The world seems dark and grim. These 5 links are about bringing a little light. 💡

  1. Kiwi medical waste company succeeding in Australia but battling Pharmac | RNZ News:

    Now, a Kiwi company … is taking more than 50 types of single-use medical devices and giving them a second life.

    Canterbury-based Medsalv reckons it has so far saved more than half a million devices from landfills across Australia and New Zealand, throughout more than 90 hospitals.

    It collects the old devices, remanufactures them by inspecting, cleaning, testing and repackaging; and returns them.

    Along the way it's saving health care providers a lot of money, and creating jobs, many of them for people with barriers to employment.

    If the whole country got on board, one estimate suggests it could prevent 1700 tonnes of medical waste going to landfills a year - and generate $100 million in savings.

  2. Malala Yousafzai and Billie Jean King Partner Up To Promote Women’s Sports:

    International activist Malala Yousafzai recently announced a new venture called Recess that will deploy a partnership with tennis legend Billie Jean King to promote women’s sports across the world, including some planned investment in basketball’s WNBA and the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League). …

    Following her previous work in promoting equal educational opportunities across the world, Recess will strive to expand athletic opportunities to empower girls, and invest in women’s sports.

  3. Wimbledon Balls Become Homes for Tiny Mice:

    What happens to the 55,000 tennis balls used at Wimbledon every year?

    After the tournament wraps up, used balls are donated to the Wildlife Trusts, a grassroots movement of 46 independent charities working to bring back and support wildlife.

    The organisation transforms the balls into homes for one of the UK's smallest – and most vulnerable – animals: the harvest mouse.

  4. This is just a lovely story. Go read the whole thing — Andy was New Zealand's biggest milk tanker fan. He had a very special send off:

    Milk tankers were Andrew Oliver's favourite thing in the world. Local tanker drivers knew that Andy - as he was known - wouldn't go to bed until they had made their nightly visit to his parents' Te Rapa farm, near Hamilton.

    Fonterra changed its milk tanker schedule in the entire Te Rapa district of Hamilton so Andy would go to bed on time.

    Andrew Oliver was one of about eight people in the world living with Fryns-Aftimos syndrome and the only one in New Zealand to live with the condition. He was the longest surviving person with the syndrome, making it to the age of 41.

  5. Ducks Decide Town Center is Best Sleeping Spot So Humans Escort Them Safely to and From the River Daily:

    Volunteer ‘duck wardens’ are helping a group of mallards safely waddle across town after they chose a parking lot as the best place to roost with their ducklings.

    15 citizens have answered the duck call in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, rotating shifts to personally escort 20 birds to the town center every evening.