The maximum on-the-spot fine for littering and graffiti has been almost doubled from £80 to £150 as the government cracks down on this anti-social and environmentally damaging behaviour.

The Environment Agency (EA) will be providing waste enforcement officers with body cameras to tackle incidents of abuse as a new raft of waste crime powers comes into force.

Refuse collectors in Slough could be balloted on potential strike action following the suspension of a senior steward over a dispute about where workers are allowed to eat their lunch.

Procurement process begins to find new contractor to deliver Somerset’s ‘Recycle More’ model to the county’s 250,000 households.

The government has launched a public consultation on new stronger guidance for councils regarding the ‘proportionate and effective’ use of penalties for littering.

A new policy paper from LARAC, released today (11 April), calls on the government to introduce direct charging for household waste collections and PRN reform to increase recycling and tackle the funding crisis crippling UK local authorities.

The ESA has launched a campaign to promote the use of outsourcing by councils as a way to make cost savings and drive innovation in waste service delivery.

Strike action involving 65 waste workers in Thurrock council has been called off after the management made concessions on the use of ‘big brother style’ cameras.

The cost of contaminated recycling has been brought into sharp relief by Suffolk County Council, which has reported losses of £550,000 a year due to people putting recycling in the wrong bins.

Waste workers employed by Thurrock council are set to strike from 12 April in a dispute caused by what has been dubbed the ‘rubbish management’ of the council’s waste collection service.