A young boy has been hospitalised and remains in a critical condition in Belfast after coming into contact with hazardous waste that had been dumped on a bonfire.

The EU’s main institutions will meet to discuss Circular Economy legislation for the first time next Tuesday after the European Council agreed a negotiating mandate that is believed to contain a 60 per cent recycling target for 2030.

South Northamptonshire Council has launched the ‘MetalMatters’ recycling campaign across the district to encourage residents to recycle more of their metal packaging.

The Conservative Party has reiterated plans for a 25-year environment plan and pledged to support better packaging and rubbish collection in a pre-election manifesto lacking any depth on resources or their management.

The Liberal Democrats have promised to support the transition to a circular economy, pledging to introduce a Zero-Waste Act and a 70 per cent statutory waste recycling target for England in their manifesto.

Shipbreaking must take place in safe recycling facilities after at least 52 workers lost their lives preparing vessels for recycling in 2016, according to the NGO Shipbreaking Platform’s annual report.

New York’s Department of Sanitation has announced its decision to reinstate a ban on the use of expanded polystyrene by food establishments, two years after the original ban was overturned.

The UK is one of a number of EU member states refusing to publically back ambitious recycling and reuse proposals ahead of final negotiations in the European Council.

The introduction of a bottle deposit scheme to fight plastic waste and a new Environmental Protection Act are among the key priorities of the Green Party in the upcoming election.

Tesco’s Annual Report has revealed that the retailer sent 148 per cent more surplus food to community schemes last year, but that food waste across its stores also rose by almost 10 per cent.