The recycling rate for household packaging in Spain exceeded 70%in 2012, according to preliminary estimates by the company Ecoembes, one of the principal waste management companies in the country. The final figures are due to be released in a matter of weeks, but the director of marketing at the company, Antonio Barrón, believes the report reflects, “a dramatic change in recycling habits”. In 2011, the rate of recycling was 68.3%, whereas in 1998, when the first schemes were introduced, it was just 5%. The 2012 figure puts Spain at the same level as other European countries, including the UK, which are all well above the 55% minimum set by the EU in 2008.
A total of three new endangered Iberian lynx were born in the province of Jaén this week, according to a report from the Ministry of the Environment in Andalucía. This news is on top of recent positive reports on developments to try to reduce the increasing numbers of deaths, after a recent surge in fatalities in the areas of valle del Guadalmellato of Córdoba, as well as Guarrizas in Jaén.
Representatives of the European Bird Census Council for, the EBCC, met this week in Barcelona with the aim of making a second atlas of the birds of Europe, in a meeting organized by the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona and the Catalan Institute of Ornithology. The first atlas was first developed in 1997 and was a milestone in the monitoring of biodiversity and an important source for predicting the impact of climate change. The new publication will be released in 2020 and is to be drawn from the data obtained between 2012 and 2017, including more extensive biodiversity data across Europe.
The recent drop in temperatures felt across Spain has played havoc with fruit crops, with up to 80% of apricot harvests destroyed by frost in some areas. Of the first crops of the season, farmers estimate that up to 80% of their “Colorado” apricots have been destroyed, with between 25% and 50% of other varieties. In addition to apricots, peaches and nectarines have also been affected in some areas, as well as some potatoes, resulting in a bleak prospect for farmers and potentially higher prices for consumers.
A company in Murcia is battling its way through the financial crisis with a new range of products to assist wedding parties in celebrating their nuptials. The company has effectively copied what the owners witnessed at a marriage ceremony in America, by offering a service that provides butterflies to guests to release during the ceremony. However, they don´t come cheap, with the price per insect reducing by the quantity purchased, they can come in individual boxes or envelopes or in a collection, with an order of 5 Monarch butterflies setting you back 155 euro, which is 31 euro each, coming down to 7,80 euro per insect for a quantity of 50. Despite the high price, last year alone the company took 67 orders, although some of those were to children´s parties that didn´t prove quite as successful as the weddings.
Barcelona is the first city in the world in which a building has an elevator which is solar powered. The lift has a normal electricity supply, but is supplemented by solar panelling on the roof, which accumulates electricity and provides as much as 50% of the power needed to drive the lift. The company behind the scheme, Schindler´s Lifts, is heralding it as the future for all lifts, as it is able to operate even without the mains supply, so can still function in the event of a blackout or other emergency situation, and provides a more reliable service for those who would otherwise suffer mobility problems on the stairs in the event of an evacuation. Unfortunately, it is not yet available to purchase and is expected to be launched as part of their 2014 range of lifts.
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