Eco News

A TREE-MENDOUS EFFORT

An initiative to plant 5,000 street trees in the Bromley borough got underway towards the end of last year. The £1.35 million investment, which is the largest single arboriculture investment in Bromley’s history, supports the council’s commitment to reach the ambitious net zero emissions objective by 2029.

Councillor Will Harmer, Chairman of Environment and Community PDS Committee said, “It is fantastic news that the council is now delivering on its commitment to plant even more street trees. We know that residents value the tree-lined streets that give colour and vibrancy to our streets all year round. Tree lined streets do so much to improve our environment, both now and for future generations. A big thank you to Tree Friend resident volunteers who are already coming forwards and who have committed to helping with maintenance in the crucial early period of the trees’ lives.” New tree species being planted have been chosen to fit their surroundings, while prevention of roots spreading at pavement level (damaging paving) and species with upwards growing branches are prioritised. Trees have also been selected for their visual appeal.

The ‘tree-mendous’ planting initiative will also support the health of residents, with research also showing that people were more likely to walk or cycle to work if the streets were lined with trees and live longer and feel better as a result.

ZERO EMISSION FLIGHTS IN THE MAKING

Passengers could one day fly to the other side of the world with zero carbon emissions and just one refuelling stop, thanks to governmentfunded technology that has been unveiled by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI).

The FlyZero project, led by the ATI and funded by the government, has developed a concept for a midsize aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen. It is capable of flying 279 passengers halfway around the world without a stop or anywhere in the world with just one stop to refuel. This means that a zero carbon, non-stop flight could be operated between London and San Francisco, or that passengers could fly around the world from London to Auckland, New Zealand with just one stop, at the same speed and comfort as today’s aircraft. The project showcases the huge potential of liquid hydrogen powered aircraft as the UK drives for a cleaner and greener air travel future and builds on progress already achieved by the Jet Zero Council, a partnership between industry and government with the aim of delivering zero emission transatlantic flight within a generation.

We made a boo-boo

Thank you to Robert Harris who wrote in about the recycling feature we published in last month’s issue. We mentioned that plastic juice boxes couldn’t be recycled as cardboard (because of their plastic coating), but Robert pointed out that they can be recycled under plastic waste – thanks Robert! For details see www.bromley.gov.uk/ downloads/file/2521/recycling_guide

3 cheers to Kellogg’s

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal packaging is going fully paper based with the trial of a paper liner in the UK that can be widely recycled.

The pilot is taking place with Tesco in a small number of stores, with the results helping to shape Kellogg’s future packaging plans.