Recycling news: 2021
Fresh every day from industry press, GOV.UK and research feeds — plus the historical archive. Last updated 27 Jul 2026.
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Industry news
Reuse Network Annual Conference 2021: awards nominations now open
This year the awards have been kindly sponsored by Domestic & General and there are three awards up for grabs.
Reuse Network · 24 Sept 2021
Industry news
Llantwit Major – Shining a Light on the Landscape of Sustainability
Shining a Light on the Landscape of Sustainability We recognise that this past year has been hard for many, so with this in mind, we’d like to promote some other incredible initiatives working to create stronger, cleaner, and more sustainable communities. Each month we will be promoting a location that is home to one of ...
Repair Cafe Wales · 24 Sept 2021
Industry news
Lincolnshire removes HWRC booking system
Lincolnshire county council has said it is seeing “unprecedented levels of demand” at its network of household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs), following the removal of booking systems. The county council removed booking systems at the beginning of the month following reports they cost the county council £9,000 a month to operate. The decision came during … Read More
letsrecycle.com News · 24 Sept 2021
Industry news
OPRL Joins UN Global Compact to Further Sustainable Development Goals
Click here to download the Press Release
OPRL (On-Pack Recycling Label) · 24 Sept 2021
Global
Register now – “Making the EU residual waste policy fit for a circular economy” online event on 12 October 2021
The current EU residual waste policy lacks emphasis on waste reduction, which then creates a paradox – it doesn’t matter how much is waste produced, only the percentage of it that is landfilled. There is a need for a new policy framework that prioritises the minimisation of generated residual waste. This would not only reward […]
Zero Waste Europe · 24 Sept 2021
Council news
housing - myhousing.tamworth.gov.uk
Tamworth Council · 23 Sept 2021
Industry news
Canal College® - Keep Scotland Beautiful
Keep Scotland Beautiful · 23 Sept 2021
Global
Annual Conference 2021
Charting the path to a healthy planet Join us online on 11 October, for our annual conference! Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring a […]
European Environmental Bureau · 23 Sept 2021
Industry news
Local marketing guide
If you need help marketing your local collections, we have prepared a guide which covers: Setting up a free customer database with Zoho Finding and developing possible sales leads Marketing materials (with templates) Sales calls (with scripts) Enterprise Guide: Local Collections Marketing
Community Wood Recycling · 23 Sept 2021
Industry news
Jericho supplies discount
Our Birmingham enterprise, Jericho, is part of the Jericho Foundation, a charity which runs a number of social enterprises to help their work with people who experience significant personal or occupational barriers to employment, training or social inclusion. Their enterprise Jericho Print offers high quality printing for both stationery and garments (including workwear and hi [...]
Community Wood Recycling · 23 Sept 2021
Industry news
Nestlé backs Yes Recycling’s flexible plastics plant
Nestlé UK and Ireland announced yesterday (22 September) it has provided Yes Recycling with a ‘pre-investment’ of £1.65 million for the firm’s flexible plastic recycling facility in Glenrothes, Fife. Set to open “fully” by the end of 2021, the 15,000-tonnes-per year capacity plant will turn flexible plastics, such as those typically used in food packaging, … Read More
letsrecycle.com News · 23 Sept 2021
Policy & government
Event summary: Food insecurity and children’s health
On 15 September, 2021 POST held a closed briefing on Food insecurity and children’s health. As this was a closed event for Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff, questions and comments during the discussion have not been attributed.
