Latest news with #waste
The Sun
12 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
HS2 bosses under-fire after spending £1,200 a MONTH decorating offices with tropical plants
BOSSES at much-delayed HS2 spent £1,200 a month decorating offices with tropical plants. The rail project's chiefs paid £4,819 in four months on greenery with Funky Yukka — described as specialists in 'creating flourishing workspaces'. Taxpayer-funded HS2 splashed out on government Electronic Purchasing Card Solutions cards up to October 2024. Plant firm Funky Yukka has offices in Stafford - close to the HS2 HQ in Snowhill, Birmingham. Clients include Tesla, Amazon Jimmy Choo, Mango, HSBC and the BBC. It emerged as Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander this week confirmed a delay to the project, which has already had its northern routes axed. William Yarwood, media campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "HS2 is the prime example of a quango being allowed to run amok given the extraordinary catalogue of waste it has been guilty of. "Politicians handed over control of one of the largest infrastructure projects in UK history to an un-elected body of bureaucrats and it's no surprise that having been given an inch they've taken a mile. "Ministers need to take far firmer control over the delivery and spending of HS2, if they're not going to scrap it altogether.' A spokesperson for HS2 said its Funky Yukka contract had ended. They added: 'We are transparent about our costs and will bear down on unnecessary spend.' Our village's peace is shattered by 'hellish' explosions that shake our houses every night 1
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
‘At one point, I stepped on a cow's head': Gulshan Khan on her best photograph
This was a tough assignment. I was making images around Johannesburg for World Environment Day 2018 and I thought I'd follow the trash to Robinson Deep, the oldest and biggest landfill in the city. I had a basic idea of where the things we throw away end up, but seeing our trash in real life, in that quantity, and not disintegrating, was eye-opening. The smell was overpowering. The sounds of tractors churned against the constant noise made by baby mice squeaking under the huge mounds of waste. I was probably stepping on them but I couldn't see them, nor do anything differently. At one point I stepped on a cow's head. Thank God I was wearing rubber boots that day – boots that the dozens of people eking out a living on the landfill didn't have. They didn't have any proper protective gear: no gloves, masks or proper shoes. This image of a man carrying a giant bag that looks like a cape, with an ibis hovering over him, was made with a long lens. I was too far away to get to him in time to ask his name before he disappeared over the hill, but I spoke to many others there. They spoke of being ill from working on the landfill but not having a choice. Some of them cook and eat their meals on the site. Some even live there. I recall the moment when a truck arrived bearing a new load and everyone ran toward this waterfall of garbage to get whatever they could – the plastic or glass that could be taken to the buy-back centres and exchanged for a few rand. This scene is not particular to Johannesburg. It happens every day in landfills all over the world. These reclaimers, like the man in the picture, are the 'invisible people', to the upper classes in particular. They are part of the landscape but are living on the precipice. Many of them are very vulnerable and have a reliance on substances. Particularly rife in Johannesburg is nyaope, or heroin. At some of the buy-back centres, drugs are sold at the doors. People take in the waste they've collected, get their money, then buy their shot for the day. It's a cycle of violence. I cannot fathom why we are living in a society that allows this to happen to our most vulnerable people. A lot of my work is about understanding the world and how I live in it. It takes me to places I wouldn't ordinarily go to, and I speak to people I wouldn't usually interact with. It helps me overcome my blind spots. We always talk about our separation from the natural world when we talk about the climate crisis, but this image is a reminder that we are an intrinsic part of it. The bird and the man are both searching. It reinforces that we are in this together: our wellbeing is interconnected. There is symbolism too. The bird gives the impression of a vulture, though it's not, which carries with it the idea of hunger and death. My photography is a balancing act. I want to compose images that are visually attractive and draw attention, but also create dialogue and, at the very least, a stirring of the heart. It is so important to talk about the meaning and not be taken up by the beauty of an image. I want to create empathy without reinforcing those blindspots. But the idea of objectivity in journalism is a myth. You can have ethical and balanced reporting, but what you choose to leave in and out of your frame is your bias. As a South African, I feel a deep responsibility to stand against injustice. My generation was the last that grew up under apartheid, before the 'born-frees', and I come from a family of anti-apartheid activists who were very involved in our community. I understand segregation and systemic injustice and discrimination. I remember my mum being dragged off to jail by security forces. I remember coming home and a piece of furniture would be gone. My mother would have given a table or bed away because someone needed it more than we did. Helping the community survive and thrive meant sharing resources. It helped me understand a radical care that stems from our inextricable interconnectedness in this world, and that still