The ban on plastic straw.   Prime Minister Theresa May announced that there will be a consultation into some banning some prevalent single-use plastics, including plastic straws and cotton buds at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on Friday 19 April. Around 8.5 billion plastic straws are thrown out in the UK every year,…

Waitrose to stop using disposable coffee cups.   Some 2.5 billion coffee cups are thrown away annually in the UK, almost none of which are recycled because of their plastic lining. Disposable cups will be removed from all Waitrose stores by the autumn. Members of its loyalty scheme will still…

Nestlé reveals packaging recycling target. Food manufacturer Nestlé has announced its ambition to make all of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. The company – which employs 330 people at its factory in Dalston, near Carlisle – said it wants none of its packaging, including plastics, to end up…

Scotland produces record amount of energy from renewables. Scotland has become a world leader in sourcing its electricity from renewables, after a record year in 2017 for creating eco-friendly energy, figures show. The nation got more than two-thirds – 68.1 percent – of its electricity from green schemes last year –…

People in England will soon have to pay a deposit when they buy drinks bottles and cans in a bid to boost recycling and cut waste. The deposit will increase prices - but consumers will get the money back if they return the container. The scheme is expected to cover…

Renewable energy funding boost could mean UK energy farms are built subsidy-free by 2030. Onshore renewable energy farms that are able to generate three times as much power as the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant could soon be built without subsidy from taxpayers, according to the report. It’s thought a…

Burn or bury waste plastic? Since China refused last month to accept any more foreign waste for recycling, the UK is facing a challenge. How can it recycle more of its own waste? And should it bury or burn the low-grade waste that it can't recycle? We're trying to answer…

Business under estimate packaging waste - UK businesses are drastically underestimating the amount of plastic packaging waste they produce while paying “barely anything” to deal with the problem, new research claims. Britain generated 2.26 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste in 2015, according to the latest available Government figures. But the true figure is…

Prices for electricity, natural gas, coal and carbon rose across the region as colder weather is set to increase demand for heating. The chillier outlook is because of a weather event called sudden stratospheric warming, where the polar vortex of westerly wind is slowed down or reversed, pushing cold air flows…

..UK Electricity market. s you will probably know, wholesale energy costs increased steadily over 2017. In addition, the fixed / pass-through charges levied by the Government also increased. As a result, you are most certainly going to pay more for your energy in 2018. There is something you can do.…

Aldi pledges to halve food waste. The Champions 12.3 initiative consists of government, business and civil society leaders, all of which have committed to accelerating progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 – halving food waste per capita and reducing food losses by 2030. Aldi announced on Wednesday (31 January) that…

Scottish Whisky Association to ban plastic straws. The representative body for Scotland’s whisky industry has announced it will ban plastic straws and drinks stirrers in an effort to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the planet. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has said the move is part of its…

he energy regulator is on the hunt for an company in the sector willing to take on the 10,000 customers left stranded in the wake of another collapsed provider in the industry. Tyneside-based Future Energy on Thursday became the second energy minnow to fold this winter, triggering a scramble to find…