Beach litterers are being targeted by Brighton and Hove City Council and environmental behaviour change charity Hubbub, who together have launched a new campaign, #Streetsahead, aiming to stop people from littering on the beaches and prevent marine plastic pollution.

Kenya has implemented a tough ban on plastic bags with those that contravene the ban facing fines of up to £30,000 and jail sentences of up to four years.

The government has launched a competition offering the opportunity to win funding for research into sustainable waste-based fuels for planes and lorries.

The Marine Conservation Society has issued a call for volunteers to take part in this year’s Great British Beach Clean (15-18 September), a nationwide event dedicated to cleaning Britain’s beaches and recording litter collected.

China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection has released a list of materials that will be banned from import from the start of 2018. Steel, copper, nickel, aluminium, zinc and tin were notable absences, according to Reuters.

Beverage carton recycling provision by local authorities has jumped from 10 per cent to 92 per cent in the past decade.

The Recycling Association and the Confederation of Paper Industries have urged ministers to contact the Chinese government over its proposed ban on all waste plastics and unsorted paper from 2018.

Tesco’s single-use carrier bags will be completely replaced by a ‘Bag for Life’ made from 94 per cent recycled plastic from the end of August, with sales funding community projects across the UK.

A bottle deposit return scheme is among five actions put forward by think tank Green Alliance that could help to reduce marine plastic pollution by up to two thirds, after new analysis from the think tank revealed that current government policy will only deal with two per cent of the problem.

The quality and quantity of Scotland’s recycling is being held back by contamination of the waste being sent to the country’s MRFs, according to SEPA.