Conwy County Borough Council has announced that it is set to implement a four-weekly black bin collection across the county, following a trial of the change carried out last year.

Co-op will be the first UK retailer to roll out 100 per cent biodegradable, plastic-free tea bags in its own-brand Fairtrade 99 range of tea.

With the release of the Global Circularity Report claiming only nine per cent of the world’s resources are cycled back into the economy after use, the circular economy is front and centre at this year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

Five recyclable and compostable packaging innovations will share $1 million of funding after being announced as the winners of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Materials Challenge in Davos, Switzerland, designed to finding alternatives to plastic packaging.

New public water fountains and bottle refill points are set to be set up across London, part of Mayor Sadiq Khan’s campaign against single-use plastic waste.

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.

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.

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.

Scottish Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham proposes a ban on the sale and manufacture of plastic-stemmed cotton buds.