Seventy per cent of soft plastic collected in supermarket recycling schemes and tracked after
ended up being burned, an investigation by campaigners has found. By placing trackers inside
of soft plastic that were collected by Sainsbury’s and Tesco in July 2023 and February 2024, campaigners found that most of them ended up being incinerated rather than
. Everyday Plastic, which carried out the investigation alongside the Environmental Investigation
, tracked parcels of soft plastic that the supermarkets collected from customers with the
they would be recycled. Of 40 packages of plastic, the trackers reached end
in 17 cases. Of these, 12 packages were used as fuel pellets or burned for energy, the investigation found.
Transcript:
Seventy per cent of soft plastic collected in supermarket recycling schemes and tracked after collection ended up being burned, an investigation by campaigners has found.
By placing trackers inside packages of soft plastic that were collected by Sainsbury’s and Tesco in July 2023 and February 2024, campaigners found that most of them ended up being incinerated rather than recycled.
Everyday Plastic, which carried out the investigation alongside the Environmental Investigation Agency, tracked parcels of soft plastic that the supermarkets collected from customers with the promise they would be recycled. Of 40 packages of plastic, the trackers reached end destinations in 17 cases. Of these, 12 packages were used as fuel pellets or burned for energy, the investigation found.
Today, too few of us are aware of the damage the fast-fashion industry causes the planet. Looking momentarily beyond the industry’s often pitiful labour
, to produce just one T-shirt in a factory in an emerging economy and transport it overseas in a
ship to a store in the UK consumes the equivalent of 2,700 litres of fresh water, enough for the daily needs of 1,600 people. Producing a pair of jeans
8,000 litres of water. That is why, to encourage a more sustainable relationship between consumers and our wardrobes, Oxfam ran our Second Hand September campaign. For us, the
of pre-loved clothing is absolutely crucial if we are to support the planet, and we are
seeing exciting results as consumers shift away from damaging notions of disposability around
, fast fashion.
Transcript:
Today, too few of us are aware of the damage the fast-fashion industry causes the planet. Looking momentarily beyond the industry’s often pitiful labour conditions, to produce just one T-shirt in a factory in an emerging economy and transport it overseas in a container ship to a store in the UK consumes the equivalent of 2,700 litres of fresh water, enough for the daily needs of 1,600 people. Producing a pair of jeans requires 8,000 litres of water.
That is why, to encourage a more sustainable relationship between consumers and our wardrobes, Oxfam ran our Second Hand September campaign. For us, the promotion of pre-loved clothing is absolutely crucial if we are to support the planet, and we are already seeing exciting results as consumers shift away from damaging notions of disposability around cheap, fast fashion.
Western financial capitals could be troubled by an uptick in oil prices,
ahead of next month’s US presidential election. Inflation has cooled across advanced economies in recent months, paving the way for
rate cuts by policymakers at the world’s top central banks.Yet experts believe financial markets could still avoid
, citing three key reasons: expectations for the future path of the Middle East conflict, geopolitics, and the increasingly shaky health of the world
. “It’s quite surprising when you see escalations and nothing moves, it’s not generally what you expect from markets,” said Nuwan Goonetilleke, the head of
markets at the London-listed insurer Phoenix Group. “But it’s been escalating over the past 12 months. “The market will
to watch to see if the conflict draws in other regional powerhouses. Iran is the one that could be potentially dramatic.”
Transcript:
Western financial capitals could be troubled by an uptick in oil prices, especially ahead of next month’s US presidential election. Inflation has cooled across advanced economies in recent months, paving the way for interest rate cuts by policymakers at the world’s top central banks.
Yet experts believe financial markets could still avoid panic, citing three key reasons: expectations for the future path of the Middle East conflict, geopolitics, and the increasingly shaky health of the world economy.
“It’s quite surprising when you see escalations and nothing moves, it’s not generally what you expect from markets,” said Nuwan Goonetilleke, the head of capital markets at the London-listed insurer Phoenix Group. “But it’s been escalating over the past 12 months.
