Under the Radar

Under the Radar with stories of Plastic, Pesticides, Palestine and profiting from genocide and the climate emergency. Everyday tales of capitalism and resistance.

Plastic Bank: It is not charity, it is economic empowerment

Plastic Bank’s vision includes “building a world where people prosper and the planet thrives, together.” The group has just been celebrating. They have gathered by hand an average of 2.1 million plastic bottles every day, amounting to 10 billion plastic bottles since 2013, more than 200,000,000 kg of plastic. This is thanks to 68,000 Plastic Bank collectors in different parts of the world. New usable items are made from the reclaimed plastic as the discarded plastic is transformed into income, opportunity, education and healthcare.

The shady world of pesticide use in coffee production

At the end of June this year the Pesticide Action Network UK published a report revealing the crisis in the global coffee industry. Many Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) are in use in coffee-producing countries. These chemicals, banned in the EU, are linked to cancer, neurotoxicity, reproductive harm, endocrine disruption, and catastrophic biodiversity loss. They contaminate rivers and groundwater, degrade the soil, and are responsible for losses in biodiversity. Their impact on coffee growing areas is likely to destroy future productivity.

The report makes clear the impact on the workforce: “Behind almost every cup of coffee is a farmworker who had no choice but to handle chemicals that wealthy countries decided are too dangerous for their own fields. Workers are dying and getting sick. This is a human rights issue, and let’s not forget that coffee consumers end up drinking poison residues.”

Svane Bender of Deutsche Umwelthilfe explains how sustainable coffee growing farms can work, but action is needed by both governments and corporations: “Coffee can either continue to poison us, or it can contribute to a safe and healthy future. Solutions exist. Let’s wake up and solve the crisis before it is too late.”

Complicity in genocide: the Farnborough International Airshow

Prime Minister Andy Burnham wants to raise military spending from 2.6% of GDP to 3.5%.

At the end of July, Burnham sent a supportive video message to the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire. He said, “We are going to reindustrialise this nation” and that increased spending on “defence” would play a key role. Our new Defence Secretary Wes Streeting gave a speech on defence in person. He stated that US president Donald Trump “is right” to tell European countries to spend more on defence. “That’s why we’ve committed £298bn over the next four years, including an additional £15bn on top of last year’s Spending Review settlement,” It was recently revealed that Streeting took over £50k from donors linked to Israeli weapons and to the military spytech firm Palantir.

After their speeches journalist Paul Holden commented on X: “This is stupid, short-sighted and ignorant. Defence spending is a terrible vector for economic growth, industrialisation and job creation… profits from defence spending will flow into the pockets of the 1%.”

The air show was attended by several Israeli arms manufacturing giants exhibiting their weapons, including Elbit Systems, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. Amnesty International has named these firms as “contributing to Israel’s unlawful occupation, genocide or other crimes under international law”. When approached by representatives from independent media, the Israeli arms firms refused to answer questions and responded angrily and threateningly when approached. Byline Times journalist Iain Overton said, “The UK’s imports of arms from Israel have increased by 10,500% since 2023 to the current day. It’s as if the trauma and horror of Gaza has had no impact on business here. The cheque books are open. There’s lots of business and meetings being had”.

It is shameful, tawdry and immoral that we are hosting these weapons manufacturers, encouraging them to do business, increasing their profits and contributing directly to the devastating genocide in Gaza.

Burning for profit

The terrifying effects of climate change have become widespread. We see the destruction in this country and across Europe where fires can decimate swathes of forest and heathland, destroy homes, bring death to wildlife and flora, threaten livelihoods and put firefighters and other emergency services through horrendous life-threatening ordeals. Many other parts of the world are feeling the disastrous impact too, with the change in our weather patterns. Heat waves and drought make it difficult for people, businesses, transport and infrastructure to cope. June figures showed an estimated 2,877 deaths related to the heat, with over 10,000 excess deaths reported across Europe. 

Even the mainstream media is acknowledging that this crisis is due to man-made climate change.

In July Andy Burnham stated: “Labour under my leadership will never turn our back on either our duty to tackle climate change or the prospects offered by the green economy.” However, he shied away from appointing Ed Miliband as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. Miliband was more than likely to speak up for the climate and our futures. But Burnham appears to be close to agreeing to new drilling in the North Sea. This goes against the 2024 Labour manifesto and shows scant regard for a green future, for the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and for all of us, other than the elite who will be reaping the profits from the continued use of dangerous fossil fuels.

Zach Polanski stated recently: “We are in a climate crisis. It’s outrageous that Andy Burnham is not ruling out new oil and gas licences”. 

We need to hear from Burnham that dealing urgently with the climate crisis is high on his list of priorities and that he is prepared to take radical and possibly unpopular action.

Further Developments for Palestine Action

In June this year four young activists were convicted of criminal damage and one of GBH without intent as a result of their actions at the Elbit factory in Bristol in 2024. The four were not charged with terrorism offences and the jury did not convict them of terrorism yet the judge ruled that they had a “terrorist connection“ when it came to sentencing. The judge did not inform the jury that the defendants could be sentenced under terrorism laws.

Authoritarianism is increasingly creeping into our criminal justice system. Judge Johnson “undermined the role of the jury, in effect deciding on matters which were for the jury to decide – principles of immediacy, value judgements, and reasonableness.”

Samuel Corner, 23, who was convicted of criminal damage and grievous bodily harm against a police officer, was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison. Leona Kamio, 31, and 29-year-old Charlotte Head were sentenced to six years. Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21, received five years and eight months. 

Meanwhile on 30 July over 2,000 people gathered outside Westminster Magistrates Court where cases were being heard relating to Palestine Action supporters. The police arrested 152 people standing peacefully in the street, some of them had not said a word or expressed support for Palestine Action.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine, who led the policing operation, complained that 200 officers were involved in policing. “That means 200 officers taken off the capital’s streets, where they could have been tackling the crimes that matter most to Londoners.” The government and the Metropolitan police should clearly rethink their priorities so that they tackle crime rather than persecute peaceful protesters.

On the same day, it was announced that Palestine Action can appeal their proscription at the Supreme Court