The UK puts eco-rules in place ahead of the Queen’s funeral

Plastic-free bouquets

Most store bought flowers come in a plastic wrapping to protect the stems and make them easier to transport.

In light of the growing problem of plastic pollution, the public is being urged to remove and properly dispose of these wrappers, so that whatever is left on display is compostable and organic.

Unsurprisingly, many well-intentioned tribute bearers have missed the memo.

So on Monday, a group of volunteers were seen removing the plastic and paper wrappings off of flowers laid in Green Park. They placed them dutifully in bin bags to prevent the park from being littered with them once the flowers began decomposing.

Removing the outer wrapping on flowers is a simple act – and let’s be honest – the display looks far more beautiful in the absence of synthetic materials anyways.

According to reports, all flowers on display at Buckingham Palace and Green Park will be taken to Hyde Park for composting in the Kensington Gardens.

Amazing crowd helping to remove plastics from flowers in Green Park #flowertribute #QueenElizabeth pic.twitter.com/F7FtYWpuRf

— Thomas Soo (@thomascsoo) September 11, 2022

No jets, please

While reducing the level of plastic left behind is important for keeping our cities litter-free, there will be a larger issue at hand in the days leading up to the Queen’s funeral.

That’s right, CO2-emiting powerhouses – private jets.

As we saw with COP26, getting government spokespersons and other high-profile individuals to abstain from using their private jets for travel is not an easy feat.

Since the transport sector is responsible for one fifth of global greenhouse gases emitted globally, the last thing we need is foreign heads of states and other allies of the royal family to travel thousands of miles into London on individual aircrafts.

In light of this, the UK has asked all attending to fly commercially and to abstain from using helicopters for travel around the capital. What a request eh? In addition, all dignitaries will be bussed to the funeral on the 19^th, instead of arriving via private cars.

Still, these are merely just suggestions and private jets aren’t totally banned. To further deter people from using them, individuals have been told that Heathrow Airport won’t have the capacity for landing or parking jets.

In other words, if you really can’t stand the thought of flying commercial, consult other ‘less busy’ airports around London.

Perhaps rather ironically, plans for transporting the Queen’s body via Royal Train have also been scrapped. Instead, she will fly to the capital on a plane.

Looks like once again, the onus is on the public to take the only form of action they can, like limiting our contributions to single-use plastics.