04.12.2018 − The Danish environment ministry wants municipalities to implement uniform arrangements for separately collecting plastic waste. A standardised system would increase the amount of plastic waste which is collected from...» more

29.11.2018 − EU member states want to set a cap on the concentration of the flame retardant decaBDE in recycled materials, but would set that limit substantially higher than the one supported by the European Parliament. » more

21.11.2018 − European businesses and trade associations have pledged to the EU Commission to make 10 million tonnes of recycled plastic available by 2025. "On the demand side, however, only about 5 million tonnes are expected so...» more

16.11.2018 − The European Parliament has approved setting a strict limit of 10 ppm for the brominated flame retardant DecaBDE in the EU Regulation on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP).» more

31.10.2018 − The trilogue negotiations between the EU Parliament and Council on the proposed Directive on single-use plastics will start as planned on 6 November.» more

24.10.2018 − The European Parliament has voted in favour of an amended Single Use Plastics Directive at its first reading with 571 votes in favour, 53 votes opposed and 34 abstentions. Members of the European Parliament to expand...» more

10.10.2018 − The Environment Committee of the European Parliament has voted to strengthen certain provisions of the proposed EU Directive on single-use plastics.» more

03.10.2018 − France will forbid the sale of straws, plastic steak markers, disposable cup lids, meal trays, ice cream pots, salad bowls, boxes and drink stirrers made of conventional plastics as of 2020. The French Assemblée...» more

21.09.2018 − Without urgent action, global waste arisings will increase by 70 percent compared to current levels by 2050, according to a new study by the World Bank entitled "What a Waste 2.0". The international financial...» more

14.09.2018 − The European Parliaments calls on all stakeholders to consider China’s import ban for plastic waste an opportunity for investing in prevention and in “state-of-the-art facilities for collection,» more

12.09.2018 − The overwhelming majority of the EU countries fulfilled the collection requirement of the EU Directive on e-waste for 2016. A total of 17 member states and Norway achieved the minimum rate of 45 per cent. Five other...» more

06.09.2018 − The speaker of the French National Assembly, François de Rugy, was appointed environment minister on Tuesday. He succeeds Nicolas Hulot, who announced his resignation last week. Mr De Rugy pledged in an interview that...» more

28.08.2018 − Nicolas Hulot has resigned as French environment minister. The former journalist, TV moderator and environmental activist announced» more

16.08.2018 − The Netherlands has proposed an EU-wide limit value for eight PAHs in granules and mulches used in artificial turf pitches.» more

09.08.2018 − China's Ministry of Commerce retaliates against US tariffs on Chinese imports. New Chinese tariffs are to apply to imports of all scrap commodities from the United States, » more

31.07.2018 − The effect of China's drastic import policy shift for waste continues to ripple throughout Asia.» more

25.07.2018 − The European Commission seeks opinions on the regulation of the interface between chemical, product and waste law and has launched a public consultation.» more

12.07.2018 − The European Commission's plastics strategy advanced another step on Tuesday when the European Parliament’s Environment Committee adopted a draft report responding to the proposal. Following the adoption of numerous...» more

04.07.2018 − The government of Thailand is banning the imports of e-scrap and plastic waste. The country's Department of Industrial Works (DIW) forbade imports of electronic and plastic waste last week, effective immediately.» more

27.06.2018 − In a Tuesday speech, EU Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella revealed that there were as yet no European retail chains that had entered voluntary commitments on the use of recycled plastics. In his remarks at the...» more

15.06.2018 − The EU waste package's four new Directives have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, which means their application will start on 5 July 2020. » more

30.05.2018 − The Polish government announced its intention on Tuesday to tighten controls on waste imports. "It is very often the case that waste is imported for recycling, but we really don't know what actually enters the country,"...» more

28.05.2018 − The European Commission presented news rules in Brussels on Monday intended to reduce plastic marine litter. According to the Commission, the rules target 10 single-use plastic products, which together account for 70...» more

22.05.2018 − Representatives of the EU member states adopted the Directives of the EU waste package on Tuesday morning at a meeting of the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council. Hungary abstained from the votes on all four...» more

17.05.2018 − China is planning to permit the import of high-value PET flakes without import licences. » more

19.04.2018 − China will implement bans on imports of a further 32 types of secondary raw materials in the next two years. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) announced on Thursday that imports of sixteen types of solid...» more

18.04.2018 − "The European Parliament has said ‘yes’ to the circular economy by a very large majority. This marks the end of three years of work, but above all it marks the beginning of a challenge for Europe," said MEP Simona...» more

11.04.2018 − In its future relationship with the UK, the EU should commit to "no lowering of the standards of environmental protection", according to the EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier. Speaking at a conference organised by the...» more

28.02.2018 − Beginning in April, companies in the People's Republic of China will have to pay a new environmental tax. According the stated-owned Xinhua news agency, the Environmental Protection Tax Law which went into effect on 1...» more

27.02.2018 − The EU waste package cleared another hurdle on the path to final adoption on Tuesday morning when it was adopted by the members of the EU Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI). The vote follows confirmation of the...» more