Welsh environmental regulator Natural Resources Wales has announced that Clare Pillman will take over as its next Chief Executive in February.

Northern Ireland has seen its recycling rate break the 50 per cent mark for the first time, according to the latest DAERA statistics.

The Environment Minister Therese Coffey has announced plans to almost double the maximum fines for littering to claw back some of the £800 million paid every year by the taxpayer.

Up to 27 million tonnes of waste from industry could be better utilised through biorefining in Scotland every year, with the potential to add millions of pounds of value to Scotland’s economy, says a new Zero Waste Scotland report.

Leading figures in local authority recycling have called for producers to contribute more to recycling the products they put onto market at a panel conducted by the Environmental Audit Committee.

Defra has opened up a consultation for WEEE stakeholders to give their feedback on proposals for this year’s compliance fee, with two mechanisms from the JTA and Valpak up for discussion.

A response to the ‘urgent problem’ of Chinese restrictions on imports of paper and plastic wastes will need to focus on quality and markets, WRAP CEO Marcus Gover has told trade associations and Defra in an open letter.

The government has responded to EFRA’s ‘Food Waste in England’ report and acknowledges that while more needs to be done to tackle food waste, a mandatory approach is not currently being considered for England.

The UK government has targeted zero avoidable waste going to landfill by 2050 and confirmed plans for a Waste and Resources Strategy in its long-awaited Clean Growth Strategy yesterday, detailing its plans for a low-carbon future for the UK.

Resources Minister Therese Coffey says ‘ambitious’ recycling targets proposed by the EU could lead to ‘perverse actions’ being carried out to ensure enough waste is recycled, suggesting that Defra considered instructing residents to water their gardens to produce garden waste during this year’s relatively dry summer.