The European Union voted to cut down on the plastic getting into the ocean by banning single-use plastic items. It was to take effect by 2021 throughout the EU. Plastic straws are included and for good reason.

After all, they make up about 4% of plastic pollution throughout the world. It doesn’t mean that you have to go without a straw altogether. There are many eco-friendly alternatives, from bamboo to glass. In Italy, they are using pasta straws for that purpose.

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Happy International Coffee Day!☕️

A post shared by 🌱 1hr Strong Pasta Straws (@stroodles_straws) on Oct 1, 2019 at 2:22pm PDT

GranFabio shared a picture on Reddit showing how those Italian bars are now serving drinks with pasta straws. He writes: “Here in Italy bars are starting to use pasta as straws to reduce plastic use. Our technology amazes the world another time.” His image soon went viral, with many people loving the idea. One person wrote, “Italian engineering at its finest,” while another responded with “Now you’re speaking my linguine!”

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🔥 Hey Saturday! Today we had some stroodling vibes with amazing guys from @tidalrum ! ⠀ ❓ And how’s your weekend going?

A post shared by 🌱 1hr Strong Pasta Straws (@stroodles_straws) on Jul 20, 2019 at 1:37pm PDT

Other areas of the world are also adopting pasta straws using a company based in London, Stroodles. They produce biodegradable, edible pasta straws made from water and wheat. Not only are they eco-friendly, they are vegan. If you want to cut down on the plastic you are using, you can purchase Stroodles pasta straws online.

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✌🏻 Hey! Who are your fav zero waste or sustainable lifestyle bloggers / influencers? Tag them in the comments below👇🏻 ⠀ ❤️ We love great collabs! Many thanks to @laurenhannahshepherd for this fab shot! ⠀ 🥳 Happy stroodling ;)

A post shared by 🌱 1hr Strong Pasta Straws (@stroodles_straws) on Jun 23, 2019 at 11:25am PDT

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Plastic pollution is haunting the planet for a long time. We may have realized the devil that plastic is quite recently, but we are also trying to bring the use of plastic to a halt. In Australia, a teenager has taken up this battle against plastic too, and she has come up with a new solution – prawn shells.

The 17-year-old, Angelina Arora, has been able to produce compostable plastic using prawn shells. This kind of plastic can decompose within 33 days. Her amazing invention has been praised in Australia too. She has earned a BHP Science and Engineering Award. She was also named the Australian Geographic Society’s Young Conservationist of the Year.


Angelina has mentioned that she is in the final talks regarding acquiring a patent over the compostable plastic. However, she has built the final prototype, and it will soon be ready for commercial distribution.

The best part – the compostable plastic is quite cheap and can be used for various purposes. She has been in talks with many companies, and they have found the product promising. It is insoluble, flexible, and durable – the most necessary things desired from plastic.


The product has been developed by mixing a protein from a silk cocoon and an element from prawn shells, which was able to create this compostable plastic.

Angelina is a medical student and is testing out the product as medical packaging too.

To reach her goal, Angelina conducted a few experiments. At first, she tried to make the plastic using organic materials like banana peels and cornstarch, but solubility became a factor for them. While having her dinner, she noticed that prawn shells have a plastic texture to them and that’s when the plan started to form. She started researching the shell and extracted carbohydrate chitin from it. She then used chemicals and transformed the carbohydrates into chitosan. Angelina then mixed the chitosan with fibroin, an insoluble protein found in silkworms. Thus, the new compostable plastic was formed which broke down in just 33 days.


She knew that her age might be seen as a barrier, but she did not think of it like that. For her, age is just another number. She kept on with her research, and in due course, she gained success.

She mentioned how her generation was slowly finding the voice to shout out against plastic pollution and climate change.

Angelina was inspired to make such a product after she saw that her parents had to pay for plastic at the stores. She became curious and asked about the reason, only to learn that plastic harms the environment. So, she wanted to make a cheap substitute. She loved science and experiments and so, she enrolled herself in the science field.

A YouGov study, which was commissioned by the Marine Stewardship Council, looked at about 1000 young people within the ages of 18-24, and they found out that they were most concerned about the environment and its impact on marine life.

Anne Gabriel of Marine Stewardship Council mentioned that oceans are the only wild food source left for us and if we don’t plan to preserve it, our next generation would suffer.

Maybe heroes like Angelina can save the world along with our help.

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Romania has banned all trophy hunting of brown bears, wolves, lynx and wild cats in a surprise decision that gives Europe’s largest population of large carnivores a reprieve from its most severe and immediate threat.

“Hunting for money was already illegal, but it was given a green light anyway,” environment minster, Cristiana Pasca-Palmer, told the Guardian. ‘The damages [clause in the habitats directive] acted as a cover for trophy hunting.”

