Twenty community groups across north London are set to receive grants of up to £15,000 each to support waste prevention activities.
The funding is provided through the North London Waste Authority’s (NLWA) flagship initiative, the North London Community Fund.
The selected recipients, representing the seven north London boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest, have been granted awards of up to £15,000 each.
The projects cover a variety of strategies to reduce different waste streams, including food, plastics, textile, electrical and household waste.
They include New Tribe CIC which delivers workshops on natural dyeing and weaving with plant-based waste, Play it Again Toys CIC which runs pop-up toy repair sessions, and Footprint for Good which provides furniture upcycling workshops for young people.
NLWA established the fund to meet its waste prevention objectives and support the efforts of local groups addressing grassroots waste challenges.
Councillor Clyde Loakes MBE, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate and Air Quality and Chair of NLWA, commented: “By investing in these initiatives, we are not only cutting waste but also fostering a culture of sustainability and resilience in our communities as well as aiming to reach new audiences to ensure the groups reflect our diverse communities.
“The flagship fund is a testament to our unwavering support for initiatives on the ground that make a real difference to residents and protect our environment.”
An AI-based recycling pilot has launched in Cardiff city centre which allows people to recycle their used paper cups in return for a 5p reward.
The three-month pilot will allow people to recycle their used paper cups at participating Caffè Nero, Costa Coffee, Greggs, McDonald’s and Pret a Manger stores.
The pilot launched this week as part of a partnership between Keep Wales Tidy, the National Cup Recycling Scheme and waste sorting app Bower.
Customers purchasing drinks in paper cups from these retailers can download the Bower app, scan their cup with the AI photo scanner, and return it to a participating store for proper recycling. Each returned cup earns a 5p reward via the app.
Commenting on the launch, Owen Derbyshire, CEO of Keep Wales Tidy, said: “This scheme is a fantastic opportunity for Cardiff to lead the way in paper cup recycling, showing how small actions – like returning a used cup – can add up to a big impact.
This scheme is a fantastic opportunity for Cardiff to lead the way in paper cup recycling…
“By working together across industries and engaging the public, we can reduce litter, keep valuable materials in circulation, and move towards a more sustainable future for Wales.”
Most paper cups can be recycled multiple times into new products, including paper packaging.
As part of the recycling process, Keep Wales Tidy says the plastic lining is separated and repurposed into items, such as garden furniture and cable ties, in Wales, while the fibres are processed at a specialist paper mill in the Lake District.
Berfin Mert, Co-founder at Bower, commented: “We’re excited to support Cardiff’s groundbreaking initiative, which features the world’s first paper cup recycling scheme powered by AI.
“Thanks to the AI object detection technology, developed in collaboration with Google, consumers can instantly identify and recycle their paper cups and get rewarded for their good acts.”
A new commercial waste company formed from acquiring several different regional recycling operators is formally launching this week.
Headed by former SUEZ CEO David Palmer-Jones OBE, CIRQLR says it serves over 15,000 customers, handles 600,000 tonnes of recycling materials annually, and has an annualised turnover of £150m.
Commenting on the launch, Palmer-Jones, CEO of CIRQLR, said: “We have rapidly built CIRQLR GROUP into a significant player in the commercial recycling market and our growth journey has only just begun.
“A generational step change in how we manage business waste is underway, supported by the implementation of positive regulatory changes over the next five years.”
Chambers Waste Management, which covers Surrey, became the latest regional recycling firm to join the new company CIRQLR.
CIRQLR says this latest acquisition means it now has coverage in the Humber, across the East of England and East Anglia via Ellgia, and north and central London via KP Waste and Eco Waste.
David Palmer-Jones, CEO of CIRQLR.
CIRQLR has 19 recycling facilities and says it is preparing to invest in more infrastructure to double its current number of 600 staff.
After the introduction of Simpler Recycling, and ahead of the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility and a nationwide Deposit Return Scheme, CIRQLR says there will be a “marked increase” in the volume and quality of materials captured back into the supply chain.
CIRQLR says it aims to leverage these changes in what it calls a “generational step change” in how business waste is managed.
Palmer-Jones continued: “In anticipation of these changes, CIRQLR has rapidly formed one of the country’s leading business recycling groups.
“CIRQLR is now ready to fulfil its mission of ‘giving waste a second life’ and deliver a more circular economy for UK businesses.