“The market will continue to watch to see if the conflict draws in other regional powerhouses. Iran is the one that could be potentially dramatic.”
The conversation was with Virtual Agronomist, a tool that uses artificial intelligence to provide fertiliser application
using chat prompts. The chatbot asked some further questions before producing a report saying that Selim should target a yield of 7.9 tonnes and use three types of fertiliser in
quantities to achieve that goal. “My God!” Selim said upon receipt of the report. He had planned to use much more fertiliser than Virtual Agronomist was recommending. “I could have
money.” In Kericho and other parts of Kenya, AI-powered tools have become increasingly popular among small-scale farmers seeking to improve the quality and quantity of their
. Pests, diseases and a lack of technical knowhow mean farmers have become accustomed to
crop losses on a large scale. They used to rely on advice from agricultural extension officers –
deployed by local governments to provide educational services to farmers – but their numbers have declined in recent years due to inadequate funding.
Transcript:
The conversation was with Virtual Agronomist, a tool that uses artificial intelligence to provide fertiliser application advice using chat prompts. The chatbot asked some further questions before producing a report saying that Selim should target a yield of 7.9 tonnes and use three types of fertiliser in specific quantities to achieve that goal.
“My God!” Selim said upon receipt of the report. He had planned to use much more fertiliser than Virtual Agronomist was recommending. “I could have wasted money.”
In Kericho and other parts of Kenya, AI-powered tools have become increasingly popular among small-scale farmers seeking to improve the quality and quantity of their produce.
Pests, diseases and a lack of technical knowhow mean farmers have become accustomed to suffering crop losses on a large scale. They used to rely on advice from agricultural extension officers – professionals deployed by local governments to provide educational services to farmers – but their numbers have declined in recent years due to inadequate funding.
A painting that was found by a junk dealer while he was clearing out the cellar of a home in Capri, and was
decried by his wife as “horrible”, is an original portrait by Pablo Picasso, Italian experts have claimed. After he stumbled across the
in 1962, Luigi Lo Rosso took the rolled-up canvas home with him to Pompeii, where it hung in a cheap frame on the living room wall for the next few
. The portrait, which is now believed by its owners to be a distorted image of Dora Maar, a French
and painter who was Picasso’s mistress and muse, featured the famous artist’s distinctive
in the top left-hand corner. But Lo Rosso didn’t know who he was. It was only much later, when his son Andrea started to ask questions after studying an encyclopedia of art
given to him by his aunt, that suspicions were aroused.
Transcript:
A painting that was found by a junk dealer while he was clearing out the cellar of a home in Capri, and was regularly decried by his wife as “horrible”, is an original portrait by Pablo Picasso, Italian experts have claimed.
After he stumbled across the painting in 1962, Luigi Lo Rosso took the rolled-up canvas home with him to Pompeii, where it hung in a cheap frame on the living room wall for the next few decades.
The portrait, which is now believed by its owners to be a distorted image of Dora Maar, a French photographer and painter who was Picasso’s mistress and muse, featured the famous artist’s distinctive signature in the top left-hand corner. But Lo Rosso didn’t know who he was.
It was only much later, when his son Andrea started to ask questions after studying an encyclopedia of art history given to him by his aunt, that suspicions were aroused.
Covid is on the rise in England, and experts have warned that more must be done to prevent and control
after a “capitulation to the virus”. Prof Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, said those working in the field were perplexed by the current
to the battle against Covid, as the latest figures showed an increase in hospital admissions. The latest data for England from the UK Health
Agency (UKHSA) showed that hospital admissions increased to 3.71 per 100,000 population for the week between 16 and 22 September 2024, compared with 2.56 per 100,000 the
week. The percentage of people with symptoms who have tested positive for Covid, based on tests at sentinel “spotter” laboratories, has also
in the last week to 11.8% compared with 9.1% in the previous week. Altmann described the prevailing stance on the virus as a “capitulation”. “To those who work in this field, the current attitude of
to losing this war of attrition against Covid is puzzling and a little desperate,” he said.
