This Way Forward

Trash or Treasure is a season of podcasts finding out what happens to all the stuff Europeans throw away – a surprisingly fascinating journey around the rubbish heaps of Europe, looking at some of the innovations helping us to reduce our waste and even turn it into something useful. 

In this episode we’re taking a closer look at where our waste goes when we’re hoping it’s going to be recycled. When we throw our plastics, metals or paper into a special recycle bin, we expect it’s going to end up being reprocessed and ultimately reused… we hope. But waste disposal is a lot more complicated than many think – especially when it comes to plastics. For decades, plastics have been changing the way we live; we now see it all around us, but we also hear a lot about the destruction it causes if not disposed of properly. 

CGTN Europe correspondent Natalie Carney asks a very simple question – 'What happens to plastic waste?' – which leads her on a trail to unravel the mysteries of the plastics chain. 

She discovers that plastics are not as recyclable as we all hoped and that their use is still on the rise across Europe. She also finds out how new legislation to ban single-use plastic in Germany will impact that country's waste problem.

Recycling – and reuse – has been practiced in some European countries for decades. And that has given rise to some brilliant creative thinking as to how to lessen the waste burden, and to use the things that some might see as useless in whole new ways.

In this episode, we've scoured the continent to bring you some of the most ingenious new solutions for reusing and recycling waste as we unveil the best ideas for turning trash into treasure – from firehoses being turned into handbags, via PPE being used in road surfacing, to the band that has played the Albert Hall making music with waste materials.

The UN estimates that each year, we throw away almost a billion tonnes of food. That's an almost inconceivable amount, and one which has given rise to increasing innovation and activism. It's not just about not emptying our plates or clearing out our fridge before the food goes off: one estimate has it that a third of perfectly edible food is thrown away at source simply because it looks misshapen or unappealing.

In this episode of Trash or Treasure, we speak to zero-waste consumers, change-seeking chefs and 'dumpster divers' who save good food from supermarket dustbins; investigate apps which redistribute restaurant-surplus food; and visit the anaerobic digestion plant turning waste food into fuel and fertilizer. 

Clothes. We all wear them. That's billions of items being worn every day, billions of items being made each year – and billions of items being thrown out.

The environmental impact is huge – in the UK alone, 300,000 tonnes of textile waste ends up being sent to landfill each year. And that is a small fraction of the worldwide figure. Less than one percent of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing at the end of its life.

In this episode of Trash Or Treasure, we meet all sorts of innovators, entrepreneurs, campaigners and businesses that have dedicated their lives to raising awareness, reusing or recycling clothes. 

We travel to Italy to explore a very fashionable way to recycle our clothes. Could Prato represent a model for sustainable fashion? No, it's not a brand name: This small city in Tuscany has built its fortune on transforming old scraps into new clothes, particularly knitwear and wool – and it could show the way for fashion, one of the world's most polluting industries, to clean up its act. 

We follow the clothes chain to Africa, where for decades Europe has sent its second-hand clothes – but if that's a solution, why are African countries considering banning imports of second-hand clothing? 

Death is the final act of our lives, and it can be environmentally devastating: every cremation uses the equivalent of about 40 backyard-barbecue propane canisters and creates one tonne of carbon dioxide, while traditional burials eat up the land and can leach chemicals into the soil. 

In this episode, we explore the increasing choice of alternative methods that are appearing for disposing of our mortal remains – from chemical-free 'natural burials' through organic reduction and 'water cremation' to burials at sea and even freeze-drying. But what are the ethical and ecological pros and cons of each method? 

As we move into 2021, our CGTN Europe correspondents talk to us about an unprecedented year of change.. 

COVID-19 changed our lives forever, and across Europe each country experienced it differently. We speak to five reporters who were on the frontlines reporting on the virus, and ask them how they tried to make sense of an epidemic that would change the world forever. 

We start with Toni Waterman who arrived in Brussels in March. She explains how eerie the empty streets of Brussels were - and how she tried to cover the pandemic [01:13]. 

