The EU has adopted the first ever Europe-wide plastics strategy, placing an emphasis on creating secondary markets for recycled plastics in its bid to create a truly circular economy in Europe.

With China’s ban on 24 types of plastic and paper waste in place from 1 January, and measures set to get stricter, the Environmental Audit Committee is calling for evidence on whether the UK is prepared for the impact.

The Environment Agency will be able to lock the gates at problem waste sites and force operators to clear all their waste under new waste crime powers to be introduced by the government this spring, while a consultation is considering further measures to take.

A community engagement project in South Bristol has vastly improved the area’s food waste recycling - by putting wheelie bins on a diet and turning food caddies into characters.

Scottish Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham proposes a ban on the sale and manufacture of plastic-stemmed cotton buds.

A new ‘holistic’ initiative to bring together producers, processors, governments and NGOs to transform the UK plastics system and tackle the problem of plastic pollution is being developed by WRAP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The UK waste and resources industry has largely welcomed the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, although calls remain for more substance to shore up the proposals.

The government’s war on plastic has been given top billing in its long-delayed 25 Year Environment Plan, with Theresa May calling for supermarket aisles to become 'plastic free' by 2042.

China’s ban on the import 24 grades of solid waste has been known to the UK recycling industry since July of last year, so how have the major companies been preparing for the disruptive new policy?

Effective from today, the UK’s ban on the manufacture of products containing microbeads is said by the government to be one of the ‘toughest’ bans of its kind in the world.