The government has told local authorities that there will be no flexibility in the recyclable materials that they will be required to collect from households under collections consistency plans, but there may be room for manoeuvre on how those materials are collected.
Behaviour change company Greenredeem has called on Defra to reconsider its plans to roll out a deposit return scheme (DRS) for single-use beverage containers and invest instead in convenient recycling solutions that create ‘sustained behaviour change’.
Resource management company Viridor has announced it will work with Spanish chemical recycler Plastic Energy to return up to 30,000 tonnes of end of life plastic waste to the economy each year.
The plastics export sector has urged the government to increase financial support for companies, amid concerns over the impact of Covid-19 on supply chain operations.
A ‘feeling of uncertainty’ is permeating the European plastics recycling industry owing to the impact of Covid-19 on the market, according to the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), with a mixed picture emerging for other recycling industries.
A new study released last week (8 May) supported by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) suggests that regulatory barriers and technological ‘lock-in’ are hampering plastic packaging recycling efforts.
Almost half of councils have plans to reopen their Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) within the next two weeks, according to the latest Covid-19 local authority impacts survey, while recycling collections have experienced a slight increase in disruption.
The Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) has found evidence that some householders have been disposing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) through their household recycling.
Garden and bulky waste services remain disrupted and more Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) close while core collections services continue to be maintained, according to the latest Covid-19 local authority impacts survey.
Robert Jenrick, the Secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has said that local authorities will be asked to “plan the organised opening” of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in the coming weeks.
Local authorities are planning for a “controlled and consistent” reopening of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) once the government publishes its strategy for exiting the Covid-19 lockdown, according to the latest ADEPT local authority impact survey.
Sustainable polymer company Aquapak has donated 46,500 water-soluble infection control laundry bags to frontline NHS health and social care workers to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the workplace.
Cardiff Council has urged residents to continue to separate recyclables at the kerbside despite announcing it had taken the “temporary measure” to send recyclables for incineration during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Waste management company Viridor will host a virtual exhibition this week consulting the local community on its plans to build a plastics reprocessing plant in Dunbar, Scotland.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has decided to postpone the ban on plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers until later this year due to supply chain difficulties caused by the pandemic.
Local authorities have reported large increases in household waste arisings during the Covid-19 outbreak and huge falls in commercial waste arisings, according to an ADEPT survey.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has released guidance to local authorities on prioritising waste collection services during the coronavirus outbreak.
