Reasons to hope No. 8

Hello Recycle Heroes! 

It’s starting to get colder so we thought we would bring you some heart-warming stories from around Australia and beyond

1. Jervis Bay resident Fionnuala Quin has kick-started an initiative to recycle mass amounts of seaweed into useful bioplastics.

This year is predicted to be the largest harvest of algae sargassum to date, but Quin’s startup SOS Carbon is working to relieve the shores of the overwhelming amount of greenery and transform it into useful material. The invasive species is the main ingredient in creating products and equipment much like real plastic but without the threat of higher greenhouse gas emissions.

2. The European Union (EU) has officially passed legislation that requires companies to verify their materials are sourced ethically and from stable forested environments.

Companies now risk heavy fines if they are found sourcing from de-forested or forest-degraded lands. This is game changing news for cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood industries, who are the biggest contributors to deforestation. Forests like these play a crucial role in maintaining the health of our planet and supporting life on earth.

3. Social Media giant Tiktok is making a move to stop the spreading of environmental misinformation on their platform.

With the help of the United Nations and their speciality team of official Safety Partners, Tiktok is implementing new policies as of April 21st to remove false information regarding climate change on their platform. The U.N will be responsible for providing users with verified and accurate information in its place. With over 1 billion users worldwide, this action is the first step in the vast improvement of free, accessible climate education.