The River Tame, which flows through the Greater Manchester area was found by geographers at the University of Manchester to have a microplastics concentration of 517,000 particles per square metre.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond is set to announce a public consultation on a plastics tax, along with a £20-million innovation fund to develop alternatives to the problem material.

The government has offered “warm words” but “no real action” today (9 March) in response to the report by the Environmental Audit Committee on disposable coffee cup waste, according to the committee’s Chair Mary Creagh.

Progress on the EU’s Plastics Strategy continues unabated as Europe’s environment ministers reached agreement on the content of the strategy at a meeting of the Environment Council on Monday (5 March).

The UK’s leading tea brand PG Tips is switching to fully biodegradable tea bags in a bid to reduce plastic pollution, it was announced on Wednesday (28 February).

EU ambassadors have endorsed the provisional agreement on the four legislative proposals that make up the Circular Economy Package, including a target of a 60 per cent municipal recycling rate.

A five pence charge for disposable cups will be trialled by Starbucks, in partnership with environmental behaviour change charity Hubbub, in 35 stores across London.

EU-wide legislation on single-use plastic is on the cards for this summer, according to comments by the European Commission’s Vice President Frans Timmermans.

Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee has criticised the government’s inadequate response to its ‘Plastic bottles: Turning back the plastic tide’ report and lack of action of preventing plastic bottle waste.

Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee has pressed Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, regarding his commitment to looking at fiscal measures to reduce single-use plastics.