Putting sustainability at the heart of the EU’s trade agenda

A new research hub led by the University of Exeter will spearhead national efforts to create a sustainable, circular economy where fewer resources are used and more waste materials reused – delivering huge benefits to the environment and UK economy. The National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Hub is supported with £3.5 million from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It will work with the five circular economy centres that were recently announced to explore how reusing waste materials in a wide range of industries, including textiles, construction, chemical and metals, could boost the UK economy as well as deliver massive environmental benefits. The circular economy hub will provide national leadership to facilitate the exchange of knowledge across the five centres and with the UK’s wider research and innovation landscape.

Prominent Northeastern grocery store chain Hannaford Supermarkets made headlines recently by declaring that for an entire year it had not sent any spoiled or outdated food to landfills, where the organic decomposition process produces methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases. Instead, Hannaford, which operates in New England and New York, is contracting with an anaerobic food reprocesser to strip the food from its packaging, mix it with microbes and manure, and turn it into fuel, fertilizer and bedding for dairy cows.

Hurricane Ida became a tropical storm as its top winds slowed over Mississippi on Monday, while across southeast Louisiana residents waited for daylight to be rescued from floodwaters and see how much damage was caused by one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to strike the US mainland. All of New Orleans lost power right around sunset Sunday, leading to an uneasy night of pouring rain and howling winds. The weather died down shortly before dawn and people began carefully walking around neighborhoods with flashlights, dodging downed light poles, pieces of roofs and branches.

The Green Blue and the Final Straw Foundation joined forces at the Southampton International Boat Show  to launch a Single-Use Plastic Free Accreditation. Aimed at inland and marine clubs, training centres and boating businesses, the new standard will highlight the responsible and innovative products and practices by organisations in the recreational boating industry. The Green Blue’s Kate Fortnam and the Final Straw Foundation’s Bianca Carr launched the accreditation on the Foredeck Stage of the world-renowned Southampton International Boat Show. Members of the audience were given an overview of the accreditation criteria and the long-term impact that single-use plastic can have on both our inland and coastal waterways.