Transcript:
Covid is on the rise in England, and experts have warned that more must be done to prevent and control infections after a “capitulation to the virus”.
Prof Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, said those working in the field were perplexed by the current attitude to the battle against Covid, as the latest figures showed an increase in hospital admissions.
The latest data for England from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that hospital admissions increased to 3.71 per 100,000 population for the week between 16 and 22 September 2024, compared with 2.56 per 100,000 the previous week.
The percentage of people with symptoms who have tested positive for Covid, based on tests at sentinel “spotter” laboratories, has also risen in the last week to 11.8% compared with 9.1% in the previous week.
Altmann described the prevailing stance on the virus as a “capitulation”. “To those who work in this field, the current attitude of acceptance to losing this war of attrition against Covid is puzzling and a little desperate,” he said.
More than 20 scientific experts have written to the UN’s food agency expressing shock at its failure to revise or withdraw a livestock emissions report that two of its cited
have said contained “multiple and egregious errors”. The alleged inaccuracies are understood to have downplayed the potential of dietary change to reduce
greenhouse gases, which make up about a quarter of total anthropogenic emissions and mostly derive from livestock. In the joint letter, which the Guardian has seen, the
say they are dismayed that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has failed to remedy “serious distortions”
identified by the academics Paul Behrens and Matthew Hayek, which the Guardian reported on earlier this year. Behrens and Hayek say a separate
has received short shrift. They say a “technical dialogue” promised by the FAO never materialised, beyond an
to a muted webinar where they could type questions into a question and answer box.
Transcript:
More than 20 scientific experts have written to the UN’s food agency expressing shock at its failure to revise or withdraw a livestock emissions report that two of its cited academics have said contained “multiple and egregious errors”.
The alleged inaccuracies are understood to have downplayed the potential of dietary change to reduce agricultural greenhouse gases, which make up about a quarter of total anthropogenic emissions and mostly derive from livestock.
In the joint letter, which the Guardian has seen, the scientists say they are dismayed that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has failed to remedy “serious distortions” originally identified by the academics Paul Behrens and Matthew Hayek, which the Guardian reported on earlier this year.
Behrens and Hayek say a separate complaint has received short shrift. They say a “technical dialogue” promised by the FAO never materialised, beyond an invitation to a muted webinar where they could type questions into a question and answer box.
The US homeland security adviser, Liz Sherwood-Randall, said on Monday that there could be as many as 600 deaths, though the figure has not yet been
. More than 1 million Americans were still without power in the Carolinas and Georgia as of Monday morning. Helene made landfall last Thursday night in Florida’s Big Bend
as a category 4 hurricane. Even though it weakened to a tropical storm before moving through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, the storm’s winds, rainfall, storm surge and flooding destroyed entire
in its path. On Sunday, North Carolina’s department of public safety said that supplies such as food, water and other needs were arriving in Asheville, a city in Buncombe county that has seen widespread
. The state’s national guard was airlifting supplies into counties across western North Carolina, too, officials said: “This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented
,” Roy Cooper, North Carolina’s governor, said. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said Monday that hundreds of roads had been closed across western North Carolina and that shelters were
more than 1,000 people.
Transcript:
The US homeland security adviser, Liz Sherwood-Randall, said on Monday that there could be as many as 600 deaths, though the figure has not yet been confirmed.
More than 1 million Americans were still without power in the Carolinas and Georgia as of Monday morning.
Helene made landfall last Thursday night in Florida’s Big Bend region as a category 4 hurricane. Even though it weakened to a tropical storm before moving through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, the storm’s winds, rainfall, storm surge and flooding destroyed entire communities in its path.
On Sunday, North Carolina’s department of public safety said that supplies such as food, water and other needs were arriving in Asheville, a city in Buncombe county that has seen widespread destruction. The state’s national guard was airlifting supplies into counties across western North Carolina, too, officials said.
