The risk posed to the waste and resources sector by Brexit has increased over the last few months, with the UK falling further behind EU standards and ambition, according to Greener UK’s latest Brexit Risk Tracker.

Chinese customs authorities have intercepted over 500,000 tonnes of illegal waste under the ‘Blue Sky 2020’ campaign and plan to continue the crackdown on illicit domestic and foreign waste imports.

Waste management company Viridor has re-won the contract to process Ealing Council’s dry mixed recycling, worth £10 million.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN) are working with packaging compliance company Valpak to update the PackFlow material reports in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cafes, restaurants and bars are being encouraged by a new campaign to accept customer reusable cups when they reopen.

The government has told local authorities that there will be no flexibility in the recyclable materials that they will be required to collect from households under collections consistency plans, but there may be room for manoeuvre on how those materials are collected.

Weekly kerbside collections for recyclables and food waste will resume service from 1 June, Cardiff City Council has announced.

Almost half of councils have plans to reopen their Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) within the next two weeks, according to the latest Covid-19 local authority impacts survey, while recycling collections have experienced a slight increase in disruption.

The Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) has found evidence that some householders have been disposing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) through their household recycling.

Garden and bulky waste services remain disrupted and more Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) close while core collections services continue to be maintained, according to the latest Covid-19 local authority impacts survey.