“With a government now willing to put into action the clarity and stability of regulation needed to stimulate investment and growth in recycling, there is scope to further develop CIRQLR as a significant shaper of the commercial and industrial markets.”
Jessica Bradley outlines several innovative ways cities are closing the loop on food waste to save money, redistribute food to those who need it, and reduce carbon emissions.
Food waste on such a huge scale undermines the sustainability of our food systems and also wastes all the resources used to produce food, including water, land, energy, labour and capital.
The amount of food we waste has a huge economic impact; the global cost is currently estimated at approximately £770 billion a year.
Food waste also has huge consequences for planetary health. In 2022, more than one billion tonnes of food – equivalent to more than one billion meals a day – were wasted globally, which contributed to around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2015, the EU’s member states signed up to UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3 to halve food waste by 2030. However, only $0.1bn was invested annually in 2019/20 globally to reduce food waste, despite the UN estimating achieving the goal would require $50bn in investment.
Global differences in food waste
In the global west, most food waste happens in shops and our homes, which requires solutions including smart refrigerators and food-sharing platforms, such as Too Good To Go, which allow businesses to sell leftovers that would otherwise be discarded.
With supermarket standards deeming so much fresh produce cosmetically unacceptable, there has been a rise in recent years in the availability of ‘wonky’ vegetables and subscription services, such as Odd Box.
In the global south, one-third of food is wasted before it reaches consumers, says Zachary Tofias, director of food and waste at C40, a network of cities and networks sharing sustainable practise.
This is often caused by inefficient handling and storage that exposes crops to adverse conditions and pest infestation, which causes rapid spoilage.
In recent years, digital innovation has enabled producers and farmers to continuously monitor food loss and waste, which involves using field sensors to monitor temperature, light, humidity and soil moisture.
However, this technology isn’t yet proportionately used in the countries that need it the most. China, which has the highest global population and output of fruit and vegetables, is also the world’s biggest Internet of Things (IoT) market.
India, on the other hand, has the second biggest population and fruit and vegetable output, but a far lower GDP and far less application and research around sensor technologies that monitor food waste in the supply chain.
Global solutions
AI is one of the most recent innovations being widely implemented, not only on farms but also further down the supply chain. One example of how this is being done is by helping retailers forecast demand more precisely.
Aside from technological advancements, reductions in food waste also require collaboration and policy from local authorities, Tofias says.
One of their most important roles here is to work with the private sector, Tofias says. This, he continues, includes dedicating staff time to thinking about how to create platforms for the private sector to engage and educate the community.
One challenge, Tofias adds, is thinking about food in the context of the waste hierarchy, where surplus food is fed to humans, and edible food waste should be served to animals; with disposal being the final step.
“All steps before disposal are huge opportunities for innovation,” he says.
At Barcelona’s foodbank in Banc del Aliments, Tofias adds, food waste is sorted into two streams. Waste that’s in good condition is given to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to produce jams and broths, for example, and everything else is composted.
The foodbanks were set up as a joint effort, including the City of Milan, Cariplo Foundation, Polytechnic University of Milan and Assolombarda – an association representing 6,000 businesses.
The organisers put the foodbanks’ success down to building good relationships and common goals with stakeholders, monitoring progress, and to local government prioritising educating citizens on how to prevent food waste.
“Milan created an incentive for businesses to identify surplus food that’s still edible,” Tofias says. “Now five hubs across Milan are feeding tens of thousands of people food that would have otherwise been thrown out.”
Malachy Mitchell, managing director of international food and agribusiness consultancy Farrelly Mitchell.
Cities that achieve significant food waste reductions employ a blend of regulation, incentives and public engagement, says Malachy Mitchell, managing director of international food and agribusiness consultancy Farrelly Mitchell.
Mandatory waste separation policies have proven very effective across the world, for example, he adds.
In Seoul, the country’s capital, 6,000 bins contain scales and Radio Frequency Identification that weigh food waste and charge residents accordingly – reducing food waste in the city by a reported 47,000 tonnes in six years.
Alternatively, residents can buy biodegradable bags – which they’re required by law to use if they want to dispose of food – that cover 60% of the cost of collecting and processing food waste in the city.
Targeted interventions like this have produced promising results, says Mitchell. But meeting the SDG 12.3 will require successful policies to be quickly adapted and implemented on a global scale, he adds.
