residents of North Carolina are now facing fresh fears of renewed flooding as water levels are reported to be rising in local rivers; this brings further concerns of contamination as the rivers run close to coal-burning power plants