A new initiative to help SMEs in Edinburgh identify and maximise circular economy opportunities has been launched today in a joint endeavour by Zero Waste Scotland and the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.

A new independent environmental body will hold the government to account for the environmental outcomes of its policies following the UK’s departure from the EU, Defra has announced.

Following on from proposed bans on plastic straws, drinks stirrers and cotton buds, the UK government has revealed that wet wipes could be the next single-use product in the firing line.

The Welsh Government wants to make it easier to access free drinking water across the country to reduce the consumption of single-use plastics, while an extra £15 million of funding will be allocated to local authorities to boost recycling rates.

Continued uncertainty over what the UK’s departure from the EU will mean in practice are seriously impeding the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) preparations for Brexit, according to a new report by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Northern Ireland’s recycling rate for the last three months of 2017 has jumped to 47.1 per cent, an increase of five points on the same period in 2016, which Daera attributes to new food waste regulations.

A new campaign by food redistribution charity FareShare wants the government to set up a £15 million fund to cover the costs of getting surplus food to those in need.

The announcement this morning (28 March) of plans to introduce a deposit return scheme for drinks containers in England has been hailed as a victory by plastics pollution campaigners, though many within the waste and resources industry have called for caution regarding implementation.

The maximum on-the-spot fine for littering and graffiti has been almost doubled from £80 to £150 as the government cracks down on this anti-social and environmentally damaging behaviour.

Waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) compliance scheme for the lighting industry Recolight has welcomed Defra’s higher national target for waste lamp recycling in 2018.