Gover has more than 30 years of leadership experience across the resource and sustainability sectors. Most recently he served as director of the Minderoo Foundation's Plastics Initiative, leading teams across Australia, Asia and Europe focused on tackling plastic pollution. He is already a CIWM trustee and a member of its Policy and Innovation Forum.

Vicki Hughes will take over as CIWM president from David Greenfield at the same inauguration, and Emma Copley will succeed Charlotte Davies as the institution's early careers president.

The three organisations have submitted separate position papers outlining reservations about the draft delegated regulation under the EU's Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation. They want the use of organic soil improvers and organic fertilisers recognised as an eligible agricultural practice, citing the climate mitigation benefits of regular application to soil.

The Commission opened its consultation on the draft certification methodology in January 2026, with feedback closing in February. The ECN said it welcomed the inclusion of organic soil improvers as an eligible practice but raised concerns about specific elements of the draft.

Directed by Louie Psihoyos and Josh Murphy, the film is guided by environmental and reproductive epidemiologist Dr Shanna H. Swan. Participants work to lower daily contact with phthalates and bisphenols - chemicals used to make plastics soft or rigid - while their health markers are monitored. The documentary also features researchers, community organisers opposing petrochemical plants, and fashion designers removing toxic materials from supply chains.

The Plastic Detox is released on Netflix today (16 March 2026).

The standard, developed by ASTM’s committee on environmental assessment, risk management and corrective action (E50), covers project planning, sampling programme design, sample collection considerations, field quality control and associated resources. The task group has also invited interested parties to contribute to a proposed standard on PFAS source differentiation using forensic applications.

Among the changes, RecyClass has shifted its recommendations on ink use for transparent films away from printing coverage and towards the percentage of ink by weight of packaging. A new colour module has been added to the sorting evaluation protocol for PET bottles to help preserve transparent, clear and light blue streams.

For flexible packaging, electron beam treatment of PE films and PVB-based inks for PE and PP films were confirmed as fully compatible. Further testing campaigns are already under way in 2026, RecyClass said.

The Surplus Saviours trial, due to launch in summer 2026, will allow registered individuals to collect surplus food approaching its use-by date from participating stores. Lidl said it expects the scheme to redistribute more than 5,000 tonnes of food.

The retailer is also piloting an animal feed trial in the Peterborough region, diverting inedible bakery items that would otherwise go to waste. Bakery-related waste across the business fell by 30% last year. Estelle Herszenhorn, director of food system transformation at WRAP, welcomed the retailer's progress on loose fruit and vegetable offerings and best-practice labelling.