The Environment Agency has announced that 21 containers containing illegal waste materials have been returned to their point of origin in the UK.

Dog toy company Kong has made a payout of almost £5,000 to environmental projects after being found by the Environment Agency (EA) to have breached packaging waste regulations in the years 2012-15.

A proposed change to legislation gives powers to Defra’s Secretary of State to issue and revise enforcement guidance to the regulator responsible for environmental protection.

In its largest investment the UK has made in plastic packaging recycling technologies, UKRI has boosted funding for recycling projects by £20 million.

Deep Sagar has been appointed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as Chair of the Advisory Committee on Packaging.

CryptoCycle has launched a recycling app, Reward4Waste, making returning single-use packaging accessible and practical in the run up to a DRS being introduced into law.

Waste-to-energy company Powerhouse Energy has appointed two new senior members of staff.

Defra’s announcement that it is now illegal for businesses to supply plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds to customers has been heavily criticised by environmental charities for not going far enough.

Plastic pollution campaign group City to Sea has today called the UK Government ban on plastic straws, cotton buds, and drink stirrers, “just a drop in a very plastic polluted ocean” and urged it to scale up its plans.

Latin America and the Caribbean must reconsider its economic model in order to fight the long-term impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new research paper by Chatham House.