Tag: World Environment Day

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY: How recycling metal can benefit us all and help reduce plastic pollution

 USING more recycled metal can massively help to beat plastic pollution, one of the country’s leading recycling associations says today. 

The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) is urging people celebrating World Environment Day to stop and think about the reasons why recycling more metal can make a real difference. 

As part of an awareness-drive, the BMRA also shared ten benefits of recycling metal which comes as rising numbers of people switch to reusable containers, such as drinks flasks for hot and cold drinks and as others make the move from plastic bottles to metal cans. 

James Kelly, the CEO of the BMRA said: “This World Environment Day, the BMRA is asking people to take a moment and think: What is the alternative? Do I need to buy this? And can it be easily recycled?

“Aluminium drinks cans, for example, are part of a closed loop recycling system. As long as they are placed in the recycling, they can be back in the shops as a new can in as little as 60 days. 

“Even by carrying a metal straw or your food in a metal container, it means that the item can be used many times over and recycled at the end of its useful life. 

He continued: “Any initiative that educates people, that asks them to consider the most sustainable alternative and shows them how to ensure it is recycled correctly is welcomed. We all play a part, but there needs to be greater opportunity for recycling and disposal of waste, not just in the home, but when people are out and about. 

“Due to metals’ 100% recyclability, we are using World Environment Day to remind people why they should recycle their metal.” 

Meanwhile, the BMRA says it would also like a deposit return scheme to use a variable rate, instead of the fixed rate of 20p proposed for all container sizes whether plastic, glass or metal.

Mr Kelly added: “A fixed-rate deposit scheme could see consumers favour plastic bottles over metal cans, which could potentially see a rise in plastic pollution which is completely against the ethos of World Environment Day.”

Outlining ten reasons to recycle metal the BMRA said:

  1. About 80% of all the known chemical elements in the world are categorised as metals. Metal comes from the Earth. Let’s try and keep it there.
  2. Metal is 100% recyclable. It is permanent, and it can be recycled forever, over and over again. It contributes to the Circular Economy, avoiding landfill, as well as saving the destruction of natural habitats caused by the mining of metal ore.
  3. Recycling one tonne of steel can save one and half tonnes of iron ore from being mined. Iron is a metal, but steel is a man-made alloy. Steel is made by mixing iron and carbon together. 
  4. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (known as WEEE) generally covers products that have a plug or need a battery, such as fridges, vacuum cleaners, and computer equipment. As funny as that acronym is, it is important WEEE is recycled correctly. Not only does WEEE contain metal, but it can also contain lithium and lithium-ion batteries that are incredibly dangerous. If they are damaged, the batteries can cause fires. 
  5. The metal in your mobile phone could be recycled into an Olympic medal. Tokyo’s Olympic medals were made from 78,985 tons of recycled electronic devices, including mobile phones. It can contain gold, lithium, aluminium, cobalt, copper, lead, nickel, silver, and zinc. One tonne of smartphones can contain 300 times more gold than one tonne of gold ore.
  6. You can get paid for your scrap metal. Ensuring you have the appropriate identification, you can go to a metal recycler and be paid by BACS, cheque or eTransfer. Cash for your scrap is illegal, however, so do report it if you are offered it.  
  7. Recycling steel uses 70% less energy than mining and refining ore. Steel is the most widely used metal. It is easily identifiable as it is magnetic and can be easily separated from general waste. It is used to make many different items including cars, bridges, and playpark equipment. 
  8. Recycling metal avoids sending a permanent material to landfill. There is a process called urban mining, whereby materials like metal and WEEE previously discarded in general waste, can be reclaimed from the ground. While this ensures even more metal can be recycled, it is easier. cheaper and safer to recycle it correctly first time. 
  9. Recycling metal emits 80% less CO2 than production from raw materials. It is credentials like this that make metals recycling a key driver in the Government achieving its net zero targets. 
  10. An aluminium drinks can can be back on the shelf of a supermarket as a new drinks can, 60 days after it was originally bought. Aluminium can also be used for aeroplane parts, a beer keg or foil for your lunchtime sandwich. 

World Environment Day: Over £8m boost for international conservation

Threatened species such as whales, marine turtles and sharks will be better protected thanks to a boost of over £8 million for projects in the UK Overseas Territories, the UK Government has announced today under plans to tackle the global biodiversity crisis.

The funding will also help protect a number of rare species and vulnerable habitats across the globe from the threats from invasive species.

Over the next three years, 31 projects will receive £8.02 million through the Darwin Plus scheme for conservation of the unique and globally significant environments found in UK Overseas Territories.

