National Highways launches a ‘Litter kills’ campaign.
‘Discarded roadside rubbish and food attract wildlife to their death. Use a bin or wait until you get home.
Animals are attracted to discarded rubbish which brings them closer to the dangers of fast moving traffic.’
‘The Environment Agency launches Economic Crime Unit to address serious financial offences in the waste sector
The unit will help to ensure those working in waste management do the right thing and gangsters are unable to operate in the sector.’
On the 29th January, Government announced that disposable vapes will be banned in England, Scotland and Wales as part of plans to create a ‘smokefree generation’.
‘DEFRAs ban will have a positive impact on our environment. 5 million disposable vapes are thrown away each week, up from 1.3 million last year. Over a year this is equivalent to the lithium batteries of 5,000 electric vehicles.
Enforcement of the disposables ban will be carried out through Trading Standards Officers.’
The proposals will also ‘restrict flavours specifically marketed at children, ensuring manufactures produce plainer, less visually appealing packaging’ for reuseable vapes.
‘This statistical notice provides statistics on fly-tipping incidents recorded by Local Authorities in England, for April 2022 to March 2023. It covers trends in the number of fly-tipping incidents, with a breakdown by land type, waste type and size. It also covers enforcement and prosecution actions undertaken for fly-tipping incidents. It excludes the large-scale incidents dealt with by the Environment Agency and the majority of private-land incidents.’
The Great British Spring Clean is the nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign.
In 2024, the campaign returns from 15 March to 31 March.
Last year, our incredible #LitterHeroes pledged to pick more than 400,000 bags of litter throughout the campaign period.
See Keep Britain Tidy for more details.
Want to litter pick at another time of year? See our Get Involved pages.
‘Agriculture is the biggest sector we regulate in terms of individual businesses, with around 100,000 premises covering 70% of the land in England’.
This Environment Agency (EA) blog highlights ‘how the EA works together with farmers to bring the changes and improvements which will protect our future land and resources and secure better compliance with environmental regulations.’
‘The Environment Agency is urging businesses and the public to help in the fight against waste crime.
Waste crime is a blight on our communities and environment. From blatant examples like fly-tipping rubbish by the roadside to environmental permit breaches and money-laundering, these activities can endanger people’s safety and undermine legitimate waste businesses.
On top of that, waste crime costs the economy in England an estimated £1 billion per year – that’s the same as the combined starting salary of over 38,000 newly-qualified nurses.’
See this Environment Agency press release to find out what actions are currently taking place and how we can work together to reduce this problem.
‘Over the last three years 4,500+ people have helped remove over 216,000 items of single-use pollution from the places they love
We’ve estimated that there might be as many as 9.1 million items of SUP (Single Use Pollution – ‘litter’) on the UK’s recreational trails. This means that a walker, runner or rider could, on average, encounter a piece of SUP every 24 metres’.
Find out more in Trash Free Trails ‘State Of Our Trails Report‘ (2023)
Notting Hill Carnival is Europe’s biggest annual festival in London that attracts 2 million partygoers over the August Bank Holiday.
SUEZ recycling and recovery UK has been involved in the clean-up for Carnival since 1997 on behalf of Kensington and Chelsea Council.
Over two evenings, dedicated waste crews from SUEZ work through the night to clear away rubbish and cleanse the streets.
This 9 minute behind-the-scenes film (YouTube) by SUEZ recycling and recovery UK reveals the planning involved to remove over 300 tonnes of litter!
‘The ban, promised as part of the government’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, will make nitrous oxide a controlled Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Earlier this year, the Home Secretary urged police forces to get tough on flagrant drug taking in local communities, with reports linking nitrous oxide to antisocial behaviour such as intimidating gatherings on high streets and in children’s parks, often leaving empty canisters scattered across public spaces.
There are still many necessary uses for nitrous oxide and those with a legitimate reason for possessing the substance will be exempt from the ban. For example, it will continue to be lawful for catering purposes and in maternity wards when used as pain relief during labour.
Licences will not be required to carry nitrous oxide, but individual users will need to demonstrate they are lawfully in possession of nitrous oxide and not intending to consume it for psychoactive effects.’
Find out more here: Gov.uk.