informs my work. Born: KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, The Market Photo Workshop, Santu Mofokeng, Toni Morrison, Nan Goldin, bell hooks, Nina point: 'Having my work acquired by the Iziko South African National Museum. To have documentary photographs of our community in a public archive is a great milestone for me, especially after so many generations of erasure.'Low point: 'Knowing that photography does not always save or even tangibly help the people in my images. It can make an impact, it can move hearts, it can sometimes affect policy or raise funds for a cause. But mostly, it does not save the people who have shared their stories.'Top tip: 'Move with empathy and kindness in the world. Try to look beyond your blind spots; this is ultimately what influences your frame.' Poisoned Futures? is at Hundred Heroines Museum, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, until 28 September
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Clothes from UK brands found discarded in Ghana wetland dumps
An Unearthed and Greenpeace investigation found garments by UK brands on a rubbish dump in a protected wetland in Accra, Ghana. The reporters found items from Next, George at Asda and Marks & Spencer washed up near the dump, which is believed to have emerged in the past year. UK consumers discard about 1.5m tonnes of used textiles every year and Ghana received more discarded clothes than any other country. As the rubbish accumulates, new dump sites are springing up beyond urban areas, and in conservation areas that are vital for wildlife, the investigation found
Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Times
Tice condemns Scottish plan to send 600,000 tonnes of rubbish to England
England should reject Scotland's rubbish, Richard Tice has said, after it emerged that up to 100 truckloads a day are to be sent over the border. The Reform UK deputy leader said it would be 'fair' for Scotland to 'sort its own rubbish' and manage the impact of the SNP's ban on landfill. Scots would be 'furious' at a situation in which large quantities of English waste had to be shipped north, he said. It emerged this week that a Scottish government ban on domestic black bin bag waste being sent to landfill from next year would result in about 600,000 tonnes of rubbish being shipped southwards from next year. Scotland does not have enough incinerators to cope with the surge in demand that the policy will cause. New incinerators and 'energy from waste' facilities that are still being built will not be ready in time. Scottish councils and commercial waste companies have approached firms in England to negotiate 'bridging contracts'. However, as there is also pressure on incinerator capacity there, much of Scotland's excess rubbish is expected to go to landfill in England instead. Experts have said that the equivalent of 80 to 100 trucks a day, seven days a week, will be needed to take the waste to England or even farther afield. Some lorries may have to travel for three days, it has been claimed, as there is particular pressure on sites in northern England. Tice, the Boston and Skegness MP, said: 'Scots would be furious if they were told to take English rubbish. The reverse is also true. Scotland should sort its own rubbish. Fair is fair.' The SNP government introduced the ban to protect the environment and deliver a 'net-zero society'. However, critics have pointed to the emissions which are set to be caused as a result of taking waste large distances — it cannot be disposed of in Scotland. The UK government also wants to eliminate biodegradable waste from landfill. It announced a consultation earlier this year, but there is no firm policy in place south of the border. Thomas Kerr, the Glasgow councillor who defected from the Conservatives to Reform in January, also said England would be within its rights to refuse to take Scottish waste. 'Like the SNP's disastrous deposit return scheme, this rushed-out policy is unworkable and will put huge pressure on English landfill,' Kerr said. 'At the very least, the SNP should wait till our national incinerator capacity is ready. Otherwise English landfills would be well within their rights to refuse to take this, and every day Scots will be left with the mess.' It had been hoped that the landfill ban, which was initially due to come into force in 2021 but was delayed due to the Covid pandemic, would coincide with an increase in recycling rates. However, these have barely shifted in a decade, with Scottish homes recycling 41.6 per cent of their waste in 2013, rising to 43.5 per cent in 2023. Kim Pratt, the senior circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: 'By failing to prepare properly for the upcoming landfill ban, the Scottish government has missed an opportunity to move away from the current throwaway society. 'Without immediate action, Scotland will end up burning and exporting much of its waste. 'The solution is for the Scottish government to invest more in reuse and repair, provide better access to recycling services and close the loopholes in its incineration ban as soon as possible.' Gillian Martin, the SNP's climate action and energy secretary, blamed an 'incineration gap' on 'outside factors' such as inflation and the cost of building new facilities. The SNP government introduced an effective ban on new incinerators in 2022 but said existing plans for 11 sites could still proceed. Martin said: 'We've got plans for more incinerators, with energy from waste schemes, to come on in the next year and over the next three years — so it is a temporary situation.' She added that 'the positive environmental impact of stopping landfills' outweighed the impact of temporary measures to export the rubbish over the border.
