Building Healthier Communities: The Case for Investing in Public Health
Explore how targeted, community-based public health strategies can improve lives, reduce NHS pressure, and deliver cost savings for local authorities.
West Lindsey residents back big bin hire trial
15/07/2025 West Lindsey District Council is considering implementing a big bin hire scheme on a permanent basis. |
Rayner suspended from union over Brum bin dispute
11/07/2025 Unite members have voted to suspend deputy prime minister Angela Rayner from the union due to her role in the long-running Birmingham bin strike. |
Job loses loom as Birmingham bin dispute talks collapse
10/07/2025 Attempts to resolve the long-running waste service dispute between Birmingham City Council and Unite have collapsed with job loses the likely result. |
Daily abuse of waste workers revealed
18/06/2025 Waste collection workers in the South East are subjected to physical and verbal abuse, an investigation has found. |
Birmingham council secures court order to stop bin lorry protests
25/05/2025 Birmingham City Council has been granted a court order to stop protests outside of its bin lorry depots as the latest move in the long-running pay dispute. |
Breaking: Unite accuses commissioners of sabotaging Brum bin strike talks
21/05/2025 Government commissioners have been undermining efforts to resolve the Birmingham bin strike, the trade union Unite claims. |
Call for kerbside collections amidst battery-fire crisis
28/04/2025 Universal kerbside collections for waste batteries and electricals across the UK could save £6bn by boosting recycling and tackling the battery fire 'epidemic'. |
Carbon tax could cost councils billions, LGA warns
25/04/2025 A scheme aimed at reducing carbon emissions from the burning of waste could place ‘billions of pounds’ of unavoidable costs on local authorities, LGA warns. |
Mediator called to settle Brum bin strike dispute
24/04/2025 Unite say a deal could be ‘in touching distance’ after agreeing to engage in talks with Birmingham City Council under the auspices of arbitration service Acas. |
Striking Brum bin workers reject pay offer
14/04/2025 Refuse collection workers in Birmingham have rejected the city council’s latest pay offer in long-running dispute. |
Military planners sent to Brum amid bin strikes
14/04/2025 Military planners have been called in to help tackle the backlog of rubbish in Birmingham that has built up during the ongoing strike. |
Angry reaction to Starmer stance on Brum bin strike
07/04/2025 A war of words has broken out between the Government and union bosses over the bin strike in Birmingham. |
Brum council declares ‘major incident’ amid bin strikes
01/04/2025 Birmingham City Council has declared a major incident to address the impact of the bin strikes in a move branded by Unite as ‘disgraceful strike breaking’. |
Brum council threatens redundancies to end bin strike
28/03/2025 Birmingham City Council will begin a consultation on compulsory redundancies in an effort to end the bin strike, a move Unite describes as ‘bully boy tactics’. |
Digital waste tracking postponed one year
07/02/2025 The implementation of digital waste tracking is to be delayed until April 2026 due to the ‘complexities of the project’, according to the Government. |
One in 10 councils considering bin collection cuts
05/02/2025 Forty-two local authorities – or one in 10 – are considering cuts to waste collection services, new data reveals. |
Birmingham strikes escalate
04/02/2025 Strikes by more than 350 Birmingham bin workers will ‘intensify’ over the next two months, trade union Unite has announced. |
Fifth of people report problems disposing waste
03/02/2025 New research has revealed that more than six million people were turned away from their local waste disposal or recycling centre last year. |
Who’s leading the way on waste reduction and food climate action?
30/01/2025 Annie Pickering, operations director at Climate Emergency UK, looks at which councils are leading the way when it comes to helping residents reduce waste. |
Judge halts man’s bid to recover £600m bitcoin from council landfill
10/01/2025 A man’s 10-year battle to recover what he says is a £600m bitcoin fortune from a Welsh council’s landfill site has been halted in the High Court. |
Waste staff ‘furious’ as Veolia accused of backing out of deal
13/12/2024 Trade union Unite has accused Veolia of backing out of a recognition deal for its refuse workers in Sheffield ‘at the 11th hour’. |
Council staff reject ‘insulting’ pay offer
13/12/2024 Outsourced Peterborough City Council employees are considering industrial action after rejecting a pay award. |
Call for clarity on new food waste rules
05/12/2024 English councils still lack clarity on food waste regulations that come into force in just four months’ time, research has found. |
Simpler Recycling: Households to be issued with four bins
29/11/2024 Local authorities are set to issue households with up to four bins as a default to separate their waste and recycling. |
Recycling Week: The disposable vapes challenge
15/10/2024 Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, looks at the recycling challenge the surge in disposable vapes poses for local authorities. |
Recycling Week: New government, new direction?
