Three arrested for waste in bales

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‘Three men were arrested near Peterborough on 21 January, as part of an investigation into large-scale, organised deposits of waste across counties including Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.

Waste criminals have been known to dump bales of waste in rural locations to conceal them as farming bales. We are appealing to landowners, businesses, and members of the public to report any plastic-wrapped bales they see in suspicious places, which are unlikely to be silage or hay stored by farmers or equestrian facilities.’

Find out more at Gov.uk

Woman to represent country in world ‘plogging’ event

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The BBC reports that ‘a local activist is to represent Great Britain in an international plogging event, which involves picking up litter while jogging.

The environmental and fitness trend, which originated in Sweden in 2016, has since grown in popularity in other countries, including the UK.

“It’s a brilliant way of looking after your physical and mental health and keeping active; meeting like-minded individuals at the same time as having a positive impact on your local community and also the planet,”

New regulations will soon require your business to separate recyclable materials from your general waste

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‘New regulations will soon require your business to separate recyclable materials from your general waste.

What’s changing and why?

From the 31st March 2025 businesses will need to separate the following groups of recyclable materials:

Glass, metal and plastic
Cardboard and paper
Food as a dedicated collection

The new guidelines apply to all businesses, healthcare establishments and academic institutions but small businesses with fewer than 10 full-time employees are temporarily exempt until the 31st March 2027.

The new regulations will mean that in future, no waste from businesses can be sent for disposal unless it can be shown to have gone through a treatment process. The simplest way to provide this treatment is to separate your waste for reuse or recycling. The aim is to increase recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste we send for disposal. It will also help reduce your business costs, save energy, conserve natural resources and protect the environment. ’

Find out more: Business of Recycling | WRAP

Waste boss fined for ‘revenge’ dumping over unpaid invoice

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‘Timothy Burcham, a licensed waste operator, dumped waste at a Paignton mobile home park in revenge for not being paid for a job there. He now has to pay a fine and costs totalling over £3,000.

When interviewed by the Environment Agency, Burcham admitted depositing waste on the site after his invoice was not paid and that it was not the waste he had originally removed. He said he had made a mistake on his invoices by setting out his right to redeposit waste if his fees were not paid.’

”Despite being a licensed waste operator, Mr Burcham behaved in an unprofessional and unacceptable manner depositing waste illegally.”

Read more on Gov.uk

Don’t burn a hole in your pocket with a fine this Bonfire Night

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‘With Bonfire Night fast approaching, the Environment Agency is urging those planning to celebrate to go to an organised event or risk a hefty fine if holding their own.

As well as the safety risks caused by bonfires, they have an impact on the climate and, if the wrong materials are burned, can harm wildlife, the environment and human health.

It’s not just householders that may use Bonfire Night as a way of getting rid of rubbish, businesses may use it to burn waste too, but the Environment Agency also urges them to be aware of what they are burning.’

Find out more on Gov.uk

Ban on sale and supply of single use vapes

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‘New legislation to ban the sale of single-use vapes from 1 June 2025 has been laid in Parliament.

Last year, it was estimated that almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown away in general waste every week in the UK, almost four times as much as the previous year and the equivalent of eight being thrown away per second.

Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh said:

Single-use vapes are extremely wasteful and blight our towns and cities.

That is why we are banning single use vapes as we end this nation’s throwaway culture.’

Visit Gov.uk for more details.

Nine imprisoned for operating illegal waste site

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‘Nine people have been sentenced for the operation of an illegal waste site in rural Lincolnshire, following an investigation by the Environment Agency.

The prosecution was brought against individuals that ran the illegal waste site; burned the waste; drove waste to the site and the landowners. Two waste brokers were also prosecuted.’

This case is one of many, reflecting ongoing work by the Environment Agency (Gov.uk) to crack down on Waste Crime.

If you suspect waste crime, visit our Report it page for more details and who to contact.

Great British Spring Clean

Great British Spring Clean 2025

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‘The Great British Spring Clean is the nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign.

The Great British Spring Clean and Great Big School Clean 2025 return from 21 March – 6 April 2025.

In 2024, our army of amazing #LitterHeroes pledged to pick more than 400,000 bags of litter.

Together, we cleaned up the places and spaces we love, as Keep Britain Tidy celebrated its landmark 70th year of protecting the environment.’

For more details visit Keep Britain Tidy

Litter-picking pioneers expand scheme across city

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‘A community-led litter-picking initiative in Plymouth has proved so popular it is set to expand across the city’, the BBC reports.

‘The group said it was now setting up and equipping 10 hubs across the city where local volunteers could organise their own litter-picking events, which was being funded partly by a £15,000 grant to the city by Great Western Railway.

It was hoped the new hubs would be up and running by April, the group said.’

‘Thank you’ says Clean Devon.

 

Plans to recycle more abandoned boats

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‘More abandoned boats are being targeted for recycling after a successful pilot project in south Devon’ the BBC reports.

A report into the pilot project identified ‘delayed awareness in the issues we now face’ with the management and disposal of fibreglass vessels. ‘Essentially, this results in the maritime version of fly tipping, but with a wider and deeper environmental impact.’

With ‘no requirement in the UK to register ownership of a vessel, insure or hold qualifications for its operation’, at the end of the vessel’s useful life, ‘owners ‘are left with something they cannot afford to moor or maintain. It is a simple matter to either sell on or walk away from a vessel. As there is no registration system, it is very difficult to trace owners or hold them accountable’.

‘The challenge associated with both abandoned and EOL [end of life] vessels is that, until the implementation of this pilot, there was no available or practicable solution within the UK.’

Read the full report to understand the scope of the challenge and options moving forwards for this growing problem.