France offers state-funded therapy, tackles mental health

Good News Notes: “Treatment for psychological problems will be funded by France‘s government starting next year, the president announced Tuesday, amid growing awareness and concern about mental health. State health care systems in Britain, Germany and some other countries already fund therapy sessions. French health professionals say a national effort to improve access is long overdue, especially as the coronavirus pandemic…

McDonald’s To Phase Out Plastic Toys From Its Happy Meals

Good News Notes: “The toys that come in McDonald’s Happy Meals will soon be made mostly from corn and other materials rather than from fossil fuel-based plastic, the fast-food chain says. The switch is already underway in some international markets; it’s expected to be complete globally by 2025. “Making our toys out of renewable, recycled,…

Tesco Launches Loop Recycle Program in Stores

Good News Notes: “As British grocery store chain Tesco continues to grow its sustainability program, it has implemented a zero-waste packaging system at 10 of its stores in England. The Tesco program offered by TerraCycle’s reusable packaging platform Loop will include 88 products. The grocer says if the program is successful with consumers, packaging could…

Amazon plans to cut waste following backlash

Good News Notes: “Amazon has launched two programs as part of an effort to give products a second life when they get returned to businesses that sell items on its platform or fail to get sold in the first place. The so-called Fulfilment by Amazon programs, announced in a blog post on Wednesday, will help to build a circular…

Nova Innovation and SABELLA team up on tidal energy

Good News Notes: “The collaboration will accelerate development of tidal energy sites for both Scottish and French companies, combining expertise to drive rapid scale-up of installed capacity in the tidal energy sector in both the UK and France. The alliance will include co-operation across French and UK sites, driving down costs, catalysing opportunities for funding,…

PowerZ raises $8.3 million for its video game focused on education

Good News Notes: “French startup PowerZ has raised another $8.3 million (€7 million at today’s exchange rate) including $1.2 million (€1 million) in debt — the rest is a traditional equity round. The company is both an edtech startup and a video game studio with an ambitious goal — it wants to build a game that is…

Orbital Marine Power of Scotland is pursuing ocean energy technologies.

Good News Notes: “Scotland is the source of many great exports: scotch (of course), Gordon Ramsay, and the Young brothers of iconic rock group AC/DC. Its next gift to the world might be a way to harness renewable energy from the ocean. In April, Scottish-based Orbital Marine Power launched the O2, the world’s most powerful tidal turbine, to…

Turning tree bark and compost into aircraft wings and plastic bags

Good News Notes: “Trees, crops and even organic waste can be transformed into a bewildering array of plastics to use in products ranging from single-use bags to heavy-duty airplane wings. These so-called biopolymers could play a vital role in weaning us off petroleum plastics—which will help cut greenhouse gas emissions, and ensure plastics come from…