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The number of ministers working within the government’s environment department has been cut from four to three following the Conservative Party’s majority victory at the General Election. Although at the time of writing it has not been announced who will take on the waste and recycling brief at Defra, Liz Truss (pictured right) has retained…
The EU Commission has announced that it will take Poland and Slovenia to the European Court of Justice for failing to meet the deadline to transpose the Waste Electrical and Electronic Waste (WEEE) Directive into their internal laws. Daily fines requested by the Commission stand at €71,610 (£51,000) for Poland and €8,408 (£5997) for Slovenia….
The European Commission has launched a 12-week consultation on the policies that will define its “ambitious” circular economy package. The EU body will use the views of the stakeholders to prepare its revised plans for resource targets across Europe – with a new action due to be presented before the end of 2015. The consultation…
New Hazardous chemical classifications come into force today (June 1). The European Classification, Labelling & Packaging (CLP) Regulations will take effect in the UK bringing us in line with the rest of the world. As part of the Global Harmonisation System (GHS) standardising chemical classifications, these new regulations form part of a United Nations agreement back in…
All the major political parties have outlined their plans for the waste and recycling sector in advance of next week’s General Election. Among the ideas put forward are proposals for higher recycling rates, a review of resource security, a tax on energy from waste and increased borrowing powers for the Green Investment Bank. Coalition partners…
The UK’s packaging waste system, which sees obligated businesses accounting for recycling through the purchase of PRNs (packaging waste recovery notes), continues to attract attention. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) which is responsible for the packaging waste legislation is sounding out parties involved as to what they think of the current…
While landfill taxes and bans on disposal are relatively common in Europe, incineration taxes have until now not been greatly used. Indeed, incinerator operators in northern Europe are encouraged to attract material for their plants because they generate energy for local communities. However, financial pressures in Holland have prompted the country’s government to plan an…
A £3.8 million fund for waste sorting, repair and recycling projects launched by the Scottish Government is now open. The Scottish Recycling Fund, which is designed to help businesses develop green infrastructure proposals, was announced by Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead at the recent ‘Safeguarding Scotland’s Resources’ conference in Edinburgh. The fund will make loans available…
Defra minister for farming, food and marine environment George Eustice has sought to allay fears that waste will be side-lined in the wake of cuts at the Environment Agency. The Camborne and Redruth MP said impending cuts to staff and recent flooding would not affect the Agency’s ability to address waste-related issues. Defra and the…
The Environment Agency has recently issued new guidance regarding the collection of waste packaging. The revised technical guidance (WM2) came into effect from 1st Jan and last week the EA issued a draft letter clarifying what the new changes mean. Final confirmation is expected shortly. Definition – All used packaging is now considered waste under…
