Robert Jenrick, the Secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has said that local authorities will be asked to “plan the organised opening” of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in the coming weeks.

Plastic waste reprocessor Recycling Technologies announced yesterday (22 April) that the Netherlands will be the location of its first site in Europe.

Local authorities are planning for a “controlled and consistent” reopening of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) once the government publishes its strategy for exiting the Covid-19 lockdown, according to the latest ADEPT local authority impact survey.

Sustainable polymer company Aquapak has donated 46,500 water-soluble infection control laundry bags to frontline NHS health and social care workers to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the workplace.

Cardiff Council has urged residents to continue to separate recyclables at the kerbside despite announcing it had taken the “temporary measure” to send recyclables for incineration during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Waste management company Viridor will host a virtual exhibition this week consulting the local community on its plans to build a plastics reprocessing plant in Dunbar, Scotland.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has decided to postpone the ban on plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers until later this year due to supply chain difficulties caused by the pandemic.

Local authorities have reported large increases in household waste arisings during the Covid-19 outbreak and huge falls in commercial waste arisings, according to an ADEPT survey.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has released guidance to local authorities on prioritising waste collection services during the coronavirus outbreak.

The first results from an ADEPT online survey for English local authorities to establish the impact of Covid-19 on waste and recycling services show the majority of services are continuing, but certain services such as garden and bulky waste collections have been hard hit.