On this week's Earthbeat: Mexican flu to blame for Egypt's trash troubles; toxic metals leaking out of seemingly innocous roads around Europe; an attempt to find a free meal on the streets of Amsterdam; and a  DIY shop that meets your green building needs.

Listen to the full Programme:

Mexican flu to blame for Egypt's trash trouble
In a drastic measure to combat Mexican flu, almost the entire pig population in Egypt has been slaughtered. Though this hasn't done much to combat the epidemic, the absence of these sentient garbage disposal units has resulted in growing mounds of organic waste in cities
Listen to the report by Ursula Lindsey
top photo: Manual sorting of trash in Egypt, photo by emamd on flickr.com
 

Toxic metal residue in roads threatens to leak into the surrounding soil
A seemingly clever recycling idea turns sour as toxic zinc ash and slag used as cheap filling material in roads across Europe threatens to contaminate the surrounding soil. About 750 kilometres of road in Netherlands' beautiful 'De Kempen' region is suspect. A team of scientists from the UK have built a van that is at the moment slowly creeping along this strech to identify the worst affected patches so the soil below them may be removed. Waiting by the roadside to hop on to the van, Earthbeat's Thijs Westerbeek speaks to Shaun o'Hagan, one of the co-developers of the van.
Listen to the report by Thijs Westerbeek

Finding free food in Amsterdam
Artists and designers Cocky Eek and Theun Carelse are  interested in strategies for making city life a greener experience. One of their initiatives is urban edibles - a blog that plots edible wild food sources on a map of the city (http://urbanedibles.blogspot.com). Earthbeat's Medha takes up the challenge of finding a free meal in the city and goes on a foraging trip.
Listen to the report by Medha

A DIY shop that meets green building needs
Buildings account for 40% of all energy expenditure in the US and EU - this clearly shows that there is a room for improvement - and whether it is professional builders or amatuers there is much to be said for the need of using sustainable products. Environmentally conscious DIY enthusiasts in Amsterdam now have reason to cheer in the shape of an eco-friendly DIY store. Earthbeat's resident tech expert Thijs Westerbeek takes a tour.
Listen to the report by Thijs Westerbeek