Month: July 2018

McDonald’s to stop using plastic straws – in UK

After a large campaign, McDonald’s has agreed to stop using plastic straws in the UK and instead use ones made of paper.

1.8 million straws are used every day in UK McDonald’s restaurants and as these can’t be properly broken down or reused the plastic hangs around in the environment for centuries or even millennia. While the plastics will get broken down into microplastics in time, and the tiny plastics won’t choke wildlife,  they can build up in wildlife, and it had already been shown that fish for human consumption containing these microplastics is being eaten around the world including in the UK. Continue reading “News in brief – McDonald’s to stop using plastic straws in UK, Biodegradable water bottles, and plants which won’t need pesticides”

The company Monsanto have created soybeans that can stand high doses of pesticides so that the crops can be protected from pests. However they have highly restrictive sales that prohibit farmers keeping some seed to replant for the next year. Continue reading “Monsanto and the problem with gene patents”