A poll commissioned by environmental charity VOICE has revealed that almost 90 per cent of Ireland’s population is in favour of a deposit return scheme to include a wide range of drinks containers.

Unilever yesterday (20 October) announced the launch of a refill trial, as part of the opening of Asda’s first ‘sustainability store’.

In its largest investment the UK has made in plastic packaging recycling technologies, UKRI has boosted funding for recycling projects by £20 million.

CryptoCycle has launched a recycling app, Reward4Waste, making returning single-use packaging accessible and practical in the run up to a DRS being introduced into law.

The Scottish Government’s public consultation on single-use plastics, which opened yesterday (12 October), aims to ban the sale of single-use plastics.

In a deal worth around £468 million, waste-to-energy plant developer Wheelabrator is reportedly planning to sell four of its UK-based plants.

Defra’s announcement that it is now illegal for businesses to supply plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds to customers has been heavily criticised by environmental charities for not going far enough.

Plastic pollution campaign group City to Sea has today called the UK Government ban on plastic straws, cotton buds, and drink stirrers, “just a drop in a very plastic polluted ocean” and urged it to scale up its plans.

Latin America and the Caribbean must reconsider its economic model in order to fight the long-term impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new research paper by Chatham House.

OPRL hopes to reduce confusion and inconsistency with its new recyclability certification scheme, ‘Certified As Recyclable’, in collaboration with RECOUP.