The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has urged local authorities to keep their Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) open during the Covid-19 outbreak to allow people to dispose of their bulky waste.

Local authorities have reported large increases in household waste arisings during the Covid-19 outbreak and huge falls in commercial waste arisings, according to an ADEPT survey.

The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) is pressing households to think of waste worker safety and reminding them not to throw WEEE in the bin during the coronavirus outbreak.

With waste operatives across the country going the extra mile during the Covid-19 crisis to keep waste and recycling collections going, residents have been making their appreciation felt for all their hard work.

Waste operatives belonging to the trade union Unite working for Biffa Waste Services in Wirral have staged a walkout over Covid-19 safety concerns, with the waste management company refuting claims that it had failed to take work safety seriously.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has released guidance to local authorities on prioritising waste collection services during the coronavirus outbreak.

The Environment Agency (EA) has announced that waste storage limits on permitted waste sites can be ‘temporarily’ exceeded if Covid-19 restrictions mean that waste cannot be removed from those sites.

The government has announced grant funding of £3.25 million to be made available to food redistribution organisations to ensure surplus food can reach those in need during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The first results from an ADEPT online survey for English local authorities to establish the impact of Covid-19 on waste and recycling services show the majority of services are continuing, but certain services such as garden and bulky waste collections have been hard hit.

The Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum has published its finalised guidance on reducing the risk of Covid-19 in the waste management sector.