‘Disposable vapes are the latest sustainability challenge in the ongoing single-use plastic problem at festivals and events.
While the vape ban comes into effect on 1st June 2025, we know that disposable vapes will still find their way onto festival sites—posing a significant risk if not managed properly.’
For more information see the Material Focus Festivals and Events toolkit.
‘At the head of beautiful Loch Long in Argyll sits one of Scotland’s biggest plastic problems.
About 62,000 items wash up on the beach each year, much of it from the waterways in and around Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city.
Campaigners say the only solution is to stop the waste entering the water in the first place – and that the introduction of a deposit return scheme for bottles and cans would play a major role in doing just that.’
BBC reports that ‘A fly-tipper has been ordered to pay a fine of £2,000 and costs of a further £2,000 for leaving garden waste in a lane near Plymouth.
Councillor Victor Abbott, the council’s lead on community services, said: “I hope this successful prosecution sends a strong message out to anyone tempted to illegally dump their waste that we will take action.”
‘In the past ten years our surveyors have walked 1,140 miles across England assessing the litter on our streets: where it is, what it is, and how much of it there is.’
This new report published by Keep Britain Tidy ‘exposes the alarming scale of England’s litter crisis and its disproportionate impact on the nations most deprived communities’
The report also identifies ‘overwhelming public support for prevention measures to tackle the problem, including anti-littering campaigns’ and the positive steps being taken by Government to reduce the amount of litter dropped.
‘The Government has today (Monday 27 January) pledged to end the throwaway society and clean up Britain, as it implements legislation for the deposit return scheme for drinks containers in England and Northern Ireland.
Once the scheme launches in October 2027, consumers will have a financial incentive to return empty containers to a collection point, such as at their local supermarket, so that the bottle or can will be recycled.
Used in more than 50 countries worldwide as a common-sense means of encouraging people to recycle more single-use bottles and cans, a DRS sees people being paid back for returning the container.’
Find out more Gov.uk
‘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
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.
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
‘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
‘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