Majority of EU consultation respondents want single-use plastics rules to cover more products. More than half the respondents to the European Commission’s public consultation on the Single-Use Plastics Directive consider its product scope insufficient, with tobacco filters cited as the most commonly encountered litter item by 40 per cent of those who responded.
The consultation, which ran from December 2025 to March 2026, received 447 responses from citizens, businesses, NGOs and public authorities. A fifth of respondents specifically called for additional measures or bans on tobacco filters, the single most frequent demand in the open-text answers. Nearly two-thirds reported seeing banned single-use plastic items still available through online marketplaces and retail.
Nine in 10 respondents considered EU-level action on single-use plastics important or very important, and 75 per cent said member states could not address the issue better individually. The results will feed into the Commission’s formal evaluation of the Directive, due by July 2027.
The UK processed 4.013 million tonnes of waste wood in 2025, 89 per cent of the total generated, according to annual statistics from the Wood Recyclers' Association. The figure is down 7.3 per cent on 2024 after unplanned outages at end-use plants created oversupply and squeezed storage.
recell.store, the Altilium-owned marketplace for used EV batteries, has partnered with testing firm ClearWatt to offer battery health assessments to salvage yards and dismantlers. A pilot will use ClearWatt's EV Flash Test to generate independent health data supporting marketplace transactions.
Packaging firm Pact Group has invested in Plan B Circular, the UK textile-to-textile polyester recycler behind Project Re:claim, its joint venture with the Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL). The deal aims to scale polyester recycling ahead of EU legislation expected in 2028.