The UK’s municipal recycling rate continues to sit well below those of leading European recycling nations such as Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, according to municipal waste data from Eurostat, although its recycling rate has improved slightly.

A round-up of news from the waste and resources industry, including Biffa, First Mile, J&B Recycling, Recycling Technologies and Fulcrum.

Glass recycling company Recresco has reiterated concerns from the glass industry over the mooted ‘all-in’ UK deposit return scheme (DRS) for beverage containers, warning it could have a “negative rather than a positive impact” on the UK recycling.

The Chinese Government is set to ban all imports of solid waste from 2021, the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has learned.

85 per cent of Brits believe that food packaging should be compostable, with two thirds of those asked agreeing that the food industry should lead the move towards compostable packaging, according to the results of a new Populus poll released today (8 July).

The latest figures released by the Health and Safety Executive show that there were five fatal injuries in the waste and recycling sector in 2019/20.

The Environmental Services Association (ESA) has expressed concerns over a lack of permitting capacity at the Environment Agency (EA) in response to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement of a significant infrastructure investment in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

38 of the UK’s largest meat producers and retailers have signed a pledge to halve the amount of meat that goes to waste in the UK each year by 2030.

Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has launched a consultation on the future of recycling in the country as it seeks to reach a 65 per cent recycling rate by 2035.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has urged the government to accelerate the transition to a circular economy as part of a Covid-19 recovery plan that prioritises the climate crisis, reiterating its call for a ban on biodegradable waste to landfill by 2025.