“This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response,” Roy Cooper, North Carolina’s governor, said.
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said Monday that hundreds of roads had been closed across western North Carolina and that shelters were housing more than 1,000 people.
Apple has also improved the audio quality of the AirPods, producing more bass for a richer, more detailed
all over. They have better separation of tones, greater depth and improved balance, with less accentuation of treble than
predecessors. There is no way to customise the audio and they won’t please audiophiles or bass heads, but they are some of the best-sounding open-fit earbuds you can get. They also
spatial audio for virtual surround with music or movies with Apple devices. More impressive is the noise cancelling in the pricier model. Most noise-cancelling
require a good seal with your ear to be effective, and while they cannot match Bose or the AirPods Pro, the AirPods 4 manage to pull it off with the open fit far better than
. It reduces the severity of most outside sounds by at least a third without accentuating higher tones, effectively silencing the sounds of air conditioning in an
, although being overwhelmed by the screech of rails and the loudest of London’s tube lines.
Transcript:
Apple has also improved the audio quality of the AirPods, producing more bass for a richer, more detailed sound all over. They have better separation of tones, greater depth and improved balance, with less accentuation of treble than their predecessors.
There is no way to customise the audio and they won’t please audiophiles or bass heads, but they are some of the best-sounding open-fit earbuds you can get. They also support spatial audio for virtual surround with music or movies with Apple devices.
More impressive is the noise cancelling in the pricier model. Most noise-cancelling systems require a good seal with your ear to be effective, and while they cannot match Bose or the AirPods Pro, the AirPods 4 manage to pull it off with the open fit far better than expected.
It reduces the severity of most outside sounds by at least a third without accentuating higher tones, effectively silencing the sounds of air conditioning in an office, although being overwhelmed by the screech of rails and the loudest of London’s tube lines.
Food companies should have to report how much they
away as a first step towards reducing the vast amounts of edible food squandered in the UK, a group of prominent
have said. About a third of the food produced
every year is binned, much of it before it reaches the
at a cost of almost £22bn annually to the UK economy. There is also a heavy
toll: food waste globally contributes up to a 10th of greenhouse gases. More than 30 food businesses, including supermarkets and food producers, have written to the environment
Steve Reed, calling for mandatory reporting of wasted food.
Transcript:
Food companies should have to report how much they throw away as a first step towards reducing the vast amounts of edible food squandered in the UK, a group of prominent businesses have said.
About a third of the food produced globally every year is binned, much of it before it reaches the consumer at a cost of almost £22bn annually to the UK economy.
There is also a heavy environmental toll: food waste globally contributes up to a 10th of greenhouse gases.
More than 30 food businesses, including supermarkets and food producers, have written to the environment secretary, Steve Reed, calling for mandatory reporting of wasted food.
You will hear a teacher talking about photography lessons.
Listen and complete each question.
Write one word or a number or a date or a time.
Photography course
Start: 3rd October
Day of course during October: .
Cost: £ .
Month when college is closed: .
College office closes in the evening at: .
Address: 59 Street.
This is the audio script:
Joe: I’m Joe and I’m a teacher on the photography course. Photography is a very popular subject, so we offer these courses three times a year. The next course starts on the third of October and finishes in the second week of December.
All lessons are in the evenings. In the new year, the classes will be on Thursdays, but the first course, starting in October, is on Wednesdays. Classes start at 6.30 p.m. and finish at 8.30.
What else? The price of the course is £75, and you’ll need your own camera, and you’ll probably need to spend about £20 on buying photo
paper.
If you want to book a place on the evening course, the college is open in July and September, but it’s not open at all in August.
The college office is open from 9.30 a.m. to 12.45 p.m., and 5.30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The college address is 59 Bracknell Street – that’s B-R-A-C-K-N-E-double L. We’re very near the park, and we have a large car park.
You will hear a woman talking about a medical centre.
Listen and complete each question.
Write one word or a number or a date or a time.