14/10/2024 Lee Marshall, Director of Innovation and Technical Services at CIWM, considers what the new Government means for the waste and recycling sector. |
Refuse workers start ‘indefinite’ strike action
20/08/2024 Refuse workers in Sheffield have walked out in an ‘indefinite’ period of industrial action over union recognition. |
Birmingham slated over pay cut plans
16/08/2024 A union has slammed cash-strapped Birmingham City Council over plans to cut the salaries of refuse workers. |
Tower Hamlets tops list of worst recyclers
15/07/2024 The London borough of Tower Hamlets is the worst area for recycling in England, new research has revealed. |
Refuse workers’ strike escalates
26/06/2024 Refuse workers in the London Borough of Redbridge are to escalate their industrial dispute with a ban on overtime working, trade union Unite has announced. |
Council plea for landfill ban funding
25/06/2024 The Scottish Government has been asked for funding to implement a looming ban on sending biodegradable waste to landfill. |
Union announces strike over working conditions
19/06/2024 Refuse workers in the London borough of Redbridge will strike next month over a ‘deterioration’ of working conditions. |
EXCLUSIVE: Councils consider legal advice over waste guidance
12/06/2024 Councils are considering seeking legal advice over statutory guidance that will tell local authorities to collect residual waste at least every two weeks, The MJ understands. |
Councils fall out over £94m waste treatment facility bill
04/06/2024 Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council are formerly in dispute over a £94m bill for a share in a waste treatment facility. |
Biffa sues Scottish Government for £55m over DRS
16/05/2024 Biffa has confirmed it is taking legal action against the Scottish Government for losses incurred after the scrapping of the deposit return scheme (DRS). |
Government advisers urge overhaul of infrastructure funding
16/05/2024 Councils should be given more funding to play a greater role in developing infrastructure projects, according to Government advisers. |
Somerset’s £24m-a-year waste contract at risk
13/05/2024 Somerset Council’s waste collection contract is at risk after Suez disclosed ‘significant losses’ and said it may have to end the deal early. |
Simpler Recycling: Recyclables to be collected in one bin
09/05/2024 Councils will be able to collect recyclables, such as plastic, metal, glass, paper, and card, in one container as part of the Simpler Recycling reforms. |
Think-tank's call for landfill tax devolution
04/04/2024 A think-tank has called for a portion of the proceeds from landfill tax to be devolved to councils. |
Councils get £295m boost for food waste collections
26/03/2024 Councils in England will share up to £295m in funding to help them introduce weekly food waste collections, Recycling Minister Robbie Moore has announced. |
Council leader refuses to be ‘held to ransom’ by bin lorry vandals
18/03/2024 Vandals have been sabotaging Brighton & Hove City Council’s fleet of bin lorries, causing disruption to collection rounds. |
Coffee pod recycling scheme hits million milestone
27/02/2024 An initiative run by Cherwell District Council has seen more than a million coffee pods – weighing 16.4 tonnes – recycled in eight months. |
Councils call for ‘autonomy’ under EPR
26/02/2024 Councils must still have the autonomy to run waste services according to local need under new packaging reforms, the Local Government Association has said. |
Thurrock bin crews trapped wheelchair user
20/02/2024 Bin crews in Thurrock have repeatedly trapped a disabled woman in her home by not returning her bins to the proper place, ombudsman finds. |
Two thirds of councils expect to miss waste reform deadline
15/02/2024 Councils have urged Government to reconsider its ‘unrealistic’ waste reform deadline after research found authorities face shortfalls to fund the changes. |
Concern over waste reform costs
22/01/2024 Fears have been raised that more financial pressures could be heaped on councils as a result of waste reforms. |
MPs at odds with public on packaging measures
17/01/2024 Appetite for government intervention to reduce the use of packaging, either through taxes or bans, is lower among MPs than with the public, new research has found. |
Refuse workers strike over alleged 'bullying culture'
11/01/2024 Bins across South Tyneside could go uncollected for eight weeks as refuse workers strike over what has been called a ‘toxic bullying culture’. |
Wales passes workplace recycling law
08/12/2023 New Workplace Recycling Regulations have been passed in Wales, which will require all businesses to separate recyclable materials. |
Simpler Recycling: The implications for local authorities
04/12/2023 Lee Marshall, Policy and External Affairs Director, CIWM looks at the Government’s recycling reforms and what they mean for local authorities. |
Oxfordshire councils install vape recycling bins
04/12/2023 Three local authorities in Oxfordshire have joined forces to install 60 new recycling collection points for vapes across the county. |
Council denied injunction to stop bin strikes
04/12/2023 Warrington Borough Council has lost a High Court bid to stop its refuse workers going out on strike. |
