The UK needs a nationwide deposit return scheme for plastic bottles and overhaul producer responsibility rules if it is to turn back the tide on plastic waste entering the environment, according to Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee.

The packaging industry is celebrating after EU negotiations ruled that packaging would retain its Internal Market legal base, making it harder for national governments to introduce unilateral bans for environmental reasons.

The Government Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir Mark Walport, has warned about the sheer bulk of waste being produced in the UK before emphasising the opportunities for generating value from this waste and creating a more prosperous society.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove has reportedly laid out plans to make recycling easier for families by requiring greater consistency in recycling collections across the UK, as well as reducing the total amount of plastic used in the UK, as part of a four-point plan.

Agreement on legislation designed to make Europe more resource efficient has been welcomed by industry groups, but with the caveat that reduced ambition in EU plans risks slowing down the transition to a circular economy.

A compromise has been reached over long-term recycling targets in Europe after EU institutions finally came to an agreement on legislative terms for the Circular Economy Package this morning.

UK-based Vanden Recycling has calculated that alternative destinations for waste exports will not be able to make up the shortfall in capacity resulting from China’s plan to ban waste imports in 2018.

A number of experienced figures from across industry and the not-for-profit sector have been appointed to the Board of Zero Waste Scotland, it was announced today.

Member states have come under fire for allegedly dragging their heels over prior commitments to the EU’s Circular Economy Package ahead of the year’s final round of negotiations between the EU institutions.

China is eyeing further restrictions on waste imports in the coming years beyond those set to come into force from the start of 2018, according to a new paper released by an advisory body including China’s Vice Premier and Environmental Protection Minister.