Common challenges
Mitchell says one common challenge for local authorities is insufficient data.
The biggest challenge facing countries and cities that need to reduce food waste is the magnitude of the problem, Tofias says. Since there are so many different causes of food waste, multi-level interventions are required.
For local authorities, one common challenge is insufficient data, says Mitchell.
“Tracking systems for waste management can only be found in 12% of the world’s nations, with the remaining 88% having to resolve the issue blindly until actionable data becomes available,” he says.
Another common obstacle, Mitchell says, is changing entrenched behaviours and cultural norms.
“Public awareness campaigns alone prove insufficient to shift habits rooted in convenience or social norms,” Mitchell says.
Changes, he adds, can only be implemented when stakeholders and systems align their interests.
“Many governments struggle to align all of their food system participants; even creating a consensus between farming communities and food manufacturers is a challenge,” he says.
Global successes
Only a handful of nations worldwide are achieving substantial reductions in food waste, says Mitchell.
Then, in 2016, the country introduced the Garot Law, which required targeted retailers to offer a partnership with food aid associations and set up procedures for monitoring and controlling the quality of their food donations.
When it comes to household food waste, effective measures make avoiding food waste as effortless as possible.
New York City, for example, offers citizens a Food Portal under its donateNYC app and website, which matches food donors to organisations. In the first year, the portal saved nearly 80 tonnes of food from landfill.
EBMUD main wastewater treatment plant, San Francisco Bay.
In Oakland, California, efforts to reduce food waste are largely thanks to the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s (EBMUD) food scraps processing facility.
The wastewater treatment plant, located at the base of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, takes discarded food scraps from restaurants and supermarkets that usually go to the landfill and converts them into renewable energy.
“There are so many natural resources in the wastewater,” says Nelsy Rodriguez, public information representative at the EBMUD. “We saw a real opportunity to use those resources for fertiliser or to generate biogas, so we started a pilot.”
These food scraps include winery waste, as the plant is close to Napa, as well as domestic waste, fats such as oils and greases, and food and animal processing waste.
EBMUD generates enough energy from this waste to operate its plant, and the rest is sold to the grid.
“When we extract leftover organic matter from food scraps, we turn it into something beneficial for the environment and reduce our carbon footprint and reliance on fossil fuels,” she says.
“It spreads out and generates energy that would’ve otherwise been thrown into the bay or landfill and created more carbon.”
On average, EBMUD produces around 27,000 MWh from resource recovery every year. EBMUD is now looking for ways to expand the pilot.
“The fundamentals of wastewater haven’t changed over the last century, so we’re always looking for strategic innovations,” Rodriguez says.
In the global south, effective measures include innovations in preservation, like smart packaging and IoT sensors.
In Nairobi, the largest city in Kenya with a growing population, city markets have unreliable electricity connections, which contributes to food waste and loss. Research shows that one-fifth of food is wasted due to inadequate access to cold storage.
A pilot project implemented earlier this year in one city market involved installing a portable cold system with inbuilt, high-efficiency solar panels, which could be used all year round because of its ability to change to alternative power sources in cloudy conditions.
It’s estimated that expanding to all city markets could save around 21,613 tonnes of food waste from landfill.
Closing the loop on food waste
Ultimately, ending food waste requires shifting the narrative from the ‘make, take waste’ perspective to create circular economy solutions, Tofias says.
Experts agree that this shift needs to happen across all stakeholders. Mitchell advises local governments to start with comprehensive baseline studies to properly assess the scale of food waste, and identify key sources and trends.
Then, they can develop a multi-pronged strategy that combines regulatory measures, infrastructure investment and community engagement.
This could, he adds, include mandatory waste segregation and tax incentives for food redistribution charities.
“I’d advise local governments to create the right infrastructure by prioritising funding for composting facilities, anaerobic digestion plants, and surplus food networks,” he says.
In the West, since most food waste comes from households, reducing food waste will require huge shifts in attitudes and behaviours towards how we purchase, consume and discard food.
“We pay for waste to be taken away from us every week; we put out our garbage bins and people take it away from us, “ Rodriguez says. “This is where our thinking about it stops, but what we do with our waste is a huge global issue.”
Altilium has commenced construction on what it calls the “UK’s first at-scale” electric vehicle battery recycling and refining plant.
Construction work at the four-acre site in Plymouth, Devon has begun, with engineering design work being completed by global engineering consultancy Hatch.
