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Ecological organisations across all sectors and specialisms are invited to upload their research, reports and grey literature to the British Ecological Society’s new open access platform, Applied Ecology Resources (AER), in a bid to improve knowledge sharing and collaboration across the ecological community. 

AER enables a range of organisations, scientists and practitioners working across research, policy or practice to pool their knowledge relating to ecological science in a permanent, secure and fully searchable space. 

With a broad international information base, AER is home to both peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed reports, data reports, research summaries,  and other grey literature, all of which is publicly accessible.  AER is also home to the peer-reviewed open platform journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence (ESE) which offers a unique suite of article types, all of which promote open science and provide a platform for practitioners to communicate with a broad audience. 

At its heart, AER promotes evidence-based decision-making and all content on AER is freely accessible and permanently archived, even welcoming documents written in most languages. 

Commenting on the inspiration behind AER, Marc Cadotte, Editor-in-Chief, said: “A lot of people who are interested in Applied Ecology tend to work at a really small scale on specific species or in specific systems. From a data-sharing perspective, there’s often a disconnect between what people are pursuing in terms of the best research, and what people might actually be interested in on the ground.”

“This led me to the idea of trying to create something that was more tailored for practitioners, in terms of the types of information they need, how they communicate that and how they share the information that they’re producing. AER fills quite a significant gap as prior to this, we weren’t getting as much information from practitioners.”

Appealing to both small and large organisations within ecology, AER offers the opportunity to share important information between practitioners, allowing for a more cohesive scientific community within ecology to emerge.

“There’s a lot of lost knowledge and experience in Ecology. We hope that AER is part of this changing nature of how practitioners communicate and share their experiences. Our hope is for AER to become part of this culture change, and become routine practice for how activities are documented,” Cadotte added.

AER has been growing in popularity since its inception, with organisations especially supportive of its evidence-based approach to information. 

David O’Brien, Policy and Advice Manager at NatureScot, said: “There is such an obvious need for AER and the information that’s on AER is designed to be useful. It’s readily accessible to anyone who has got a large piece of land or a project to make a decision on quickly and wants to ensure it delivers the best outcome.”

Moreover, Chris Nichols, Conservation Evidence Manager at The Woodland Trust highlighted that: “In the conservation and NGO sector, there tends to be a reliance on certain key partners. AER is helping to broaden that network to include more diverse partners, resulting in better rounded viewpoints. It’s really helping to break down some of those perceived barriers between different areas of the sector as well, so that we don’t just operate in our own little echo chamber.”

In addition to the AER platform, AER Live offers applied ecologists with a series of free online workshops across research, policy and practice. More details as well as information on how to get involved can be found here. 

For more information on AER, visit www.britishecologicalsociety.org/applied-ecology-resources/

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Launched 5^th June 2023: TerraCycle has announced the launch of its Zero Waste Bag, a first-of-its-kind solution for consumers to recycle “hard to recycle” rubbish. We have been lucky enough to try this launch! Visit our Instagram page to see more… https://www.instagram.com/theeconews/

The Zero Waste Bag is designed to offer consumers a simple and convenient way to recycle 14 common waste streams which are not collected in council kerbside recycling collections, meaning they are usually destined for landfill, incineration or the natural environment. The accepted waste streams include plastic packaging, crisp and snack packets, cosmetic products and packaging, and medicine blister packs.

The latest household waste recycling rates released by the Government show that Wales is the only UK nation currently recycling more than 50 percent. Yet new research reveals some 92% percent of Britons believe recycling has a key role to play in combating the waste crisis, with more than 9-in-10 UK residents already recycling at home.

However 62% expressed frustration at the number of items their local council does not accept in its recycling collections, and 76% percent want to recycle more at home, with 62% saying they would like to go zero waste, and 19% admitting to ‘wish-cycling’ – putting waste in their recycling bin even if they know it is not accepted in their council’s recycling collections.

The Zero Waste Bag is a paid for solution and comes in two sizes priced at £25 for a small bag and £39 for a large, with discounts available for bundle purchases.

The price of the Zero Waste Bag covers the cost of delivery to the consumer, shipping of the full bag of waste back to TerraCycle via InPost and the cost of processing the returned waste and turning it into a reusable material that can be incorporated into new products.

Due to the mix of materials these items contain, the processes required to recycle them are complex which means that the recycling process costs more than the value of the recycled material. This is the reason why councils cannot accept these items for recycling.

TerraCycle specialises in developing innovative solutions for “hard-to-recycle” materials, and the Zero Waste Bag is the latest in a range of innovative solutions aimed at making recycling simpler and more convenient and reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills and incineration.

Pictured above: The small Zero Waste Bag being used to recycle cosmetic products and packaging

Pictured above: The large Zero Waste Bag being used to recycle plastic packaging

Consumers can purchase their Zero Waste Bag from the website (www.zerowastebag.co.uk) and get it delivered to their home address where they can specify the waste stream they wish to recycle. Once they fill their Zero Waste Bag, the contents can be sent to TerraCycle by requesting a QR code from the website and dropping the filled bag at one of more than 5,000 InPost Lockers across the UK.

Most InPost Lockers are available 24/7 and can be found at convenient locations such as train stations, petrol forecourts and supermarkets, enabling strong flexibility. The partnership with Inpost means that consumers can drop off their Zero Waste Bag as part of their daily routine at a time and place that suits them, with nearly half of residents in London, Birmingham and Manchester living within a seven-minute walk of an InPost Locker.

Julien Tremblin, General Manager of TerraCycle Europe commented: “Many members of the public have expressed their wish to be able to recycle more and have been asking for a solution such as Zero Waste Bag to recycle many items not accepted via council collections. The bags have been designed to represent the perfect solution in terms of ease and practicality for the public, and we’re excited to announce their launch.”

Adam Herriott, Senior Sector Specialist, WRAP commented: “At WRAP we are delighted to see that citizens will have the option and opportunity to be able to recycle more of these hard to recycle items, should they wish to do so. However, we need to continue to work on ways to eliminate the problematic and unnecessary packaging and design materials with end of life in mind – this includes how and where consumers can easily and responsibly dispose after use”.

Peter Blackburn, International Commercial Director at InPost Group commented: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with TerraCycle to support the country’s recycling efforts through our expansive network of lockers. Convenient delivery options are critical to ensuring consumers have access to straightforward recycling options, and our lockers do just that. Our vision, as InPost Group, is to lead sustainable e-commerce by redefining the status quo for deliveries and returns, enhancing value, convenience, and sustainability.”

For more information about TerraCycle and the other solutions they offer, including their free recycling programmes, visit www.terracycle.co.uk