A round-up of news from the waste and resources sector, including fly-tipping punishments, departures at Viridor and a new food waste strategy in Peterborough.

The European Commission is working on an energy-from-waste communication that will address how the process can be optimised without compromising higher reuse and recycling rates, says European Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella.

A ban on single-use plastic bags in France will create around 6,000 jobs in the country’s bio-based industries, says Minister of Ecology Ségolène Royal.

Northern Irish businesses are now required to separate and recycle food waste after a new law came into effect last week.

SUEZ’s Recycling and Recovery UK division has selected Bulk Handling Systems to design, engineer, manufacture and install two materials recovery facilities in Aberdeen.

The European Investment Bank has been criticised by anti-incineration groups for its financial support of a Viridor-owned incinerator in Cardiff.

Residents of the European Union generated 475 kilogrammes per person in 2014, 44 per cent of which was recycled or composted, according to a report published yesterday (30 March) by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.

The Environmental Regulation team responsible for WEEE and ELV regulations is to transfer from BIS to Defra from 1 April.

England’s household recycling rate dropped 0.7 per cent last year, the first recorded fall in England’s annual rate since records began in 2000/2001.

An independent review of the Welsh Government’s guidance on waste and recycling collections has found it is still the best model for Welsh local authorities to follow.