Altilium says the facility will have the capacity to recover critical battery minerals, including lithium, nickel and graphite, from 24,000 electric vehicles per year.
Using Altilium’s proprietary EcoCathode process, the company says battery scrap will be recycled into Nickel-Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) and Lithium Sulphate, which are critical intermediate materials for domestic production of battery cathodes.
Our ACT 3 site marks the next phase in Altilium’s mission to close the loop on battery materials here in Britain.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr Christian Marston, Altilium COO, said: “Our ACT 3 site marks the next phase in Altilium’s mission to close the loop on battery materials here in Britain.
“We are proud to be building this scale-up facility here in Plymouth, which will be a cornerstone of the UK’s electric vehicle battery supply chain.
“This is about taking a strategic and incremental approach to scaling a vital new industry, one that ensures value stays in the country and creates long-term skilled green jobs.”
Altilium says the plant is part of a pathway for the construction of Altilium’s planned ACT 4 mega-scale refinery later this decade.
The plant adds to Altilium’s existing and planned facilities, which include
ACT 1: Altilium’s Technology Centre in Devon where its proprietary EcoCathode process was developed.
ACT 2: A pilot line that processes one electric vehicle battery per day.
ACT 3: Scale-up plant in Plymouth, which is now under construction, producing intermediate battery materials.
ACT 4: A planned mega-scale refinery delivering battery metal salts, P-CAM and CAM (cathode active material) to UK gigafactories.
A company and its director have been fined for ignoring Environment Agency warnings to stop burning waste on rural land in West Yorkshire.
Bardsey Tree Services was fined £2,500, and ordered to pay costs of £3,000 and a victim surcharge of £1,000.
Company director Andrew Richard Ward, 56, was fined £960, and ordered to pay £1,274.50 in costs and a £384 victim surcharge.
Both pleaded guilty at York Magistrates’ Court to two offences of burning waste on land near Wetherby on separate occasions between August 2023 and August 2024.
The company, which offers tree services including operating as a tree surgeon, leases land off Compton Lane, a few miles away from Wetherby.
On 10 August 2023, Environment Agency officers attended the site and saw a fire which consisted of mixed waste. They could not find anyone present on the site.
Away from the fire was a pile of tree trunks, a large pile of wood chippings and an even larger pile of mixed soil, rubble, wood and metal.
The fire found in July 2024.
The defendants had no registered environmental permit or waste exemption, which allows for low level waste activity.
The Environment Agency said it wrote to the defendants with instructions to stop burning waste on the land and to clear the site within three months.
Two months later, the company registered a waste exemption for the site, which authorised the burning of certain categories of ‘green’ waste, such as tree and plant cuttings, provided that both the waste was produced on the land and any fire does not cause a nuisance.
However, Environment Agency officers attended the site again in July 2024 and found a fire burning, producing thick grey smoke.
The Environment Agency said the fire was predominantly green waste but also included plastics, treated wood, metal and aerosol cannisters. Again, no one was present.
In interviews, Ward admitted taking waste away from customers to the site, and that wood chippings were provided to biomass power stations.
Ward said the fires were used as a means of dealing with residual waste and added that the site had become known as a dumping ground for other operators’ waste.
Commenting on the case, Ian Foster, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, said: “Burning waste on land can have a significant impact on the environment and local communities.
“Our officers made it clear to the defendants multiple times that the activity on site was illegal, but this was ignored.”
Virgin Media O2 announces that it has cut Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 56% compared to its 2020 baseline.
The company is publishing the performance of its sustainability strategy, which shows it is on track to meet its near-term Science-Based Target of reducing operational emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) by 90% by 2030.
Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions are categories used to classify greenhouse gas emissions by their source. Scope 1 includes direct emissions from company-owned sources, such as fuel burned in vehicles or factories.
Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heating, or cooling. While Scope 3 is the broadest category as it includes all other indirect emissions from a company’s value chain, like those from product use.
We will continue to lead as a sustainable and responsible business that strives to make a positive difference across the UK.
Virgin Media O2 has a goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its products, operations, and supply chain by the end of 2040.
The statistics, released to coincide with Earth Day (22 April), show Virgin Media O2 eliminated plastic packaging from its own-brand products delivered to customers.
The company says it also worked with suppliers to cut plastic packaging at source by 27% against a 2022 baseline.
