The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that it will be extending the plastic bag charge in England to all retailers from April 2021 as part of its ‘war on plastic waste’.

The Environment Agency (EA) has announced that it will be increasing storage limits at waste transfer stations under its new standard rules permits, with details revealed in a consultation response document on Monday (24 August).

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Plastics Pact network has expanded into the US, with a new national Plastics Pact launching on Tuesday (25 August).

Eunomia Research and Consulting has announced that it will be providing technical support to Zero Waste Scotland and the National Bed Federation (NBF) on a project to assess extended producer responsibility (EPR) approach to improve mattress circularity in Scotland.

Kent Resource Partnership (KRP) has written to the Magistrates Association to call for stronger punishment for fly-tippers after the county spent £1 million cleaning up dumped waste and carrying out investigations.

Waste management company Veolia has retained its recycling and waste services contracts in East Kent, with a new green fleet of vehicles and rationalised collection routes to reduce carbon emissions.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is to consult on a revised Waste Management Plan for England, though it is not currently proposing any new policies.

The coronavirus pandemic means Earth Overshoot Day has fallen just under a month later than last year, and Global Footprint Network has developed new solutions to continue to #MoveTheDate.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is set to introduce legally-binding targets for waste and other environmental issue areas as part of the government’s Environment Bill.

The UK’s municipal recycling rate continues to sit well below those of leading European recycling nations such as Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, according to municipal waste data from Eurostat, although its recycling rate has improved slightly.