POST (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology) · 23 Sept 2021
Industry news
Defra could publish consultation responses next year
The deputy director for resources and waste at Defra says the department’s response to and way forward with consultations on key waste reforms will be published “later this year or early next”. Earlier this year, Defra launched consultations on introducing a deposit return scheme (DRS), extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging, and consistency in household … Read More
letsrecycle.com News · 23 Sept 2021
Industry news
Port Clarence switch to EfW ‘under consideration’
Glennmont Partners says it is seeking a “positive solution” for the 325,000 tonnes-per-year capacity Port Clarence biomass project, with a switch to energy from waste (EfW) technology a possibility. The £160 million plant was mothballed in April 2019 when its main contractors Babcock & Wilcox Volund reached a settlement with Glenmont to exit the site. … Read More
letsrecycle.com News · 23 Sept 2021
Industry news
Sector demands ‘clarity’ for private investors
Senior figures from across the sector have called on the government to provide clarity on extended producer responsibility (EPR) to drive private investment in recycling infrastructure. John Scanlon, the CEO of Suez, Kevin Bradshaw, Viridor’s CEO, and Claire Shrewsbury, director of insights and innovation at resources charity WRAP, made their demands yesterday (22 September) at … Read More The …
letsrecycle.com News · 23 Sept 2021
Global
EU reputation at stake / Aarhus convention series: part two
META’s Q&As series about the Aarhus Convention aims to explain the role of the Convention in strengthening individuals and civil society’s contribution to the green transformation in the EU and beyond. It is common practice at the Aarhus Meeting of the Parties (MOP) – which takes place every four years – that the findings and recommendations of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee are end…
META (European Environmental Bureau) · 23 Sept 2021
Policy & government
PAYE and Corporate Tax receipts from the banking sector: 2021
Statistics on PAYE Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions, Bank Levy, Bank Surcharge, Corporation Tax and Bank Payroll Tax receipts from the banking sector.
GOV.UK · 23 Sept 2021
Global
Surreally serious: PFAS paralysis follows astonishing scandal
The PFAS scandal surrounding the 3M factory in Antwerp has continued to unfold, teetering ever closer to the realms of absurdity. While Belgians are no strangers to surrealism, the scandal is as serious as it is ridiculous. As the plot progresses, its dramatic turns could make a worthy sequel to Mark Ruffalo’s Dark Waters – Donkere Waters anyone? The massive pollution and releases of PFOS – one…
META (European Environmental Bureau) · 23 Sept 2021
Research & science
Ren granted top award for work decarbonizing the water industry - Princeton Engineering
Princeton Engineering News · 23 Sept 2021
Industry news
Waste industry brief for Jo Churchill at Defra
The waste sector has a new minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with the announcement on 22 September of Jo Churchill MP as taking on the role. The Department said that Minister Jo Churchill is ‘overseeing the waste and regulated industries areas’. She joined Defra on 16 September from the Department … Read More
letsrecycle.com News · 22 Sept 2021
Industry news
Merseyside community groups come together to help reduce waste
Seventeen community groups have met in Liverpool to come up with ideas to help the City Region reduce, re-use and recycle more. The groups have all received funding from the Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA) and Veolia Community Fund 21/22, which has distributed £165,000 to help support local waste prevention, re-use and recycling initiatives. - Continue Reading
Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority · 22 Sept 2021
Global
Long-awaited update to World Health Organisation Global Air Quality Guidelines published
The World Health Organisation has today published a long-awaited update to its Global Air Quality Guidelines, the first such update since 2005 The World Health Organisation […]
European Environmental Bureau · 22 Sept 2021
Industry news
64% of businesses lack environmental policy, Suez finds
A survey conducted by Suez and UK business network, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), has found that 64% of businesses have “no environmental sustainability policy”. The survey results, published yesterday (20 September), also found that 69% of responding businesses, of more than 1,000 surveyed in the UK, think ‘environmental sustainability’ is about cutting carbon … Read More
letsrecycle.com News · 22 Sept 2021
Industry news
Women in waste discuss paving way forward
The waste industry may have been considered a “man’s world” in years past. However, experts gathered to discuss how the dynamics of the sector are changing at the ‘Women in Resource and Sustainability’ panel at LetsRecycle Live last week. Robyn White reports. Women in the circular economy The first discussion, Women in the Circular Economy, … Read More
letsrecycle.com News · 22 Sept 2021
Policy & government
Smart Cities
"Smart cities" describes places that incorporate a range of technologies (especially those that collect and use data) to address economic, social, and environmental challenges. Projects usually take place in urban areas, but are also deployed in rural settings. This POSTnote looks at smart city innovation in the UK and the technologies involved. It considers the factors driving the adoption of …
POST (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology) · 22 Sept 2021
Policy & government
£220 million to help big-emitting industries become cleaner and greener
Investment will support green projects that help businesses clean up their industrial processes, improve their energy efficiency and reduce their carbon emissions.
