The plant produced its first batch of TACOIL, a circular alternative to fossil-based feedstocks, earlier this year. The recycled oil is processed at TotalEnergies' petrochemical sites to produce plastics suitable for food-contact packaging and medical-grade applications.

Plastic Energy's technology is already in commercial use at two plants in Spain. Currently, less than 30 per cent of the roughly 32 million tonnes of plastic waste generated in Europe each year is currently recycled.

According to WRAP, 80 per cent of households put recyclable items in with general waste each week, with 2.3 billion recyclable items binned annually across the UK. From 31 March, local authorities in England will begin collecting a core set of materials including plastic pots, tubs and trays, cartons, metal packaging, glass and food waste under the Simpler Recycling reforms.

Jennifer Brittlebank, area environment manager at the Environment Agency, said the agency had "made significant progress" in its investigation. The Joint Unit for Waste Crime and Merseyside Police are also involved. The arrests come as the government prepares to release its Waste Crime Action Plan this week, which includes proposed penalty points on driving licences for fly-tipping convictions and new enforcement powers for the Environment Agency.

Recycled Content draws on material from the main Talking Rubbish show, which launched in August 2024 and has since been recognised by The Guardian as "eye-opening stuff and only rarely dry" and featured in Radio Times' "Pick of the Best Audio on Demand." The spinoff covers topics including wet wipes, nappies, electrical items and Christmas tree recycling, and is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. Ecosurety sponsors the series.

The applications span Cadent's network area, with 17 in the East of England, 13 in the East Midlands, five in the West Midlands and three in the North West. Under the new model, developers can receive up to £2 million towards reinforcement costs per connection, with any costs above that shared between projects in a local cluster. The approach replaces the previous "first-connector pays" arrangement, which required the first developer to fund the full cost of network upgrades.

Cadent already has 47 biomethane sites connected to its networks, delivering 4 TWh of energy. It is aiming to grow this to 20 TWh by 2035.

The system, developed for automotive tier suppliers in Iberia, comprises a recyclable box pallet folding system with corrugated positioners to secure heavy chassis parts during production, assembly and transport. DS Smith says it is intended as a contingency option when supply chain disruptions prevent returnable metal containers from circulating back to suppliers on time, allowing operational continuity until normal flows resume.

The packaging won a Liderpack Award in 2023 and a WorldStar Global Packaging Award in the transit category in 2024, for its work with Gestamp Metalbages, part of the Gestamp automotive group.

Gover has more than 30 years of leadership experience across the resource and sustainability sectors. Most recently he served as director of the Minderoo Foundation's Plastics Initiative, leading teams across Australia, Asia and Europe focused on tackling plastic pollution. He is already a CIWM trustee and a member of its Policy and Innovation Forum.

Vicki Hughes will take over as CIWM president from David Greenfield at the same inauguration, and Emma Copley will succeed Charlotte Davies as the institution's early careers president.

The three organisations have submitted separate position papers outlining reservations about the draft delegated regulation under the EU's Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation. They want the use of organic soil improvers and organic fertilisers recognised as an eligible agricultural practice, citing the climate mitigation benefits of regular application to soil.

The Commission opened its consultation on the draft certification methodology in January 2026, with feedback closing in February. The ECN said it welcomed the inclusion of organic soil improvers as an eligible practice but raised concerns about specific elements of the draft.