‘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.

‘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

‘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.

‘Dive into our magical underwater world with The Wildlife Trusts’ annual celebration of all things marine! This year’s theme is ‘Sea’ the Connection and we’ll be highlighting how as an island nation we are all closely connected to the sea and why a healthy thriving marine environment matters.’

National Marine Week (27th July to 11th August).

Visit the Wildlife Trusts for more information.

Want to litter pick your local coastal environment at another time of year? It’s easy to Get involved.

‘A wet winter has meant it’s been a difficult start to the year for many farmers. Facing reduced early crop yields or worse still, zero yields, the temptation to cut costs or diversify, to find additional income is more tempting than ever.

Unfortunately, this makes farmers an ideal target for unscrupulous waste operators who are more than willing to take advantage of people under greater financial pressure. Whether it is an offer of a “cheap tip” of materials that can be used to repair roads and tracks or an agreement to secure land for spreading or storage of materials in farm buildings.’

This Environment Agency blog provides useful precautions for landowners to protect themselves from waste criminals.

‘As a rule of thumb, if it has been removed from somewhere, it is surplus to requirements or it has been through some kind of sorting or treatment process (such as crushing) it’s safer to assume it is a waste.’