A group of 119 experts and scientists have signed a statement reassuring the public that reusable containers are safe to use during the Covid-19 pandemic, provided hygiene measures are followed.

Enforcement undertakings accepted by the Environment Agency (EA) for breaches of environmental regulations have totalled £1.65 million for the past six months.

The risk posed to the waste and resources sector by Brexit has increased over the last few months, with the UK falling further behind EU standards and ambition, according to Greener UK’s latest Brexit Risk Tracker.

Garden waste collections may be made free by the passing of the Environment Bill to improve consistency in recycling, says Environment Secretary George Eustice.

Plans to include fuels made from non-renewable materials in the EU’s renewable energy plans could undermine recycling progress, according to a new policy briefing by Zero Waste Europe, Bellona Europe and Rethink Plastic.

Most classes of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the UK must now be classed as hazardous waste or containing persistent organic pollutants (POPs) unless it can be proved otherwise, according to updated guidance by the Environment Agency (EA).

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced yesterday (8 June) that any methodology for calculating the 2020 waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) compliance fee will take the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic into account.

A coalition of trade organisations has written to the Environment Secretary George Eustice (1 June) pressing for a ‘total ban’ on oxodegradable plastics.

BBIA Managing Director David Newman looks at how Italy’s new EPR scheme for compostable packaging will work and what lessons it can provide the UK as it revises its packaging EPR system.

Environmental NGO Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) has called for the introduction of a Material Recovery and Biological Treatment (MRBT) system as a ‘bridge strategy’ for managing residual waste in a circular economy.