Half of rural businesses are putting themselves at risk of prosecution for waste crimes because of a ‘fundamental lack of understanding of key legislation’, according to new research.

The impact of disposable drinks packaging on the environment is to be investigated by MPs after the growth of high profile campaigns against takeaway coffee cups and plastic bottles.

Local authorities in England spent £49.8 million clearing up illegally dumped waste in 2015/16, as the number of recorded cases continued its recent rise, according to new Defra stats.

Environmental officers have been deployed wearing body cameras in the London Borough of Wandsworth to help tackle littering as part of a new pilot project.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson says residents that alert the council of fly-tippers and those not recycling properly should be rewarded, even suggesting that whistleblowers should receive refunds on their council tax.

SUEZ, one of the country’s largest waste management companies, has backed a deposit-return scheme, after reports emerged this week that officials at the Defra had said it was ‘unlikely’ that such a system would be considered as part of a forthcoming national litter strategy.

A round-up of news from the waste and resources sector, including a new Director for Green Alliance, a refresh for Novelis’s ThinkCans site, new vehicles for FCC and Keep Britain Tidy Awards.

National anti-litter charity Keep Britain Tidy is campaigning to boost awareness of littering by bringing back well-known symbol, the Tidyman, sporting a new, updated look.

A new city-wide cigarette recycling programme has been launched in Davos to coincide with the World Economic Forum this week.

A round-up of news from the waste and resources sector including a skip firm’s lost licence, a jail warning for a ‘shameless’ Croydon fly-tipper and the Great British Spring Clean.