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'Holiday from Hell': Spring Break Fiji organisers could face legal ... (Stuff.co.nz)

Organisers of a “horror story” Spring Break Fiji trip which saw guests flee the island early could be taken to the Disputes Tribunal for breaching the ...

“That was around the time the person in the room next to us had to be taken off the island because of how sick he was,” Urquhart said. When I asked a crew member what Spring Break were going to do about that as everyone was becoming dehydrated, the crew member just shrugged and said there wasn’t anything they could do.” “This means it is required to exercise reasonable care and skill in providing services and not mislead customers (among other things). Bovey, Urquhart and Mulvaney alleged that multiple guests, themselves included, became unwell on the island. There was nothing organised for him on the plane either.” It's very hard to have fun when you can barely walk and are s….ing yourself and have no access to drinking water or anything to wash yourself in. “There was no tap water due to the power being off, so we were unable to shower or flush toilets,” Urquhart said. “The company covers all costs including flights, accommodation, transfers, meals, and they are provided with an island credit. Both Bovey and Urquhart said they hoped things would improve when they got to Beachcomber Island, but alleged that they went from bad to worse. She said the first red flag for her came on the boat ride to Beachcomber Island, when alcoholic drinks were available for sale but no food or water. There was no water on the ferry, only alcohol, so as you can imagine many people became sick.” Instead, she claimed it quickly became “the holiday from hell”, prompting her to leave on day three after suffering abdominal pain so severe she could barely walk.

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Breaking it down (Stuff.co.nz)

A trip to the garden centre is never simple for scientists Grant Northcott and Olga Pantos. Both are experts on the impact of microplastics and are well ...

We used to go to a garden centre where everything would be growing in wooden trays in the soil and they’d dig them out and put them in a bit of newspaper for you to take home.” “It was mainly large propagation trays and they can’t be recycled so just end up in the bin.” “The cost was quite eye-watering, but it was the only way of doing it without plastic, and that seemed like a good investment for us.” He promised to make her an old-fashioned one out of wood and glass, although won’t be drawn on exactly when that is likely to happen. She found some coir matting that was labelled as compostable but on closer inspection realised it was encased in a fine plastic mesh to hold it together. Nor do scientists understand enough about the impact of microplastics on our health, although they have been found in people’s lungs and blood, in breast milk and in the placentas of unborn babies. “But now there is research coming out showing that these plastics can affect the germination of seeds,” says Olga. “Or if you get a bit of wind coming through that will mobilise the microplastics, and they’ll fall and deposit on leafy vegetables,” says Grant. This isn’t news to Olga, a research scientist at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), or Grant, who is an environmental chemist. “Like pesticides, even if you wash the plant, some of it will remain.” From plant pots and seedling trays to bagged soil mixes and weedmats, every aisle is full of plastic destined to end up in landfill. A trip to the garden centre is never simple for scientists Grant Northcott and Olga Pantos.

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