The European Commission has classified shredded battery waste, also known as “black mass”, as hazardous waste as part of plans to increase the circular management of batteries and critical raw materials. The Commission updated the List of Waste last week as part of their goal to keep batteries and their critical raw materials in the European economy for longer. Black mass, lithium-based, nickel-based, and zinc-based waste batteries, and sodium sulphur and alkaline waste batteries are now classed as hazardous. The European List of Waste provides common terminology for identifying and classifying all different types of waste, including hazardous waste, which can be harmful to human health and the environment.…

  Karen Graley has been appointed as the Head of the Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) for packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR). The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN) announced the appointment. Graley has 30 years of experience working on packaging strategies across major UK retailers, including Safeway and Waitrose, and most recently in her role as Head of Packaging at Marks and Spencer. Graley is also a founding member of the Board of Directors for the On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) scheme. Karen Graley, the Head of the Producer Responsibility Organisation for packaging Extended Producer Responsibility. Reacting to her appointment, Karen Graley…

  Construction begins on “UK’s first fully circular” tyre-to-fuel facility dedicated to the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) value chain at the port of Sunderland. Tyre-to-fuel business Wastefront said the new facility is the largest of its kind in Europe. The facility’s first commercial phase will start at the end of 2026, with the second phase launching a year later. Once fully operational, Wastefront said the plant will process 10 million end-of-life tyres annually and convert them into tyre-derived oil for refining into SAF and other sustainable fuels. Vianney Valès, CEO of Wastefront, commented: “Our circular process not only prevents millions of tyres from being discarded in landfills but also provides…

  A new Energy-from-Waste facility in Leeds has accepted the first delivery of unrecyclable waste as 200 tonnes arrive at the site. enfinium, a leading UK Energy-from-Waste (EfW), said the Skelton Grange is important for the development of a circular economy and decarbonisation of unrecyclable waste for West Yorkshire and the wider region. Once operational, enfinium said the facility will divert up to 410,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste from landfill every year and generate up to 49MW of energy enough to power over 100,000 UK homes. enfinium said the facility will divert up to 410,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste from landfill every year. Commenting on the delivery, Dan James, Plant…

  A joint statement from the four UK nations has announced the extended producer responsibility (EPR) base fees for 2025/26 will be published by June 2025. The policy statement was made jointly by the Environment Secretary, and Ministers in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland (DAERA) in Northern Ireland, Scottish Government and Welsh Government. The policy statement outlines the environmental effects the four nations want EPR to achieve. These are: The use of environmentally sustainable packaging; the prevention of packaging becoming waste; an increase in the reuse of packaging, and the quantity and quality of packaging materials recycled; a reduction in the packaging material placed…

  For every five textile items repaired, four displace a new purchase – an 82.2% displacement rate – according to research by WRAP. A new report from WRAP, produced in collaboration with resale and repair businesses and brands, shows the impact of a range of circular business models on stopping the purchase of new clothes. The report, Displacement Rates Untangled, calculates the extent to which the rise of repair and resale can displace new sales, and how much they help offset the environmental cost of clothing. Depop, eBay, Vestiaire Collective, The Seam, SOJO and brand Finisterre provided data for the report. The research found that repairing one cotton t-shirt instead of buying…

  CIWM Fellow Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, explains what Critical Raw Materials are and the economic opportunity they present if businesses adopt circular economy principles. The linear, take, make, waste, economy that has prevailed for decades is no longer serving us. In fact, it’s working directly against our efforts to evolve a sustainable future in which people and the planet thrive. The circular economy is the best tool to help us fix it. But when it comes to critical raw materials, failure to act urgently and strategically could impact our ability to decarbonise and ultimately derail our vision for a sustainable and prosperous future. What are…

  Trewin Restorick, Founder of Sizzle Innovation, explains how his new sustainable venture is aiming to transform waste into wonderful, circular solutions for your garden.  There is a saying that where there is muck there is money, but is it true? The theory will be tested with the launch of Treasure Gardening a new social enterprise seeking to celebrate the wonders of waste by making high-quality horticulture products from waste and by-products. The launch of this new circular economy enterprise has certainly been circuitous. It started with an investigation by Sizzle Innovation, funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, that sought to understand why, despite many warm words and commitments, the…

  Following the official launch of PackUK, Zoe Brimelow, a Director at packaging manufacturer and consultancy Duo, looks at whether a national packaging plan is now needed to support packaging circularity. The recent Packaging Innovations and Empack trade show saw the public launch of the UK Government’s packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) scheme administrator, PackUK. A panel of representatives from the administrator’s steering group came together to outline the aims of the pEPR and highlight the importance of the scheme for driving change and investment in packaging and packaging waste. Part of the pEPR and PackUK’s remit involves stimulating an estimated £10 billion investment in recycling services and infrastructure over…

  The impact of UK reuse charities must be supported to help achieve the UK’s circular economy goals, according to a report released by Reuse Network. Reuse Network says it is attempting to clear the barriers currently prohibiting the reuse sector from operating at full potential and supporting the UK government’s circular economy goals. The charity argues that without policy reform and investment, the sector will struggle to continue delivering environmental and social benefits.  The Reuse Network’s Reuse Roadmap sets out five points that it is asking the UK Government to consider when developing its new Circular Economy Strategy. These include: –           breaking the link between waste and reuse by managing resources; –          …