Photo Credit: Agnes Thiebaut
Gabriel Paun, an activist and conservationist behind a petition that collected 11,000 signatures in the weeks before the hunting ban, sees the government’s decision as a step towards a safer future for Europe’s wild spaces: “The Carpathian mountains are home to more biodiversity than anywhere else in Europe, but for too long they have been ruthlessly exploited for forestry and hunting. Let’s hope the government’s decision is a sign of things to come.”


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The Home 2 Suites hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi is not just providing people with a place to stay, they’re also passionate about putting misfortunate pups into loving homes.

Since last fall, the hotel has housed a number of adoptable shelter dogs in their lobby. The dogs come from the Humane Society of South Mississippi and while at the hotel, they’re housed in a large kennel in the lobby.


The dogs are part of the hotel’s “Fostering Hope” program that lets guest foster and adopt dogs.

Guests are able to apply to adopt a dog at any time during their stay and they can bring their new pup up to their hotel room as soon as their application has been approved.

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The program frees up space at the shelter so more dogs can get the help they need and increases the chances of the chosen pups to get noticed and adopted.

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The program has also strengthened the hotel’s connection to the community, and the dogs provide comfort to weary travellers who are far from home.

It’s really a win for everyone involved.


The hotel specialises in long-term guests and many visitors stay for months at a time.



This makes the hotel the perfect venue for this initiative, as people have time to get to know the dogs and time to decide whether adoption is an option for them.


Guests can sign up to foster a dog during their stay without any obligation to adopt the dog.

However, many find it hard to resist those puppy-dog eyes once it’s time to go.

It costs 50$ to adopt a dog and so far, 33 sweet pups have found their forever homes.


The project has been a great success so far and has made a lot of pups and people very happy.

We all know dogs make everything better and, clearly, hotels are no exception.

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The loss of physical mobility, or never having it to begin with, can make it seem like the world is passing you by. There is a saying that “the world is made for right-handers”, and any southpaw would probably be able to identify with that.


A similar thing could be said about folks who are able-bodied and those who are not. This world is made for people who can get around. Of course, we have wheelchair ramps, and as time goes on we become more conscious of the struggles of others. We learn how to make life easier for others. But every once in a while something way outside the box comes around. Ideas are hatched. Someone asks “how can this wheelchair rider get to the top of that mountain?” “How can that wheelchair rider feel the sand between his toes, maybe for the first time ever?”

Hit The Trail
An organization known as Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes is making molehills out of mountains for differently-abled visitors to a national park in Michigan. The “track chair” has special treads to navigate the steep hills and sandy trails of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

“Here at Sleeping Bear Dunes, about half the park is designated wilderness so in those areas we can’t do a lot of maintenance or changes (to increase accessibility) … so the better option is to have a vehicle that can take the person into these areas so they can experience the trail as it is without having to make major modifications,” said Kerry Kelly, chairman of the group’s board.

Expansion seems imminent. Currently, the track chair can only be rented for use on the 1.5-mile long Bay View Trail, but it’s already a huge hit. Rental is free right now, but you’ll have to reserve it far in advance. They are looking forward to getting another one soon!

Hit The Beach
In California, they are doing something similar. Motorized wheelchairs with big fat tire treads make it possible to get out on the sand, which is wonderful news for any beach baby. If you know that pull the ocean can have on your heart, then you know what it’s like to be united with it once again. For some, there is nothing like the feel of sand between your toes. As one website puts it “we rent experiences, not wheelchairs” and that sums this up nicely.

Freedom Is Yours
Ultimately what this is really about, is giving people their lives back. Some of the most beautiful experiences in life are to be had at the tops of mountains or the edge of the ocean. The cure for anything, they say, is salt: tears, sweat, or the sea.

The inventors of these chairs understand. They know what it feels like to be so full of life, and wonder at life, that it’s all about to make you burst. They acknowledge that has been lost for some people, and their brilliant minds have brought about a solution. But it’s really not heavy-duty wheelchairs they’ve brought. It’s life… raw human experience that they’ve brought… and that’s so beautiful.

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Dogs love us unconditionally and it’s important that we show our appreciation by returning that love and by being mindful of their needs.

One thoughtful dog owner recently demonstrated her love and affection for her sweet furbaby when she noticed that her pup was cold.

The woman was about to enter the post office and could not bring her dog in with her. She tied the pup to a tree but noticed that he was shivering in the cold wind.


Without a second thought, she whipped off her own coat and draped it over the dog.

She then zipped the coat up and made sure he was safely and comfortably wrapped up in the warm coat.


A woman, Kristina Hollie, and her co-worker happened to see the whole incident and were deeply touched by the woman’s actions.

In an interview with The Dodo, Hollie said that she spoke to the woman and commended her for her sweet gesture:

“As soon as she got up and walked past me, I told her that what she did was incredibly sweet and thoughtful. She just replied, ‘Thank you! I don’t want him to be cold!’”


The pup looked dashing in his comfy coat and must have been very grateful to his mom.

It’s adorable to see people who truly care for their pets and are ready to make personal sacrifices for the sake of their furbabies’ comfort and wellbeing.

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