What if your latest purchase wasn’t really a choice? What if the product was designed to be replaced, the promise of “free” delivery, and the item you threw away never really went away? What if the problem isn’t that we aren’t buying the wrong things, but that we have been encouraged to buy far more than we actually need? These are the questions at the centre of Netflix's Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy, a thought-provoking documentary that takes a critical look at modern co

Fatty liver disease, also known as Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease, is caused by a build up of fat in the liver and affects one third of the adult global population. Many factors contribute to fatty liver disease including diet, obesity, insulin resistance, genes, and gut dysbiosis. There are four stages of fatty liver disease: Steatosis: Accumulation of fat, with no damage to the liver Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis: Accumulation o

Plastic is used everywhere, for everything. From the food we eat to the clothes we wear, many of these products come wrapped in unnecessary plastic packaging that all too often ends up in our streets, oceans, or landfill sites when it can’t be recycled. Reusable packaging and containers are central to a circular economy for plastic because it helps to eliminate waste and plastic pollution by replacing single-use items with longer lasting alternatives. Opting for reusable alte

England’s waste system faces a second problem closely connected to lock-in: capacity. The Government’s statutory 2042 target requires residual waste to fall to 287 kg per person, while the interim target is 437 kg per person by 2030⁠. Defra’s modelling indicates that collection and packaging reforms will contribute towards the reduction, but further policies will be required to close the remaining gap. That matters because incinerators are long-lived assets. If more capacity

Flexible plastic spout pouches are the most widely used packaging for baby food globally, used by 92% of parents in the UK with children between 0-3. The polyethylene inner layer, which comes into direct contact with the food, has been found to be a source of microplastics and plastic-associated chemicals. Greenpeace commissioned the testing of two popular baby food products from Nestle and Danone to assess the levels of microplastics and plastic associated chemicals in both

The plastics crisis is often believed to be a waste management problem exacerbated by irresponsible consumers. This false perception is the result of a campaign of disinformation from the plastics industry. The real problem – excessive plastic production – has been deliberately obscured by corporate interests that make profit from plastic. Dark PR: How Corporate Disinformation Undermines Our Health and the Environment by Grant Ennis presents 9 recurring frames as a way to und

As plastic is part of our lives, using innovative solutions for waste management may be necessary. However, this can mislead the public into believing that plastic use is sustainable. When considering the consequences and complexities, these may not be sustainable solutions at all. Improved recycling collections - As plastic is part of our lives, it is obviously desirable to recycle as much of our waste as possible. Innovative collection methods may lead to higher rates of r

Firstly, what is greenwashing? Greenwashing is when organizations employ techniques to suggest that they are engaging in greener practices when, in reality, this is either exaggerated, misleading, or outright deceptive. For example, companies could pose behind ‘eco-friendly’ buzzwords without any tangibility, set false emission targets, or champion sustainable efforts whilst neglecting their polluting behaviours. In the field of fashion, greenwashing has become rife. When fa

Incinerators are built to operate for decades. That creates an awkward question: what happens when councils are trying to recycle more and produce less waste, but long-term contracts still depend on keeping incinerators supplied? This tension is known as incinerator lock-in. In simple terms, infrastructure and contracts designed around a steady supply of waste can make it harder or more expensive to reduce the amount being burned. In an August 2026 open letter, the United Kin

Countries in Africa are very resourceful when it comes to reuse, repurposing items that are commonly seen as waste. Let’s explore some of the ways that African nations reuse their local materials. Before we begin, here are a few definitions: Raffia: A natural fibre stripped from the leaves of the raffia plant. It’s strong and pretty lightweight. Sisal: The fibre of sisal, derived from the Agave sisalana plant, is used for sturdy items such as rope and carpets. Calabash: A fru

“Take a deep breath. You have just inhaled two to eight microplastic particles”. That is how the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) opens its new report on Microplastics. Microplastic pollution puts agricultural soil, food security, and human health at risk. The report finds that the UK still has no cohesive national strategy, no legally binding reduction targets, and no regulatory limits on the primary pathways through which microplastics enter our environment. Here is ho

Sustainable plastic solutions attempt to solve the plastic problem with innovation. Rather than reducing plastic production and use, ‘sustainable’ bioplastics have been developed, and better waste management processes have been proposed instead. Improved recycling collections have been suggested as a sustainable plastics solution. The more plastic that is appropriately collected, the more plastic gets recycled. However, a more complex system of collection may confuse or demot

Every goal must have a planned course of action and a way to measure the impact of our actions in order to confirm it has been achieved. And when it comes to sustainability and climate change, we do not have any time to waste on subpar strategies. Despite this, businesses have opted to lean into “greenwashing” strategies that depend on recycling, falsely selling it as a fix-all solution. Despite the environmentally friendly marketing on the packaging of various food wrappe

Plastic pollution is usually pictured as something outside the body: bottles on beaches, fragments floating in oceans or waste accumulating in landfill. Increasingly, however, scientists are finding evidence of plastic somewhere much closer to home - inside us. As plastic breaks down, it forms microscopic particles known as microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics. Humans can encounter these particles through food, drinking water and the air we breathe. Researchers have no

A business' main priority is to ensure consumers continue to purchase their products. To do so, they tiptoe the line between consumer opinion and company ideals and priorities. They will alter their company or product branding, manufacturing process, or recipe to remain aligned with consumer demand. Whether these changes create the real change desired by consumers is another topic entirely. This discrepancy is the basis of “the green concept”, also known as “greenwashing”. Th