Food waste has fallen by seven per cent per person in three years, according to new data from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

The Malaysian Government has announced that it has returned 150 shipping containers of illegally imported plastic waste to their countries of origin, including the UK.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has reintroduced the Agriculture Bill to Parliament, with soil quality at the heart of a new land management system that rewards farmers for environmental protection.

The government has today (16th January) launched a new task force to crack down on waste crime, which costs the UK economy at least £600 million a year.

The Javelin Park energy-from-waste (EfW) facility is now fully operational, accepting up to 190,000 tonnes of residual waste and producing over 116,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity each year.

The Environment Agency’s packaging producer responsibility monitoring plan 2020 has dropped its planned number of site inspections of accredited operators to 110 from 160 in 2019.

The government has released a wide-ranging briefing paper on plastic waste ahead of the return of the Environment Bill, expected at the end of the month.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has approved the fifth phase of its Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS) for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), which will see large retailers operate in-store take-back schemes from 2021.

The Queen’s Speech has outlined the new government’s agenda for the coming year in the State Opening of Parliament, which includes banning the export of plastic waste to non-OECD countries and creating a ‘world-leading’ environmental watchdog.

Paul Vanston, CEO of the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN), calls on the resources and waste industry to be bold in its actions to combat climate change and advance the circular economy in 2020.