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The plastic industry has produced enough garbage in its 67-year existence to bury Manhattan under two miles of the non-biodegradable trash, according to a study published in Science Advances. Unlike other materials, plastic is unable to break down. As a result, three-quarters of all plastic is not recycled, but sent to landfills. Roland Pease talks to Professor Roland Geyer, from the University of California.

An entrepreneur from Niger has created an irrigation system that allows farmers to control the watering of their crops from afar by simply using their cell phones. Click’s Sasha Gankin talks to Abdou Maman Kané about his tele-irrigation system.

Chimpanzees are very communicative animals, they tend to use gestures foremost with vocalisation just to emphasise the flick of a wrist or a stretch of the hand. In an attempt to get a grasp on why, and how, we humans made the shift from gesture-led communication to talking, we need to see how well we can decipher our ape relatives. A new online study called the 'Great Ape Dictionary' want you to have a go. Geoff Marsh talks to Kirsty Graham, from the University of St Andrews.

Could machines start to compete with humans in making complex and life-changing decisions, like those made by lawyers and judges? And more fundamentally: with our future liberty at stake, is the world ready to leave their fate in the hands of machines? Marnie Chesterton reports.

Should the free movement of data be the fifth freedom next to the already established freedoms of European citizens? Many argue that apart from lifting barriers, the EU has not yet maximised the growth potential of the data economy. Gareth Mitchell talks to Sandy Pentland at a digital data conference in Tallinn.

For life expectancy to rise, good health in childhood is crucial. In Ghana the government is tackling childhood malnutrition by giving pupils free meals at school – with the help of some new technology developed by Imperial College London. Thomas Naadi reports.

(Photo caption: Stack of plastic bottles for recycling against blue sky © Getty Images)

The Science Hour was presented by Gareth Mitchell with comments from ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Science Radio reporter, Bobbie Lakhera

Producer: Caroline Steel

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