Environment

Don’t throw out your old possessions!

Energy companies which claim to offer “green electricity” should be checked and receive a “premium” label if they are truly green, says Ademe, the state agency responsible for promoting eco-friendly living in France.

“Rubbish” is being given a second chance of life, thanks to a network of 157 Ressourceries spread throughout the country.

It will soon be possible for the owners of older petrol or diesel cars to have the engines taken out and replaced with electric motors and batteries.

Two friends, shocked at the amount of plastic dumped in the Mediterranean off Marseille, have set up a business – turning bottles into trainers.

Many better-off households are likely to lose their eligibility for the long-standing system of tax credits for eco-friendly home improvements and renovations next year – so if affected you may want to undertake work while 2019 lasts.

According to the main French law covering ecology and rural life - le Code de l’environnement - no one has the right to hunt on the property of others without the consent of the owner. However, very often hunting is carried out on land by default and it is necessary to show your wish to prohibit it.

A €200million project aims to encourage householders to save energy – after several expensive initiatives failed to persuade them to invest in home improvements.

The world’s largest urban farm will open on a rooftop in Paris next year.

And how does it work?

If all the projects are built – a total of 150 individual turbines – they will produce enough electricity to supply 268,000 households

The state has been found “at fault” for failing to take sufficient measures to reduce air pollution in two separate cases.

France is calling for Europe-wide taxation of kerosene – the fuel used by planes – to reduce pollution and help with carbon neutrality.

Hybrid solar panels, invented and made in France and combining photovoltaic and water heating, are leading the way in efficiency.

As temperatures continue to rise, animals like humans need to stay hydrated.

I have several containers of glyphosate herbicide in stock which I plan to use in my garden. However I have read conflicting information about this, some of which says that it is banned in France. I thought a ban had been put off for several years. Can you clarify?  P.T.