PHS Group has unveiled a new facility in the West Midlands that turns absorbent hygiene products like nappies and tampons into fuel.

Following updated guidance suggesting black plastic be added to ‘not recycled’ lists, the BBC magazine programme has taken a look at the difficulty in sorting such plastic trays, as well as a potential solution.

The European Parliament has voted to take on proposals to raise the European recycling target to 70 per cent by 2030 and to determine a single calculation method for recycling rates ahead of negotiations for the EU’s Circular Economy Package.

A round-up of some of the more unusual stories coming out of the waste and resources world...

The impact of disposable drinks packaging on the environment is to be investigated by MPs after the growth of high profile campaigns against takeaway coffee cups and plastic bottles.

The United Nations has launched a global campaign, #CleanSeas, to eliminate the major sources of marine litter by 2022, calling on governments, industry and consumers to take action.

China has established a year-long crackdown on the illegal smuggling of foreign waste, as it also continues to reject poorly-sorted legitimate shipments, sending 160 containers of contaminated paper recycling back to Ireland.

The growing campaign to introduce a deposit-return scheme for bottles in the UK has gained more momentum after beverage giant Coca-Cola announced its support for a Scottish trial after years of opposition.

SUEZ, one of the country’s largest waste management companies, has backed a deposit-return scheme, after reports emerged this week that officials at the Defra had said it was ‘unlikely’ that such a system would be considered as part of a forthcoming national litter strategy.

Officials from Defra have played down the possibility of introducing a deposit-return scheme for plastic bottles as part of its new litter strategy for England, according to reports.