Habitats and species set to benefit from funding include:

  • Threatened albatross species in the southern Atlantic overseas territories, Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, through improved population monitoring
  • A number of species found in Cayman’s Sister Islands will be safeguarded from invasive species such as feral cats and invasive green iguanas
  • Anguilla’s shark populations, through increasing knowledge of their habitats and conservation needs, while developing local ownership of their conservation through greater community engagement
  • The Ascension Islands’ marine turtles through making improvements to their monitoring programme using innovative modelling techniques and new labour-saving technologies
  • Coral reefs in the Indian Ocean by helping small-scale fishers to sustainably manage these habitats on the island of Diego Garcia

International Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith said: “World Environment Day provides us all with a stark reminder of why we need to take urgent action to reverse global biodiversity loss.

“The Darwin Plus funding announced today will support the magnificent biodiversity hotspots that make up our Overseas Territories, which are so threatened by climate change. It will restore precious ecosystems, prevent the extinction of some of the world’s most wonderful species, and at the same time transform the lives of the poorest communities.

“Over the last decade the Darwin Plus programme has supported over 120 individual projects supporting conservation in marine, terrestrial and freshwater environments. The UK government, as president of the G7 and COP26, is leading the way globally in the fight to tackle climate change and repair the natural world.”

Professor E.J. Milner Gulland, Oxford University and Chair of the Darwin Expert Committee and Darwin Plus Advisory Group, said: “The UK’s Overseas Territories are home to some of our most iconic and important threatened biodiversity, as well as rich and productive natural resources.

“The Darwin Plus projects span the range of biodiversity from wetlands to whales, and addresses issues from controlling invasive thorns to tracking threatened turtles. So I’m really happy that, on World Environment Day, the Darwin Plus fund is supporting the Overseas Territories to conserve their precious biodiversity while also building a sustainable future for people and nature.”

Beccy Speight, Chief Executive of the RSPB said: “Our Government has an important role to play as we all work to revive our world, the UK’s Overseas Territories are home to 94% of the plants and animals that are only found on UK soil. But these amazing places are under threat from the nature and climate emergencies.

“Failing to act in our Territories would raise the real risk of global extinctions, so this vital funding will help fulfil our responsibilities to protect our precious wildlife, from tropical rainforests in the Caribbean to wind-swept albatross islands in the Southern Ocean.

“Today’s announcement, plus the UK Government’s additional £1.5m contribution to support our major partnership project to restore Gough Island, a threatened UK World Heritage Site in the South Atlantic recognised as one of the most important seabird islands in the world, will be welcome news to the local community and many individuals who continue to support this vital work.”

Last month, the Climate and Environment Ministers of the G7 committed to halting and reversing the loss of biodiversity by 2030.

In efforts to tackle the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, all G7 members also signed up to the global ‘30×30’ initiative to conserve or protect at least 30 per cent of the world’s land and at least 30 per cent of the world’s ocean by 2030, as well as committing to ‘30×30’ nationally.

The funding being announced today builds on the £220 million for biodiversity conservation in developing nations, and the doubling of UK international climate finance, announced by the Prime Minister at the UN General Assembly in 2019.

Today’s announcement forms part of the UK Government’s commitments to drive international ambition on action to tackle the biodiversity crisis and work towards nature-based solutions ahead of the G7, the upcoming 15th UN Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (Convention of Biological Diversity COP15), and the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) which will be hosted in Glasgow later this year.

In the run up to the summit, the UK is focused on four goals to drive progress: securing global net zero, protecting communities and natural habitats from the impacts of climate change, mobilising finance and working together to accelerate action.

A full list of projects, including a number of small schemes, to be supported by the Darwin Plus programme is available on the Darwin Initiative website.

New campaign urges public to Plant For Our Planet

#PlantForOurPlanet launched on World Environment Day as part of building back greener

  • New initiative to get the country planting more trees and flowers launches on World Environment Day
  • Drive to build back greener comes ahead of UK hosting global climate summit later this year
  • The Wildlife Trusts, Woodland Trust, National Trust and others join the UK Government’s call to get people, businesses and communities planting and protect nature

A new campaign aimed at inspiring the nation to get planting has been launched today (Saturday 5 June), helping us to build back greener and step up our efforts to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss.

The campaign – backed by green organisations such as The Wildlife Trusts, Woodland Trust, National Trust, Horticultural Trades Association and Royal Horticultural Society – is asking individuals and communities to play their part in helping reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and supporting nature recovery by planting flowers and trees, restoring community spaces and getting out into nature.