Ross Cullen arrived in Paris in January a few weeks before the coverage of the virus became all-consuming.  Ross explains what it was like to visit Italy during the height of the lockdown in March and how the country struggled to deal with COVID-19 [03:02]. 

In Spain, Rahul Pathak covered how the pandemic changed the way cities looked and operated. He recalls where he was when he started to feel the impact of the virus and how Spanish culture had to adapt to new restrictions [04:27]. Rahul also reflects on how the virus helped to bring political parties together and cooperate [15:07]. 

In the UK, Nawied Jabarkhyl tells us what it was like during the pandemic and how difficult it was to find positive news stories while new COVID-19 infection numbers kept climbing [14:09]. 

Linda Kennedy in Budapest, tells us about reporting on COVID-19 in Hungary’s capital city and the controversy over vaccines as many Hungarians want to have a greater say in which vaccine is delivered in their country [17:35]. 

Alpiner Johannes Pleschberger continues his journey through the Alps in meeting some of the incredible people who live and work in the mountains. Alpine people speak a range of different languages, have various traditions and faiths - but they’ve got lots in common. With some of the highest life expectancies in the world, healthy alpiners enjoy heart-pumping activities in the mountain air all year round. 

We meet Slovenian Tomo Sarf who’s still running up mountains in his sixties.  Some of the best cheeses in Europe are made in the alps including Emmentaler, Raclette and Gruyere – but you may not have tried Trnič, a delicious Slovenian cheese made by shepherds as a token of love for their sweethearts. 

The people of the alps also enjoy fantastic festivals. If you thought Halloween was scary - you haven’t met Krampus. He’s a half-goat, half-demon who scares naughty children into behaving better the day before St Niklaus’ two weeks before Christmas.. Alpiners dress up in incredible painted masks, clang the loudest cow bells and cause mayhem in their towns and villages once a year.

For CGTN reporter Johannes Pleschberger, the Alps were his playground as a child and are now his spiritual home. In this second podcast in the series, he continues his unique journey through this majestic mountain range and introduces us to some of the richest flora and fauna in Europe. 

We go mushroom-hunting with Johannes and his mum Regina, who is a foraging aficionado and find out about how the Austrian environmental police are trying to crack down on Italian porcini hunters. After exploring alpine mushroom mania, we learn more about the region’s most famous indigenous flower. 

The Edelweiss rose to fame in “the Sound of Music” in 1965, and has become a symbol of the rugged purity of the Alps. We also find out why wolves have been hitting the headlines in the Alps recently and why these predatory creatures can’t shake off their baddie image. 

Covering an area of just 60 square miles, we then travel to the tiny landlocked Principality of Liechtenstein, which is the only country in Europe with 100% of its territory in the Alps. 

We meet the region’s most famous inhabitants – Norma Voegeli and his golden eagle Asul before travelling to the Bavaria and investigating why the bark beetle is being blamed for destroying vast quantities of alpine woodland there.

Join native Alpiner Johannes Pleschberger on his journey through this incredible mountain range at the heart of Europe. In this 30 minute podcast Johannes investigates some of the extreme changes facing the Alpine landscape. 

One of the most noticeable effects of climate change is the shrinking of the glaciers. Researchers says that since 1850, alpine glaciers have lost over half their volume. At the Mer de Glace in the western Alps they’re trying to protect the glacier and educate people about the changing landscape. 

We visit a restaurant which has shifted from one country to another because of a melting border. Pastureland in the alpine foothills is shrinking too, as spring arrives three to four weeks earlier than it did sixty years ago. 

Farmers are learning new methods about how best to graze their cattle as the pastures move higher up the mountains, keeping alpine traditions alive. As storms increase in intensity we find out how fallen timber in the Italian Alps has been saved to help produce 30,000 pianos, violins and harps in the style of Stradivari.

CGTN Europe's podcast documentary series 'This Way Forward' takes you on an audio journey through an area of Europe at the sharp end of climate change. Native Alpiner, Johannes Pleschberger, investigates some of the extreme changes facing his homeland and introduces us to the people, animals and the fauna of the region.