Medical centre
Address: Park Street
Centre is next to: the .
Doctor’s name: Dr .
Doctor speaks: English and .
Closes every Tuesday at: p.m.
Hospital phone number: .
This is the audio script:
Woman: If you’ve just moved to the town, it’s a good idea to get a doctor as soon as possible. We are the largest medical centre and you’ll find us in Park Street. That’s in the centre of town, opposite the post office and beside the library.
People who are new to the centre will see Dr Moore – that’s M-double-O-R-E. She’s from England, but she’s lived in other countries and can speak Spanish too.
The medical centre is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., but on Mondays we open later, at 8.30 a.m., and Fridays we shut at 5.30 p.m. On Tuesdays we close at 5 p.m. for staff training.
We’ll always try to see you the same day you call us. If you have a problem when the medical centre isn’t open, then you’ll need to call the hospital on 467402. They’ll give you advice or tell you if you need to go to hospital immediately.
You will hear a woman talking about renting a boat for a holiday.
Listen and complete each question.
Write one word or a number or a date or a time.
Riverboat Holidays
Name of boat: Moonlight
Boat is for: between two and people.
Dates available this year: 1st –31st.
Total cost: £ per week.
Must bring: .
Phone number to book: .
This is the audio script:
Woman: Thank you for calling Riverboat Holidays. This is the information line for booking our boat called Moonlight. This boat can
be booked by groups of different sizes. The smallest group is two people and the largest is eight people. There are three bedrooms and a large sofa that two people can sleep on.
The boat can be booked for holidays from 1st June to 31st August, but this summer it’s only available in August. June and July are already booked. If you book a holiday on the boat, we ask you to pay £150 straightaway, and the rest of the money four weeks before your holiday. You’ll pay £475 altogether for one week.
People often ask if they need to bring sheets and blankets, but these are already on the beds. However, there are no towels on the boat, so you will need to bring these.
If you’d like to book the boat, please visit our website – www.riverboatholidays.com – or call us on 2150699. We’re open seven days
a week.
You will hear a talk about an exercise class called Extreme Bootcamp.
For each question, fill in the missing information in the numbered space.
You will hear the conversation twice.
Extreme Bootcamp
The use the name ‘bootcamp’ for soldiers’ training.
Extreme Bootcamp takes place on a so you can exercise and look at the river.
Members start each class at 6.30 am by doing some .
Wear the same clothes as for other exercise classes, and bring good .
The next bootcamp starts on .
Contact Ellie for more information.
This is the audio script:
You will hear a talk about an exercise
class called Extreme Bootcamp.
For each question, fill in the missing
information in the numbered space.
Woman: Hi, everyone. I’d like to tell you about a new exercise class I’ve just tried. It’s called ‘Extreme Bootcamp’ and it’s hard
but great fun!
What does ‘bootcamp’ mean? It’s actually a word used by the army when they’re training new soldiers. It’s nothing to do with what’s on your feet. And believe me, it’s nothing like a camping trip either! It’s a short course of challenging physical training..
Most of us are used to exercising in the gym, with nothing but TV screens or other people to look at while we’re on the machines or whatever. But Extreme Bootcamp is different ’cos you do the class on a bridge. It goes over a river, so it’s nice to look at while you exercise.
You won’t like the sound of this, but the class meets at 6.30 am every weekday for a month. It’s only for an hour but class members do lots in that time, beginning with jogging to warm up.
After that there’s some weight lifting and jumping, and then you do some more relaxing exercises at the end. The clothes you should wear are pretty much the same as you’d wear for any other exercise class – so a T-shirt and shorts or a tracksuit is fine. Oh, and wearing trainers is a must, so do bring a good pair with you.
Bootcamp is good fun, I promise! If you’re interested in joining the next one, there’s a registration day on 17th September – though the first class won’t be until the 30th. The bootcamp’s run by Ellie Shawes and she can give you more information if you need it. Her surname’s spelt S-H-A-W-E-S, and you can contact her via the website. I’ve got her phone number too if you want it. OK, so has anyone got any questions?.
