Activities regarding waste and resources will be brought “somewhat to a pause” following Tuesday’s announcement of a snap election, Resources Minister Therese Coffey admitted yesterday at a session of the EFRA Committee.

The government has completed the sale of the UK Green Investment Bank to controversial Australian investment firm Macquarie Group in a £2.3 billion deal.

MEPs have called on the EU to step up its actions on fighting food waste, unanimously agreeing proposals around making redistribution of surplus food easier and imposing labelling improvements on products.

Introducing a deposit-return scheme for plastic bottles in the UK would damage the efficiency of council collections and require a new collection infrastructure to be introduced, according to LARAC.

The UK’s planning authorities must be more flexible towards the waste sector if the benefits of a circular economy are to be realised, according to the ESA.

Defra says that it is ‘committed’ to publishing its long-term environmental plan after a leaked draft of the long-awaited document was criticised by environmental groups amid rumours it may never see the light of day.

The government’s new Litter Strategy for England has been widely well-received, though some concerns about funding, the role of EPR and implications on waste management have been voiced.

Litterers could be fined up to £150 and councils stopped from charging householders for disposing DIY household waste at recycling centres as part of the government’s new and long-anticipated litter strategy for England.

North London Waste Authority has responded to government’s draft industrial strategy, pointing out that it makes no mention of waste, the circular economy or society’s need to manage physical resources better.

The British Plastics Federation Recycling Group (BPFRG) has launched a new strategy with the aim of improving plastic recycling in the UK, retaining valuable material and creating UK-based jobs through industry-led initiatives and regulation.