The Know Daily - Tuesday 30 May 2023

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The National Trust is launching an ambitious conservation project: creating Britain’s first “super nature reserve”, on Purbeck Heaths in Dorset. Cattle, pigs and ponies will be encouraged to graze together in the vast wetlands area, where now-extinct beasts called “aurochs” roamed thousands of years ago. By grazing, the animals will hopefully enable small reptiles, insects and other wildlife to thrive.

♻️ A “wishcycling” warning

The government is set to ask households in England to be more selective about what they put into recycling bins, as part of a new crackdown on “wishcycling”.

What’s the story?
According to the i newspaper, ministers will ask the public to be more mindful about what they recycle, in the hope that this will drive up recycling rates by reducing the amount of material which needs to be separated at processing centres and sent to landfill.

So what items shouldn’t be recycled?
Wishcycling is when you put an item into the recycling bin because you hope it can be recycled - but in reality, it ends up contaminating the chain and making the process more inefficient.

Commonly “wishcycled” items include plastic bags, takeaway boxes, juice cartons and toothpaste tubes, which either need specialist recycling treatment or are so contaminated that they can’t be processed properly.

If you feel confused about what you can recycle, you’re not alone. Research from last October found that as many as 80% of UK households are “still unclear” on how to recycle effectively.

Is there anything else I should know?
Today’s news comes more than two years after ministers launched a consultation on waste disposal in England, in an attempt to simplify rules across the country.

Full details of the new guidance are set to be published later this summer.

Want to limit your wishcycling? Check out this handy guide.

🩸 Promoting “period dignity”

Campaigners are calling on the government to end period poverty in UK schools following the publication of a damning new report.

What did the report find?
New research commissioned by a coalition of UK charities found that a third of young people are skipping school due to difficulties with accessing period products and because of ongoing shame around menstruation. This is estimated to amount to over three million missed school days each year.

A quarter of those surveyed also reported being forced to state to a teacher exactly why they needed the toilet, while others reported being denied loo breaks altogether.

Isn’t the government already trying to tackle this?
Schemes are in place across the UK to improve access to period products in schools: in 2018, the Scottish government became the first in the world to make tampons and sanitary pads free for students, while the Period Products Scheme - which covers state-funded schools - has been in place in England since 2020.

But this latest research indicates that many pupils still face barriers. Almost half (44%) of girls reported struggling to access free period products at school, while 13% said that their school or college doesn’t offer any free products at all.

What’s being done to change this?
The Every Period Counts campaign - launched last week by a number of UK charities including Irise International and Bloody Good Period - is calling on all schools to offer free period products to pupils in a stigma-free way.

They also want the UK government to commit to a new action plan to eradicate period poverty and shame in schools by 2025, and make period dignity a right by legislating for it in England and Wales.

Want to get involved in the campaign? Irise has created a template and instructions so that you can write a letter to your MP telling them why things need to change.

🇪🇸 Spain’s snap election: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called a surprise general election after conservative and far-right opposition parties dramatically increased their vote share in Sunday’s local and regional elections.

🇷🇺 Russia-Ukraine latest: Russian officials have accused Ukraine of launching a “terrorist drone attack” on Moscow this morning, which came as Kyiv faced its third air raid in 24 hours.

📉 Food inflation falls: Latest figures show that food inflation in the UK fell in May, raising hopes that the rapid increase in supermarket prices may have reached its peak.

🫐 Eat your berries: New research has found that people who have a diet rich in flavanols - which are found in tea, apples and berries - may be less likely to develop age-related memory loss.

📺 Calling all Succession fans: The series finale aired on Sunday to critical acclaim - here’s a roundup of the very best reactions to its dramatic ending.

Trivia answer: C) The survey found that, on average, each guest pays out £1,045 to attend the nuptials of their loved ones - an increase of 18% on the year before.

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