Commenting on the statistics, Nicola Green, Chief Communications and Corporate Affairs Officer at Virgin Media O2 said: “As we enter the final year of our industry-leading sustainability strategy, we will continue to lead as a sustainable and responsible business that strives to make a positive difference across the UK.
“Whether it’s cutting carbon, tackling e-waste, or helping those in need to get online, we’ll continue to use our purpose, people and products to have a lasting impact on the planet and the communities we serve.”
Virgin Media O2 announces that it has cut Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 56% compared to its 2020 baseline.
The company is publishing the performance of its sustainability strategy, which shows it is on track to meet its near-term Science-Based Target of reducing operational emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) by 90% by 2030.
Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions are categories used to classify greenhouse gas emissions by their source. Scope 1 includes direct emissions from company-owned sources, such as fuel burned in vehicles or factories.
Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heating, or cooling. While Scope 3 is the broadest category as it includes all other indirect emissions from a company’s value chain, like those from product use.
We will continue to lead as a sustainable and responsible business that strives to make a positive difference across the UK.
Virgin Media O2 has a goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its products, operations, and supply chain by the end of 2040.
The statistics, released to coincide with Earth Day (22 April), show Virgin Media O2 eliminated plastic packaging from its own-brand products delivered to customers.
The company says it also worked with suppliers to cut plastic packaging at source by 27% against a 2022 baseline.
Commenting on the statistics, Nicola Green, Chief Communications and Corporate Affairs Officer at Virgin Media O2 said: “As we enter the final year of our industry-leading sustainability strategy, we will continue to lead as a sustainable and responsible business that strives to make a positive difference across the UK.
“Whether it’s cutting carbon, tackling e-waste, or helping those in need to get online, we’ll continue to use our purpose, people and products to have a lasting impact on the planet and the communities we serve.”
Haringey Council issued 2,554 fines for fly-tipping and littering totalling £1,393,350 between April 2024 and March 2025.
A recent survey by the council found overwhelming support for stricter measures to tackle fly-tipping and littering.
It revealed that 96% of residents were in favour of imposing fines on fly-tippers, while 94% supported penalties for littering and dog fouling.
Local businesses and community organisations also voiced their concerns, with 83% backing fines to combat fly-tipping.
Following this, the council said it deployed an additional 15 environmental enforcement officers as part of its existing team to combat fly-tipping and littering.
Commenting on the announcement, councillor Seema Chandwani, Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequality and Resident Services, said: “The message from these figures is clear. Our residents and businesses demanded stronger measures, and we have delivered.
“Waste dumping and littering remain significant concerns in our borough, as voiced by our community, and we are committed to doing everything we can to put an end to this. Those who refuse to contribute and instead damage our beautiful spaces will be held accountable.”
Operations begin at Veolia’s new 25,000 tonnes per annum Hazardous Waste Transfer Station in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The facility will serve the chemical, agrochemical, pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries in the region.
UK resource management company Veolia says the facility will provide the full range of recycling and treatment options for hazardous waste.
Veolia already operates seven existing hazardous waste transfer stations and supporting treatment infrastructure in the UK.
The new site houses a new laboratory for analysing and identifying wastes, which will segregate each item based on potential hazards and physical and chemical properties. After analysis, the waste streams will go on to the appropriate treatment.
By using the latest technologies we can now more effectively treat this waste, move it up the waste hierarchy…
The facility will also be supported by Veolia’s mobile chemist service, Chempac, for segregation, labelling, packing, collection, treatment and disposal of hazardous and laboratory chemical wastes.
Veolia says different waste streams will be tracked by its end-to-end cloud-based system.
Nicola Henshaw, Managing Director Hazardous at Veolia UK said the launch of the facility marks a significant milestone in bringing the “benefit of world-leading waste management expertise” to the North East.
Commenting on the new process, Henshaw said: “Treating these complex materials is an integral part of Veolia Group’s GreenUp strategy to help key industries help protect people and the environment.
“By using the latest technologies we can now more effectively treat this waste, move it up the waste hierarchy, lower the carbon footprint and safeguard our environment.”
AI is one of the most recent innovations being widely implemented, not only on farms but also further down the supply chain. One example of how this is being done is by helping retailers forecast demand more precisely.
process, the company says battery scrap will be recycled into Nickel-Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) and Lithium Sulphate, which are critical intermediate materials for domestic production of battery cathodes.