Council admits hand in disposing of tents
15/11/2023 Camden Council has admitted that it was involved in the disposal of homeless people’s tents in central London last week. |
Public services ‘in a dire state’
31/10/2023 No public services are performing better than before the pandemic and satisfaction with councils has dropped, a report has found. |
Brighton’s waste service ‘mired in racism, sexism and homophobia’
13/10/2023 A report has described a ‘toxic’ environment and ‘normalised’ bullying behaviour within Brighton and Hove City Council’s waste department following complaints by whistleblowers. |
Solving the UK’s 'wishcycling' problem
09/10/2023 Chris Williams, founder and CEO of UK cleantech ISB Global sets out how to fix the confusing state of recycling in the UK. |
Sinkhole swallows up bin lorry
06/10/2023 An investigation has been launched after a refuse collection vehicle in North Wales was partially swallowed up by a sinkhole. |
Seven bins? The future of consistent collections
04/10/2023 Lee Marshall, CIWM, looks at the Government’s claims to be scrapping the much-fabled ‘seven bins’ policy and the future of the consistent collections reform. |
Liverpool proposes to insource waste collections
03/10/2023 Liverpool City Council is to bring its waste collection service in-house in a bid to improve recycling rates. |
Unite and council reach deal to end waste strike
27/09/2023 Waste service workers and street cleaners return to work today after negotiations between Tower Hamlets Council and the trade union Unite put an end to industrial action. |
Nottinghamshire waste staff to strike
15/09/2023 The GMB union has announced a week-long strike at waste recycling plants in Nottinghamshire. |
'Clarity' promised on waste reforms
12/09/2023 More certainty on the Government’s waste reform programme has been promised after mandarins were taken to task over delays. |
Number of vapes discarded each week soars to five million
08/09/2023 Five million single-use vapes are thrown away in the UK every week, an almost four-fold increase on last year, according to research from Material Focus. |
Fleet transformations hindered by consistent collection delays
05/09/2023 Delays to waste collection reforms are seeing authorities hold back on transforming their fleets and procuring electric vehicles. |
EPR scheme payments may come as late as December 2025
17/08/2023 Councils may not receive their first payments under the new extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme until as late as December 2025, The MJ has learnt. |
The cost of the EPR delay
02/08/2023 Steve Palfrey, chair of ADEPT’s Waste Group, looks at the implications for councils of the delay in implementing extended producer responsibility (EPR). |
Councils call for urgent clarity after further EPR delay
25/07/2023 Council chiefs have called for ‘clear timelines’ on waste policy after the Government announced a further delay to extended producer responsibility (EPR). |
Glasdon Jubilee™ Duo 220: Combining the Best of Both Worlds
24/07/2023 Glasdon has launched an exciting new addition to their classic Glasdon Jubilee range; a solution that combines two worlds of waste disposal. |
Westminster unveils ‘trailblazing’ fleet electrification
20/07/2023 Westminster City Council and Veolia are rolling out the UK’s largest electric refuse collection fleet, with vehicles powered by the waste they collect. |
Watchdog warns councils still in dark on waste reforms
30/06/2023 The Government ‘still lacks effective long-term plans to reduce waste,’ according to a watchdog’s new report. |
Gove: Trust councils on waste collection
09/06/2023 Communities secretary Michael Gove has said the Government should not ‘dictate’ to councils on waste collections. |
Retailers criticise ‘extended producer responsibility’ scheme
02/06/2023 A plan to make food manufacturers pay councils for the collection and recycling of packaging waste is facing opposition from retailers and manufacturers. |
UNISON launches action figures of ‘unsung heroes’
18/05/2023 Public sector union UNISON has launched a range of council worker action figures to celebrate the ‘unsung heroes’ working on the frontlines. |
North Somerset Council trials innovative bins
16/05/2023 North Somerset Council is claiming a first with an innovative new way to collect recycling and waste. |
Waste officers call for fly-tipping funding
11/05/2023 Majority of council waste officers think their local authority does not have enough resources and capacity to effectively tackle fly-tipping, poll reveals. |
Birmingham opens new ‘super depot’
04/05/2023 Birmingham City Council has opened a new state-of-the-art ‘super depot’ for its waste management service, replacing two outdated yards. |
Durham incinerator decision delayed again
27/04/2023 A decision on plans for a waste incinerator in County Durham has been delayed for a further two months. |
Reusing household items could save £63m a year
24/04/2023 Councils should take the lead in encouraging the reuse of household items to help save millions of pounds a year, a waste management company has said. |
The recycling system is in need of an overhaul – so what’s the solution?
