28 July 2016
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July has brought with it the hottest days of the years so far, along with ice-cream related recycling news and some trouble at the beach
We All Scream For Ice Cream!
You'd never have thought it, but chocolate ice cream has emerged as the most powerful flavour for green energy, following a project in which inedible ice cream waste is being turned into biogas for the National Grid.
Chocolate ice cream has been found to provide 10% more energy than vanilla, and 20% more energy than strawberry (it's the extra calories that does it!)
If you were to throw in a chocolate flake for good measure, it could also boost the energy efficiency by 20%, and who doesn't love a 99?
The sugary sludge used in the process consists of the sugar, fat and protein which is left behind after production line cleansing, and is transformed into bio-methane, a biogas. This will then go to the National Grid to heat UK homes, turning our favourite summer treat into a renewable resource.
Brighton Beach Becomes a Litter Hot-Spot
Tuesday 19th July saw the hottest day on the year so far, with hashtags such as #hottestday and #heatwave trending on Twitter. However, the glorious sunshine did cause a problem for the seaside town of Brighton where thirty tonnes of rubbish was left on the beach and seafront by visitors and holidaymakers.
Angry residents turned to social media to express their disgust at the fact litter-bugs hadn’t cleared away their rubbish after their visit, with broken glass, bottles filled with stones and plastic blowing around all up the beach. Some even complained that the litter was so dangerous that they were unable to walk their dogs or take a simple stroll along the beach.
Following this, Brighton and Hove City Council’s lead councillor has urged all visitors to use the plentiful bins provided along the seafront to safely dispose of their litter so the beach can stay looking clean and inviting throughout the rest of the summer.
How'd you like these apples?
Before they are allowed to be put on the shelves, fruit and vegetables sold in supermarkets go through a vigorous screening process where it is decided whether or not they are 'pretty' enough to be sold. The misshapen produce is deemed too ugly to sell and is disposed of, contributing to the 40% of food in the United States which goes uneaten.
In many cases, those standards have little to do with actual food safety — but because consumers have been trained to expect an apple or an orange to look a particular way, grocery stores will only accept produce from farmers that fits those standards, which means that a lot of perfectly good produce is left in fields or in warehouses to rot.
However, Walmart has announced that it will begin selling 12 varieties of imperfect apples in 300 Florida stores and imperfect potatoes in stores in Texas. If a majority of US and UK supermarkets took this approach, the amount of food wasted would be considerably reduced worldwide. 
