Leicester-based recycling and waste management firm Casepak has been awarded a 20,000 tonne recycling contract by Cherwell District and South Northamptonshire Council

The European plastics industry has responded positively to the release of the EU’s first Europe-wide plastics strategy, expressing support for improved EPR and the headline goal of ensuring that all plastic packaging is recyclable by 2030.

In the wake of the government’s commitment to eliminate ‘avoidable’ plastic waste by 2042, supermarket Iceland has promised to make its own-brand products plastic free within five years, and other retailers are offering pledges of their own.

A round-up of news from the waste and resources sector including an extended contract for Biffa, new offerings from suppliers Mick George, an update on the Midlothian EfW plant and a new acquisition by Enva Group.

The EU has adopted the first ever Europe-wide plastics strategy, placing an emphasis on creating secondary markets for recycled plastics in its bid to create a truly circular economy in Europe.

With China’s ban on 24 types of plastic and paper waste in place from 1 January, and measures set to get stricter, the Environmental Audit Committee is calling for evidence on whether the UK is prepared for the impact.

A community engagement project in South Bristol has vastly improved the area’s food waste recycling - by putting wheelie bins on a diet and turning food caddies into characters.

A new ‘holistic’ initiative to bring together producers, processors, governments and NGOs to transform the UK plastics system and tackle the problem of plastic pollution is being developed by WRAP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The UK waste and resources industry has largely welcomed the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, although calls remain for more substance to shore up the proposals.

The government’s war on plastic has been given top billing in its long-delayed 25 Year Environment Plan, with Theresa May calling for supermarket aisles to become 'plastic free' by 2042.