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You and Yours: Shopping; Plastic Alternatives; Gardening Economics

09/01/2020

Shopping; Plastic Alternatives; Gardening Economics

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Shopping; Plastic Alternatives; Gardening Economics

Shopping; Plastic Alternatives; Gardening Economics.

The pressure to end plastic packaging in shops could actually be doing more harm than good to the environment. That's the conclusion of a new report which claims the consequences of using new materials hasn't been properly assessed. The Green Alliance say glass bottles, for instance, are much heavier than plastic so are far more polluting to transport; paper bags tend to have higher carbon emissions than plastic bags – and are more difficult to re-use. So what now for the purge on plastic?

It's been the toughest Christmas for retailers since records began - and for the first time we did more of our shopping on Black Friday than over Christmas. Tesco, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer all post their results today - we'll have the latest analysis.

And we speak to the author of a new book which surveys the historical extravagances spent on gardening in England over the last few hundred year. Sir Roderick Floud estimates that at least £1bn has been spent each decade since the 17th century by the English on gardens - including a tulip tree costing £38,000.

Presenter: Winifred Robinson.
Producer: Simon Hoban.

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Shopping; Plastic Alternatives; Gardening Economics

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