ABC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
A notorious $20,000 desk in parliament's storage is out of retirement. But who has it?
A $20,000 custom desk built for a senior public servant working in Parliament House that had been mothballed in storage is now out of retirement. But it remains a mystery who is using the now-infamous desk. Senator Jane Hume uncovered the sit-stand desk during questioning of the Department of Parliamentary Services, which was part of a larger $56,000 upgrade to the office of the then-deputy secretary of that department. Senator Hume had been told in responses to her questioning in Senate estimates that the desk was verbally commissioned in July 2021 at the request of then-secretary Rob Stefanic for his then-deputy Cate Saunders, who have both since ended their employment at parliament. The brush box solid timber desk with brass fittings has "bespoke solution" cable runs concealed in its legs, and custom metal brackets fixing the timber to a height-adjustable frame, and has been described by the now-department boss as "beautiful". Senator Hume made an example of the desk when criticising public service "waste" as part of the Coalition's back-to-office orders for public servants, labelling it an example of how bureaucrats did not "respect the Australian taxpayer". "That $20,000 desk is now in storage. Having been wasteful, they now treat that waste as if it has no value. I bet the taxpayer who paid for it — any one of you — would disagree," Senator Hume said in March. But the Department of Parliamentary Services has since confirmed to Senator Hume that the desk is back in action. It just won't say who is using it. "The desk will be used by a staff member at Parliament House," a Department of Parliamentary Services spokesperson said in a statement. The nature of Mr Stefanic's and Ms Saunders' working relationship came under intense scrutiny last term, after Mr Stefanic told senators he had disclosed a conflict of interest with Ms Saunders to the head of the public service related to "perceptions of a close relationship" with his then-deputy. Mr Stefanic last year flatly denied during Senate estimates questioning that he had ever been in a romantic relationship with Ms Saunders. Ms Saunders retired in 2023, and received a $315,000 exit package on her departure, while Mr Stefanic was sacked in December after the Senate president and House of Representatives speaker jointly determined they had lost confidence in him. The National Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating the $315,000 exit package decision, and in October raided DPS offices in relation to an investigation. In a list handed to Senator Hume, the department also confirmed the value of 891 other pieces of furniture that remain in Parliament House storage. Among them are 18 leather waste paper bins, each worth $130, a $2,700 TV studio desk, cocktail cabinets each worth $2,980, dozens of lounge chairs, coffee tables and more to the tune of $1.5 million. But prior to its withdrawal from storage, the $20,000 desk appears to have been the single highest-value item stored in that facility. Jaala Hinchcliffe, who replaced Mr Stefanic as DPS secretary, previously said it was a "beautiful" desk and the in-house team had "done amazing work on it" as a manufacturing and restoration opportunity. The department also provided an update on a second $35,000 "prototype" sit-stand desk that further raised eyebrows among senators. That desk was reportedly commissioned to investigate a replacement for the original desks used by parliamentarians, with a number of MPs reportedly making requests for sit-stand desks. The department said in March the desk was being designed as a solution that would maintain the "dignity" of parliament offices, after Senator Hume and Senator Richard Colbeck questioned why existing sit-stand technologies could not be used. But Ms Hinchcliffe openly told senators in March the department was questioning the decisions that led to the $35,000 prototype, and was working through issues in its capital works program. In a response to Senator Colbeck, the department admitted that there were $1,000 "returns" available for the current desks that allowed "a smaller surface area" to be used as sit-stand, and that a small number of these were already in use in some parliament offices. It said $23,464 had been spent on the design work for the custom-made sit-stand desk, and another $11,895 on its construction. The department said in March no MPs had yet received versions of the desk, but said access would be granted to MPs and senators to "have a look" at the desk.