Whether it is planting a window box, flexing green fingers out in the garden or sprucing up a community space, the public are encouraged to #PlantForOurPlanet and share their story on digital channels and social media.

From planting flowers for pollinators to a tree in a garden, or wider nature activities such as building insect hotels, vegetable patches or simply letting your grass grow, by encouraging more people to get involved in the campaign, everyone can play a part in helping to protect and enhance our natural environment.

This campaign, launched on World Environment Day, forms part of the UK Government’s efforts to drive action to tackle the biodiversity crisis and work towards nature-based solutions ahead of several major international summits this year, including the G7 (which is being hosted in Cornwall), the upcoming UN Biodiversity Conference (Convention of Biological Diversity COP15), and the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will be hosted in Glasgow later this year.

Speaking on a campaign launch visit to ‘Walthamstow Village in Bloom’ a community planting group in East London, Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: “The world has an extraordinary opportunity at COP26 to come together to tackle climate change and reverse biodiversity loss.

“Plant For Our Planet is a chance for the public to take part, planting flowers and trees, restoring a community space and getting out into nature. Through thousands of individual actions, we want to send a simple message – we are in this together for our planet.”

Green groups will also be able to nominate examples of outstanding individuals, groups or projects which showcase the benefits of planting and supporting nature – our “Nature Heroes”. These heroes will receive a personal letter from ministers to thank them for their efforts.

Other easy ways to get involved include joining an existing project, such as the National Trust’s ‘Blossom Watch’ or The Wildlife Trusts ‘30 Days Wild’. People can also plant trees through the Woodland Trust’s ‘Big Climate Fightback’.

There are a variety of nature projects you can join. These include:

To get involved and planet for our planet you can download the Plant for our Planet partner pack here.

Today’s announcement builds on plans to boost biodiversity, protect our peatlands and create new woodlands as set out recently by the Environment Secretary.

This includes aims to treble woodland creation rates by the end of this Parliament guided by the Government’s new England Trees Action Plan, and aims to halt the decline of nature by amending the Environment Bill to require the Government to set and meet a new legally-binding target on species abundance for 2030.

Hilary McGrady, Director-General of the National Trust, said: “The last year has reminded us how important nature is for our health and wellbeing. But just as we need nature, so nature needs us. And never more urgently than now.

“At the National Trust, we are establishing 20 million new trees on our land by 2030, including millions of blossoming trees, creating 25,000 hectares of new nature habitat, and restoring peatland across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Together we can make a huge difference, which is why we are delighted to support Defra’s Plant for our Planet campaign today.”

Joan Edwards, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at The Wildlife Trusts said: “The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and so every effort is needed to help wildlife recover. We must tackle the climate and nature crises head-on by deploying bold and ambitious restoration projects on land and sea at a large-scale – as well as through local community-led action.

“Initiatives like the Government’s Plant for our Planet help everyone to play a part in bringing back nature where they live as are charity challenges such as 30 Days Wild from The Wildlife Trusts, which is running throughout June and asks everyone to do one ‘wild’ thing a day.

“Never has the need to restore nature and tackle climate change been more urgent – and people must be part of the solution.”

Dr Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “Our planet is in trouble, but we really can dig ourselves out of this crisis. Each action that adds to our natural world – every bulb, sowing, and sapling – is a step toward restoring our wildlife and beating climate change.

“This Government initiative to inspire community action could be a tremendous boost, if it comes in conjunction with strong legal protection for sites and species, and new laws to improve the State of Nature. So, spades at the ready, everyone! This is the year to plant the seeds of a greener future.

Sue Biggs, Director General of the Royal Horticultural Society, said: “Plants, gardens, and gardening play a vital role in protecting the planet and help mitigate the increasing threat of climate change and biodiversity loss.

“As the UK’s leading gardening charity we continue to support millions of members, gardeners, and visitors in finding ever more sustainable ways to garden and promote nature-based solutions that help combat climate change. I would strongly urge everyone to Plant for our Planet and play their part in making the UK a greener and more beautiful place.”

James Barnes, Chairman of the Horticultural Trades Association said: “This initiative is a great way to harness the power of Britain’s gardeners into a movement which puts the benefits of protecting our natural environment to the fore.

“With three million new gardeners joining since lockdown last year, alongside the 22million who already take part in the country’s biggest hobby, the HTA is urging the great British public to seek advice and planting ideas from garden centres, nurseries and reputable online retailers and plant for the planet.”

  • To hear more about the campaign, share your activities, or to nominate a “Nature Hero”, please contact plantforourplanet@defra.gov.uk
  • To get involved and plant for our planet you can download the Plant for our Planet partner pack here.