UK waste management companies are working up contingency plans to ensure that they are able to continue to provide waste services and keep their operatives safe during the coronavirus outbreak.

Veolia and the trade union Unite have reached a settlement over unpaid holiday pay to refuse workers in Tower Hamlets to ensure streets are clean during the coronavirus crisis.

The Environmental Services Association (ESA) has welcomed the government’s “pragmatic” decision to suspend MOT testing for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), including refuse collection vehicles, for three months during the coronavirus outbreak.

Waste sector workers should be designated as “key workers” so that they can gain access to childcare and continue to perform vital waste service roles during the coronavirus outbreak, says the Environmental Services Association.

Derby City Council has announced that it will be suspending its garden and food waste collections in light of the coronavirus outbreak, with general waste and dry recycling collections expected to be disrupted in the ‘coming weeks and months’.

The Scottish Government has delayed its deposit return scheme (DRS) until July 2022 amid concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic.

Local authority waste services would likely be stripped back in the event of mass illness amongst waste collection staff caused by coronavirus, but services are well prepared for eventual disruption, says Lee Marshall, CEO of LARAC.

As the coronavirus outbreak causes huge disruption, Robbie Staniforth, Head of Policy at Ecosurety, explores what this might mean for producer responsibility requirements in the coming year.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has expanded the scope of its Food Waste Reduction Roadmap to provide growers with advice on food surplus and waste on farms.

European container glass federation FEVE has announced an industry-wide project to build the first large-scale hybrid electric furnace that will run on 80 per cent renewable energy.