You will hear part of a training session for people who are going to work as sales assistants in a large shop.
For each question, fill in the missing information in the numbered space.
You will hear the conversation twice.
Training session for new sales assistants
The training manager is called Mandy .
New assistants will work on the floor.
Part-time workers have a rest day on every week.
Workers who live in the town can use the store’s service for free.
The staff discount cannot be used to buy .
Assistants need to collect their on their first day.
This is the audio script:
You will hear part of a training session for people who are going to work as sales assistants in a large shop. For each question, fill in the missing information in the numbered space.
Mandy: Morning, everyone! Thanks for attending this training session at our new department store. You’ve all been offered jobs as sales assistants, so well done and welcome! My name’s Mandy Hickets – that’s H-I-C-K-E-T-S – and I’m your training manager.
I’ll tell you a bit about how the store’s organized. The top floor’s where the stock room is – that’s where everything’s kept before it goes out onto the shelves. The first floor’s mainly clothing, and the ground floor, where you’ll work, is where we sell things like
make-up and electrical items..
Most of you are part-time staff, which means you’ll work from Monday to Saturday, either in the mornings or the afternoons. Your rest day is Thursday. Full-time staff take either a Tuesday or a Wednesday off – you’ll find out which later today.
I know that some of you live out of town. There’s a regular train service as I’m sure you already know, but we also operate a bus service for those nearer by. There’s no charge for this. There’s also a staff car park, though you’ll need to pay a small monthly fee for this.
All staff get 25% discount on certain items and services. You could have your hair cut in our salon, for example, and you can use
the discount when the sales are on, too, which some stores don’t offer. I’m afraid there are no discounts on food, however. I believe you’ve already ordered your uniforms and you’ll be able to collect those at the end of today’s session. When you arrive on your first day, please go to the office, where you’ll pick up your ID card. We provide keys for lockers, where you can keep your personal items safe. These are already in the locker doors, ready for use.
You will hear a film review programme on the radio.
For each question, fill in the missing information in the numbered space.
You will hear the conversation twice.
The film review programme
THIS WEEK REVIEW
The film Jungle Fever is a about a family of tigers.
Actor Steve Wills plays a in his new film, Call it.
Swim! is about a man who wants to swim in a local.
COMPETITION FOR LISTENERS
Listeners can enter an online quiz at www.co.
Winners will receive tickets.
Entries must be received on by 2 pm.
This is the audio script:
You will hear a film review programme on the radio. For each question, fill in the missing information in the numbered space.
Man: Welcome to The Film Review Programme! Today we’re reviewing some of this week’s new films.
Let’s start with this week’s likely hit, Jungle Fever. This is quite an unusual one! Some of you may remember last year’s TV documentary film about a family of tigers in India. Well, this is a cartoon based on that programme and I can report that it’s great fun for people of any age..
Some of you will be excited to know that actor Steve Wills is back on our screens! You’ll remember him as action hero Marty Kay, but in his new film, Call it, he actually plays a chef, working in an Italian pizza takeaway in New York City. Actor Jennifer Peckory plays his manager, Jo-Jo, and romance is in the air!
Don’t miss Swim!, a comedy which takes a look at learning to swim as an adult. It’s about a 20-year-old man who wants to join in with his friends when they swim in the lake near his home. So, he goes to the local pool to take lessons. Be prepared to laugh until it hurts!
And now it’s competition time, so I hope you’ve listened carefully and made some notes! If you want to enter this month’s competition, just go online and answer the ten questions in our quiz. Go to www dot movies dot co and select your answers.
Last month, we gave out free cinema tickets as a prize – this time we’re offering restaurant tickets which you can use at a choice of exciting places.
You must complete your entry by January the twenty-eighth. Make sure you’ve finished by two pm when the competition closes. We’ll announce the winners on the thirtieth of January – and if you’re lucky, the prize will be yours by the second week in February. Good luck and goodbye!
