UK Central Government

Gove: No deal solution for environmental governance is ‘sub-optimal’
Gove: No deal solution for environmental governance is ‘sub-optimal’

An Interim Secretariat made up of “16 full-time civil servants” will fill the environmental governance gap in the event of a no deal Brexit, a situation Environment Secretary Michael Gove has described as “sub-optimal”.


Gove, along with Resources Minister Therese Coffey, was giving evidence on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), which provides scrutiny of the environmental impact of government... More

All areas of environment at high risk of damage due to ‘no deal’ Brexit, says Greener UK
All areas of environment at high risk of damage due to ‘no deal’ Brexit, says Greener UK

Greener UK states that the ‘increasingly ominous prospect’ of leaving the EU without a deal ‘poses potentially dire consequences for the environment, in the short and longer term’ across all areas of environmental policy.

Aluminium recycling could double with new reforms, says Green Alliance
Aluminium recycling could double with new reforms, says Green Alliance

New reforms, including a deposit return scheme (DRS), could see aluminium recycling almost double if implemented, preventing around £50 million of wasted resources each year, according to a new report by environmental think tank Green Alliance.

EA sting discovers 11 illegal waste sites in Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire
EA sting discovers 11 illegal waste sites in Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire
By
Rob Cole
| 11 March 2019 |
The one-day operation last Thursday (7 March) discovered six sites where waste had been burned, three where construction and demolition waste had been stored, one that contained household waste and one that was operating as a scrapyard.
Julia Turner
An eye on the markets: Biomass market appeal
By
Julia Turner
| 7 March 2019 |
Julia Turner, Executive Director of the Wood Recyclers' Association, gives an update on the market for waste wood.
Hot 100 2019 winner Cat Fletcher
Hot 100 2019: Reuse champion Cat Fletcher named as 2019’s Legend of Waste
By
Kate Dickinson
| 7 March 2019 |
The top 10 in Resource’s annual list of influencers, the Hot 100, has been announced, with Cat Fletcher, Reuse Manager at Brighton and Hove City Council and co-founder of reuse network Freegle, taking the top spot.
Liverpool charities promote reuse and recycling
By
Kate Dickinson
| 5 March 2019 |
Reuse and recycling charities in Liverpool are boosting their communities with projects to keep electricals, textiles and other waste out of landfill.
Defra secures deal to roll over EU waste shipments notifications
Defra secures deal to roll over EU waste shipments notifications
By
Rob Cole
| 4 March 2019 |
An agreement has been reached by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to maintain 100 per cent of the UK’s notified waste shipments to the EU in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
WasteAid community recycling project in Kenya receives UK Aid funding
WasteAid community recycling project in Kenya receives UK Aid funding
By
Rob Cole
| 4 March 2019 |
Recycling charity WasteAid is set to establish a new recycling centre in Kenya after being awarded a grant from UK Aid Direct, the government fund for projects working towards poverty reduction.
WEEE collection figures for 2018 fall short of target once again
WEEE collection figures for 2018 fall short of target once again
By
Rob Cole
| 1 March 2019 |
The latest figures from the Environment Agency reveal that across the 2018 calendar year 492,532 tonnes of household WEEE were collected by producer compliance schemes, falling almost 45,000 tonnes short of the 2018 target.
Consulting the days away
Consulting the days away
By
Dominic Hogg
| 28 February 2019 |
Eunomia Chairman Dominic Hogg welcomes the release of the four consultations on packaging waste and recycling promised in the Resources and Waste Strategy, while asking whether a lack of system thinking in the consultation process will impede the creation of a coherent final system
Fashion producers should pay a penny per item to fund waste collection, say MPs
Fashion producers should pay a penny per item to fund waste collection, say MPs
By
Rob Cole
| 20 February 2019 |
Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee has released its final report from its inquiry into the sustainability of the fashion industry, calling for sweeping changes to improve working conditions and reduce the amount of waste produced in the supply chain.
Dsposal's Developer Georgios Rovolis, CEO Tom Passmore and COO Sophie Walker
Dsposal wins £80k government waste crime contract
By
Rob Cole
| 20 February 2019 |
Manchester-based compliance start-up Dsposal has been awarded a contract worth £80,000 to develop a smart waste tracking system to combat waste crime across the UK.
Plastic packaging
Government launches resources and waste consultations
By
Kate Dickinson
| 18 February 2019 |
Consultations have been opened on four key measures in the Resources and Waste Strategy, seeking views on producer responsibility, consistent collections, deposit return schemes and the plastics tax.
UK recycling rate increases to 45.7 per cent
UK recycling rate increases to 45.7 per cent
By
Rob Cole
| 15 February 2019 |
The UK’s Waste from Households recycling rate has risen 0.5 per cent to 45.7 per cent in 2017, according to the latest official statistics from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Ban plastic waste exports to developing countries, say MPs
Ban plastic waste exports to developing countries, say MPs
By
Kate Dickinson
| 7 February 2019 |
A cross-party group of MPs has called for a complete ban on the export of the UK’s plastic waste to developing countries, but industry figures question whether this is the best solution to the plastic waste problem.
EAC report finds leading retailers lagging behind on fashion sustainability
EAC report finds leading retailers lagging behind on fashion sustainability
By
Rob Cole
| 31 January 2019 |
A group of major UK retailers are not doing enough to reduce the environmental and social impact of the clothes they sell, according to an interim report published by Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee.
Gove raises prospect of waste stockpiling in the event of ‘no deal’ Brexit
Gove raises prospect of waste stockpiling in the event of ‘no deal’ Brexit
By
Rob Cole
| 29 January 2019 |
The Environment Secretary Michael Gove has outlined Defra’s preparations for the stockpiling of waste in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit in a letter to Lord Teverson, Chair of the European Union Energy and Environment Sub-Committee in the House of Lords.
Iceland to trial Northern Ireland’s first reverse vending machine
Iceland to trial Northern Ireland’s first reverse vending machine
By
Rob Cole
| 28 January 2019 |
UK retailer Iceland has introduced the first in-store reverse vending machine in Northern Ireland as it continues its efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of single-use plastics on the environment.
Countries need to become circular to avoid climate change, says report
By
Kate Dickinson
| 22 January 2019 |
The Global Circularity Gap Report 2019 states that only nine per cent of the world’s natural resources are being reused – and governments must drive changes in unsustainable patterns of consumption to avoid global warming.
REA launches bioenergy review
REA launches bioenergy review
By
Rob Cole
| 22 January 2019 |
The Renewable Energy Association has launched a call for evidence as part of a far-reaching review of the future of bioenergy in the UK.
New research shows vast extent of fly-tipping
New research shows vast extent of fly-tipping
By
Rob Cole
| 17 January 2019 |
New research from The Furniture Recycling Group (TFR Group) has revealed that 646,039 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in just five cities since 2013.
Volunteers with food redistribution charity Fareshare
Defra opens £5m food redistribution fund
By
Kate Dickinson
| 15 January 2019 |
The first round of government funding has opened for food redistribution organisations across the UK.