Since the five pence charge was introduced in 2015, single-use plastic bag sales by the seven biggest retailers in England have fallen by 90 per cent, according to new figures from Defra.

Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council appear to be seeking an end to their waste treatment contract with Resource Recovery Solutions as the company has failed to deliver on its management of the controversial Sinfin incinerator.

A new report from Imperial College London recommends that the tax on plastic packaging should be set at £150 per tonne in order to incentivise producers to include more recycled content in their products.

A forthcoming deposit return scheme could save 31,000 plastic bottles from littering Scotland’s streets, according to new figures from Zero Waste Scotland.

On 29 July we have already used up the amount of natural resources that the world can regenerate within a year, the earliest date yet.

The Environment Agency has said it intends to launch a ‘formal investigation’ over a cargo of contaminated waste that was exported from the UK to the Sri Lankan port of Colombo.

Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Alupro, the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation, gets his teeth into the issues surrounding deposit return schemes and their impact on aluminium can recycling.

Theresa Villiers will replace Michael Gove Environment Secretary after Boris Johnson’s extensive cabinet reshuffle following his confirmation as the UK’s next prime minister.

Zero Waste Scotland has released £500,000 of funding for projects that aim to tackle the blight of single-use plastic items in Scotland.

Defra’s response to the resources and waste consultations confirm that big changes will be on the cards for 2023, with a deposit return scheme, extended producer responsibility regime and consistency of collections all proposed for introduction by then.