A round-up of news from the waste and resources sector, including the Environment Agency’s new CEO, Brighton Fashion Week and a new structure for Smurfit Kappa.

Officers from the Environment Agency took part in an operation in Lincolnshire on Wednesday in an attempt to identify illegal waste traders.

The American food industry has backed the US government’s first food waste target, in which it called for a 50 per cent reduction by 2030.

The Joint Trade Association has submitted a proposal to operate a waste electrical and electronic equipment compliance fee mechanism for 2015.

Broxbourne Borough Council will begin to roll out a new recycling system next week that introduces more separated materials after abandoning plans for a fully co-mingled system due to cost.

New Scottish MRF Code of Practice obligations have come into force, with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency vowing to encourage compliance through communication.

More than 13,000 jobs could be created in Northern Ireland by 2030 if the country moved to a ‘bolder, transformative’ circular economy, according to a report released today.

The Scottish household waste recycling rate rose to 42.8 per cent in 2014, according to statistics issued today by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

The Scottish Resources Conference, to be held next week, will seek to address the dual issues of food waste and the circular economy in Scotland.

Northern Ireland Environment Minister Mark H Durkan has called for a permanent task force to prompt a ‘significant gear change’ in tackling environmental crime.