PepsiCo joins alliance to create 100% bio-based beverage containers
Following in the footsteps of Danone, Nestlé Waters, and startup Origin Materials, food and beverage giant PepsiCo has also joined the NaturALL Bottle Alliance, a consortium that has the goal of introducing a fully renewable and recyclable PET bottle using bio-based, 100% sustainable and renewable resources. Executives from Danone, Nestlé Waters, and Origin Materials were enthusiastic in welcoming PepsiCo to the...
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Runners participating in London half marathon banned from using single-use plastic bottles
In order to tackle the problem of growing plastic waste, participants in the upcoming Harrow Half Marathon in London have been banned from using disposable plastic bottles. The runners will instead be getting edible Ooho water sachets for rehydrating themselves. Ooho sachets are biodegradable, made from a seaweed-based membrane. Participants can either nip the edge and drink the water or consume the entire...
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This duo is helping a weaver community in Kerala get back on their feet after floods destroyed their stocks
When floods wreaked havoc in Kerala a few weeks back, Chendamangalam, a small town in the Ernakulam district of the state, got impacted too. The town is famous for its centuries-old handloom sarees but unfortunately, the floods destroyed Rs 21 lakh worth of stock including sarees, shirts and dhotis as floodwaters entered the showrooms, dyeing units and factories of the five co-operative societies which employ...
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India finally decriminalizes homosexuality
In a historic move widely celebrated by people from all walks of life in the country, the Indian Supreme Court passed a ruling last Thursday that overturned a colonial-era law criminalizing consensual gay sex. A five-judge bench at the country’s highest court ruled that a 160-year-old law banning sex “against the order of nature” amounted to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and was...
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London Fashion Week says no to fur
London Fashion Week is all set to become world’s first main fashion week to ditch animal fur. The organizers revealed that none of the world’s topmost designers showcasing their collection are planning to use fur at this month’s event. Many leading fashion brands have already taken an anti-fur stance, with Gucci phasing out all fur-containing pieces in its spring-summer 2018 collection....
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This new Starbucks store is operated completely by senior citizens
A newly opened Starbucks store in Colonia del Valle neighborhood in Mexico City is staffed entirely by people between the ages of 55 and 66. Currently, the store also has younger staff that is training their older counterparts to eventually run the location themselves. The work shifts of the elderly employees are limited to 6.5 hours per day and they receive at least two days off a week. Also, the company plans...
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For the last 30 years, this naxalite-turned-teacher has been teaching poor kids for free
Subhash Chandra Kundu was a part of active politics and the Naxalite movement between 1968 and 1971. However, he soon realized that armed movement was not the correct path and instead decided to bring about change by spreading science education among the poor. More than 30 years later, the man is revered by all and sundry in Basirhat area of West Bengal. He is akin to a demi-god and more of a parent than the...
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This new technique could melt plastic waste into fuel for hydrogen cars
Researchers at the Swansea University have developed an incredible technique that transforms plastic trash into hydrogen which can be used as a fuel for cars. The process is cheaper than recycling as it uses all kinds of plastic, and the waste need not even be cleaned first. Dr. Moritz Kuehnel of the University’s chemistry department explains how light-absorbing material are added to the plastic, before it is...
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A silver lining to the Kerala floods : Mud deposits from the floods turns soil fertile
Kerala just witnessed massive destruction in the wake of recent floods brought by torrential monsoon rains. While the natural calamity displaced thousands, destroyed property worth hundreds of crores and washed away various crops and spices the state is famous for producing, it also brought a sliver of hope for the farmers of the region, who are hopeful that the mud deposits that have been brought in by the...
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California all set to say good-bye to fishing nets blamed for killing several marine animals
Drift gillnets are used by commercial fishers to capture fish like sharks and swordfish, but often a number of marine species that are not meant to be caught get entangled in these ‘curtains of death’ that can stretch a mile long and suspend 100 feet underwater. Now the California State Assembly has unanimously approved a bill to phase out the use of this controversial fishing gear in the state by...
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