Anders Wijkman, Chairman of Climate-KIC, and Novamont CEO Catia Bastioli say standards and separate collections rather than simply ‘recyclable’ materials will create a circular plastics economy.

Defra has opened up a consultation for WEEE stakeholders to give their feedback on proposals for this year’s compliance fee, with two mechanisms from the JTA and Valpak up for discussion.

A response to the ‘urgent problem’ of Chinese restrictions on imports of paper and plastic wastes will need to focus on quality and markets, WRAP CEO Marcus Gover has told trade associations and Defra in an open letter.

The government has responded to EFRA’s ‘Food Waste in England’ report and acknowledges that while more needs to be done to tackle food waste, a mandatory approach is not currently being considered for England.

Local waste management company Casepak has been awarded a contract to handle 64,000 tonnes of Leicestershire County Council’s dry mixed recyclables.

The UK government has targeted zero avoidable waste going to landfill by 2050 and confirmed plans for a Waste and Resources Strategy in its long-awaited Clean Growth Strategy yesterday, detailing its plans for a low-carbon future for the UK.

SUEZ and Unite have reached an agreement that will see SUEZ suspend its plans to serve compulsory redundancies to refuse workers for at least a year following successful negotiations.

As research shows a third of young North Londoners don’t recycle, a new campaign goes back to the future in order to ‘Save Our Stuff’.

Resources Minister Therese Coffey says ‘ambitious’ recycling targets proposed by the EU could lead to ‘perverse actions’ being carried out to ensure enough waste is recycled, suggesting that Defra considered instructing residents to water their gardens to produce garden waste during this year’s relatively dry summer.

McDonald’s, Starbucks and Greggs are among the 14 organisations that have committed to working towards a long-term and nationwide paper cup recycling solution, funding recycling programme run by ACE UK.