UK Space Agency offers £4m funding boost to clear space junk
The UK Space Agency (UKSA) announced in late September that two UK-based companies are designing missions to clear hazardous space junk. ClearSpace and...
Don’t hoard small items, experts urge consumers ahead of International E-waste Day
Event runs with the slogan: ‘Recycle it all, no matter how small!’
Roughly 5.3 billion mobile or smartphones will drop out of use this year,...
New measures and research needed to tackle ecological impact of pharmaceuticals
A group of international researchers has issued a warning about the increase in pharmaceutical contamination in the environment, with suggestions about how it might...
Smokers blind to devastating impact of butts on the environment, suggests survey
New research from environmental charity Hubbub seems to reveal just over 1 in 4 smokers (28%) are aware that cigarette butts are made from...
Drive to net zero at risk from “almost useless” myriad of data, warns UK...
A lack of common carbon emissions reporting standards across industry “risks completely undermining the UK’s drive to net zero”, a leading UK strategic manufacturing...
Report highlights “glaring gap in the UK’s Net Zero Strategy”
A new report sets out to explain - in direct terms - why the UK Government’s current Net Zero Strategy (NZS) falls significantly short...
Fracking vs local democracy: The struggle continues
The government’s lifting of the moratorium on fracking on 22 September was accompanied by assurances that it would only take place where there was...
Call for government to make swift decision on ban on plastic in wet wipes
The government needs to make an immediate decision on banning plastic in wet wipes in order to help tackle this sewage-based pollution ending up...
SDG for wastewater treatment is not enough, according to new modelling approach
While achieving the United Nations (UN) ambitious Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for wastewater treatment would cause substantial improvements in global water quality, severe water...
Extracting metals from end-of-life EV batteries: CO2-based solution is potential game changer
A new technique offers a less energy-intensive way to recover lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, and uses carbon dioxide for...
Measurements show huge methane peaks in the atmosphere after the Nord Stream leaks
The methane leak resulting from the damage to the Nord Stream gas lines in the Baltic Sea is estimated to be equal to the...
Not-so-bright new dawn? Observers respond to the Government’s Growth Plan 2022
Quite apart from its seemingly frosty reception with global investors, the government’s Growth Plan 2022 policy statement also elicited bafflement from environmental commentators, many...
SEPA figures show recovering recycling rate in Scotland
Statistics published on 27 September by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) reveal some of the impact of COVID-19 polcies on recycling. The figures...
Analysis warns coal could be needed to keep the lights on this winter
In its Winter Market Outlook study for 2022/23, LCP Energy Analytics has warned that the UK could experience 10 hours of insufficient electricity supply...
Cleaner water linked with smaller cockles that die younger
Better water quality in Wales’ most famous cockle area is linked with smaller cockles that have a higher mortality rate, a new survey of...
Swiss firm unveils shoe made using carbon emissions
Seemingly a leap forward in sportswear firm On’s efforts to move away from petroleum-based resources, a new shoe range – marketed as Cloudprime™ -...
Grimy windows could be harbouring toxic pollutants
Dirty windows can harbour potentially harmful pollutants under protective films of fatty acids from cooking emissions – and these can hang around over long...
Super sewer progress
Recent aerial photography shows some of the changes being made to the banks of the Thames during the construction of London’s 25-km super-sewer, Tideway. Now said to be three-quarters complete – and on-schedule to finish in 2025 – the 2.5m-diameter tunnel will provide an extra 1.6 million m3 of storage in London’s sewers.
IMechE recommends rethink of UK waste policy
A radical rethink of recycling and waste policy is required to put the UK on a more sustainable path, according to a new report...
Maxed out on disaster yet? Group warns of volcanic risk
Well you'll be discouraged to learn that the world is “woefully unprepared” for a massive volcanic eruption and the likely repercussions for global supply chains, climate and food. That's according to experts from the University of Cambridge's Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER).