GOV.UK · 22 Sept 2021
Global
Deloitte Reports 2021
2020 Cepi limited assurance letter here. 2020 Cepi reasanable assurance letter here.
CEPI (Confederation of European Paper Industries) · 22 Sept 2021
Industry news
Keenan Celebrates UK Coverage Amid Driver Shortage
KEENAN RECYCLING HAS REACHED ITS BIGGEST MILESTONE TO DATE, AS IT CELEBRATES FULL NATIONAL COVERAGE – OPERATING FROM THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND, TO THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND, DESPITE NATIONWIDE DRIVER SHORTAGES. The waste management company, which reduces the amount of waste going into landfill by collecting and recycling organic material, has invested over £4m in […]
Keenan Recycling · 22 Sept 2021
Industry news
Recycleye Raises £3.5million to Solve the World’s Waste Epidemic
Having developed the world’s largest visual AI database of waste items, and low-cost robotics technology that automates dangerous manual labour, Recycleye enables waste management companies, including Biffa, to increase the purity and value of materials...
Recycleye news · 22 Sept 2021
Industry news
Cornwall trials stencils to deter fly-tippers
Cornwall council and the Environment Agency launched a joint week-long campaign on 20 September to tackle fly-tipping and waste crime in areas of Illogan, a village near Redruth. Others involved in the campaign, dubbed Don’t Rubbish Illogan, include Devon and Cornwall Police, Trading Standards and Biffa. The Agency says Cornwall council spends an estimated £250,000 … Read More
letsrecycle.com News · 22 Sept 2021
Industry news
Fishing boat flotilla arrives in Westminster to protest against broken Brexit promises
A flotilla of fishing boats, accompanied by Greenpeace activists, is sailing up the Thames to the Houses of Parliament today.
Greenpeace UK · 22 Sept 2021
Industry news
WasteAid launches first Annual Review
Today, WasteAid published its first annual review – a report that focuses on our developments and most important successes since April 2020. It shares key figures, programme and partnership spotlights, and our newly developed Theory of Change. The Annual Review also takes the opportunity to look ahead to our vision of inclusive waste management and […]
WasteAid · 22 Sept 2021
Industry news
Pair of robots installed for Recyco in Omagh
Two robotic units have been installed at a materials recycling facility in Northern Ireland by American firm AMP Robotics through REP-TEC Advanced Technologies. The robots have been installed at a MRF run by Northern Ireland waste management and recycling business RecyCo in Omagh. The company’s MRF for dry recyclables handles around 150,000 tonnes of material … Read More
letsrecycle.com News · 22 Sept 2021
Policy & government
£220 million to help big-emitting industries reduce fossil fuel use
Businesses in some of the UK’s most polluting industries will be able to bid for a share of £220 million to help cut their carbon emissions.
GOV.UK · 22 Sept 2021
Industry news
Birmingham mobile HWRCs collect 118.4 tonnes
Birmingham’s fleet of ‘mobile’ household waste and recycling centres (HWRC’s) collected a total of 118.4 tonnes of waste during its first month and a half of operation. And the city council, which announced the roll out of the fleet in June this year, has thanked residents in Birmingham for the “support” they have shown the … Read More
letsrecycle.com News · 22 Sept 2021
Council news
Lambeth Local Plan 2021 - Lambeth Council
Lambeth Council · 22 Sept 2021
Industry news
U-NICA’s scryptoTRACE Suite - Packaging Gateway
Packaging Gateway (GlobalData) · 21 Sept 2021
Industry news
Sam’s Listening, A new partnership to tackle declining mental wellbeing in young people across London through boxing
Leading London recycling and waste management company Powerday and partner London Boxing have launched a new mental health helpline with psychotherapy and counselling charity, icap (Immigrant Counsell...
Powerday · 21 Sept 2021
Industry news
Pringles tubes and other paper containers with metal ends now accepted at Merseyside recycling Bring Banks
A new recycling service for paper containers with metal ends, such as Pringles tubes, hot chocolate, nuts and other products, has been launched at Merseyside’s 14 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) this Recycle Week. Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority has introduced the service in partnership with Veolia and the Alliance for Beverage Cartons & the - Continue Reading
Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority · 21 Sept 2021
Policy & government
TF7 4PL, AO Recycling Limited: environmental permit issued - EPR/RP3506LG/A001
View the permit issued for Halesfield Hazardous Waste Storage Installation, Telford under the Industrial Emissions Directive.
GOV.UK · 21 Sept 2021