Waste management company Biffa has received planning approval from Durham County  Council to build a new £15-million plastic recycling facility near the town of Seaham.

UK retailer Iceland has introduced the first in-store reverse vending machine in Northern Ireland as it continues its efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of single-use plastics on the environment.

A £1-million fund is on offer from Waitrose & Partners, with support from behaviour change charity Hubbub, for projects aiming to reduce plastic pollution.

Critics have panned the BBC’s coverage of the controversial material, which the EU is in the process of restricting, with naturalist Chris Packham failing to declare his paid position as adviser with an oxo-plastics company during a televised discussion on the material.

The Confederation of Paper Industries has launched OUR PAPER, a new initiative supporting councils to improve the quality and quantity of paper and card separately collected for recycling.

Recycling company TerraCycle and some of the world’s biggest household brands have launched Loop, an online shopping platform where products are sold in reusable packaging,

The French Government is set to introduce new rules obligating online marketplaces, such as Amazon, to ensure that the collection and recycling of waste arising from products sold through their sites is properly financed.

The European Recycling Platform UK (ERP UK) has become the latest company to join the expanding membership of the On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) scheme as it seeks to boost consumer engagement in recycling and boost recycling rates.

More than 25 international companies, including Shell, Veolia, Suez and Procter & Gamble, have launched a new partnership to tackle plastic waste.

The Guardian has become the first national newspaper to be delivered in a compostable wrapper, but there is confusion over whether the material can be disposed of in food waste bins.