The Quality Recognition Award winners were announced at the association’s Annual Lecture in London.

Ministers from the UK, Welsh and Scottish Governments, as well as officials from Northern Ireland, met on 6 July to discuss plans for a collective deposit return scheme for drinks containers that would operate in all nations of the UK.

The Scottish Government has launched a public consultation on a deposit return scheme (DRS) for Scotland to gather stakeholder opinions on how such a scheme for Scotland should work.

As well as promising 25 per cent recycled plastic in its own cars, Volvo has called on industry suppliers to collaborate for more sustainable practices.

Clarissa Morawski, Managing Director of Reloop, makes the case for deposit return schemes in the fight against plastic waste.

Parliament’s cross-party Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has launched a new inquiry into the sustainability of the fashion industry.

The government has announced a new £20-million Plastics Research and Innovation Fund to develop cutting-edge and circular approaches to plastics manufacturing in the UK.

The European Commission has proposed a full ban on some of the most commonly used and littered disposable plastic products in Europe, including single-use cutlery, plates, drinks stirrers, straws, cotton buds and sticks for balloons.

One of the UK’s key plastic bottle producers is set to use 51 per cent recycled content in all its bottles by September and wants to move to 100 per cent.

Six innovative bio-based products using materials including cellulose, soy beans and watermelon sugars are on the shortlist for the 2018 Bio-based Material of the Year award.