19/04/2023 Dr Helen Holmes, lecturer in Sociology at the University of Manchester’s Sustainable Consumption Institute, looks at how the recycling system can be reformed. |
Understanding the disposal rules for POPs
04/04/2023 Hamish Farmer, direct sales manager at Inciner8, explains how local authorities can ensure waste management centres meet new regulations. |
‘Postcode lottery’ undermines plastic recycling
29/03/2023 People are being put off recycling their plastic because of the complexity of messaging and varying systems in different places, according to a new report. |
Top five recycling councils all districts
27/03/2023 District councils are leading the way in recycling waste, new Government figures suggest. |
Thurrock Council requests over £182m to stabilise services
30/01/2023 Trouble-torn Thurrock Council has requested £182.5m in Government support over the next year to shore up its services. |
Council apologises after RCVs struggle to reach bin stores
19/01/2023 Brighton & Hove CC has apologised after its refuse collection vehicles were unable to reach the sites of bin stores that were approved by council planners. |
Merseyside household waste strikes called off
13/01/2023 Strike action planned by 180 Veolia workers at 22 Merseyside household waste sites have been called off after an improved pay offer was agreed |
Liverpool refuse collection workers prepare to strike
11/01/2023 Members of the union Unite are set to undertake industrial action in a dispute with Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Streetscene Services Ltd over pay. |
Council’s £8m EV programme branded a ‘fiasco’
11/01/2023 York Council’s EV programme has been branded a ‘fiasco’ after it spent £8m on a fleet of EVs without having the right charging infrastructure fully in place. |
Epping Forest Council apologises over missed bin collections
05/01/2023 Epping Forest Council has apologised to residents for ‘unacceptable’ levels of missed bin collections - but has pledged to improve the service. |
Save thousands on waste management and reduce your carbon footprint with the CitySolar Smart Bin
06/12/2022 Local authorities can save thousands on their waste management while reducing their carbon footprint with the CitySolar Smart Bin. |
Veolia completes £2bn SUEZ UK sale
06/12/2022 Veolia has announced the completion of its sale of SUEZ recycling and recovery UK back to the French-owned Suez. |
Save thousands on waste management and reduce your carbon footprint with the CitySolar Smart Bin
30/11/2022 Local authorities can save thousands on their waste management while reducing their carbon footprint with the CitySolar Smart Bin. |
Council criticised for failing to tackle issues with bin collections
10/11/2022 Birmingham City Council has been criticised for blaming 'rogue crews' for failures in bin collections by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. |
Eight councils in shared services talks
07/11/2022 Eight Essex councils covering one million people are in talks to share services in a bid to make savings. |
Energy-from-waste facility to pay councils £4.75m ‘windfall’
21/10/2022 Seven London councils are on course to receive budgetary boosts totalling £4.75m in November thanks to a publicly owned energy-from-waste facility. |
Council celebrates zero-landfill month
18/10/2022 North East Lincolnshire Council is celebrating after making it through September without sending any waste to landfill. |
Newham bin workers to restart strike
15/09/2022 Bin workers in Newham are set to go on strike for two weeks starting on Tuesday, Unite the Union has announced. |
Scottish council workers consider 7.5% pay offer
05/09/2022 Strikes that would have affected schools and waste services across a number of council areas in Scotland have been suspended as workers consider pay offer. |
Council bin workers secure 10% pay rise
02/09/2022 Around 100 waste workers employed by Bath and North East Somerset council are set to receive a 10% pay rise. |
Newham Council braces for refuse strike
25/08/2022 Refuse workers in the London Borough of Newham are set to go on strike this Saturday to demand a pay increase that will keep up with spiralling price rises. |
Waste workers announce strike action across 15 Scottish councils
11/08/2022 Waste workers in 15 councils across Scotland will walk-out for a week this month in protest over the 'pitiful' 2% pay offer. |
