A round-up of news from the waste and resources sector, including the Welsh recycling rate, cardboard at Lord’s and a Reconomy acquisition.

The National Federation of Retail Newsagents have asked Rory Stewart to consider including small businesses in the carrier bag charge.

Refuse workers employed in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk by Kier are considering strike action over ‘unreasonable and irrelevant demands on the workforce’.

Household plastic packaging recycling rates rose by six per cent in 2014/15, according to RECOUP.

Fixed penalty notices for fly-tippers will be introduced in England ‘at the earliest opportunity’ following a government consultation into waste crime enforcement.

Halton Borough Council has announced that it will end its recycling reward scheme from 1 November.

The European Commission’s Circular Economy Package will be released on 2 December, according to a senior official.

Scotland is to be set a formal food waste reduction target, Scottish Environment Minister Richard Lochhead has said.

Keep Britain Tidy’s Bin it for Good scheme has seen litter in central Birmingham decrease by almost a third.

Environment Secretary Liz Truss vowed to ‘crack down on waste cowboys’, while Resources Minister Rory Stewart has called for more consistency in collections.