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Plans to ban all non-household biodegradable waste from entering landfill by 2025 have been set out in the Scottish Government’s recent Climate Change Plan update. A ban on household biodegradable waste being sent to landfill is already in place and the Climate Change Plan 2018 – 2032 commits to consulting on extending this to cover business and non-municipal waste. The proposals...

The Scottish Government has launched a public consultation on the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the update to the recently published Climate Change Plan 2018-2032. Strategic Environmental Assessment is a way of considering the environment when preparing public plans, programmes and strategies. It identifies potential significant environmental effects and, where necessary, describes how these effects can be avoided or reduced. This report...

Less traffic on the roads during the first lockdown led to a reduction in air pollution but may have caused potentially damaging surface ozone levels to rise, a new study led by University of York has revealed. According to the study, levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were down on average across the UK by 42 per cent, but surface ozone...

A consultation has been launched by the Cabinet Office regarding the Green Paper, which seeks to simplify public procurement in the UK following EU exit. Changes to public procurement rules proposed in the Green Paper include: Slashing the 350+ regulations governing public procurement and integrating the current regulations into ‘a single, uniform framework.’ Replacing procurement procedures with three ‘simple and...

The government is seeking views on proposals for mitigations against ammonia from digestate as part of the Green Gas Support Scheme. The government's April 2020 Future support for low carbon heat consultation set out proposals for a new Green Gas Support Scheme to increase the proportion of green gas in the grid, through support for biomethane injection by the process...

Mussels, oysters and scallops have the highest levels of microplastic contamination among seafood, a new study reveals. The study, led by researchers at the joint medical school of the Universities of Hull and York (Hull York Medical School), looked at more than 50 studies between 2014 and 2020 to investigate the levels of microplastic contamination globally in fish and shellfish. Scientists...

Particulate emissions from cooking stay in the atmosphere for longer than previously thought, making a prolonged contribution to poor air quality and human health, according to a University of Birmingham study. Researchers at the University of Birmingham succeeded in demonstrating how cooking emissions, which account for up to 10 per cent of particulate pollution in the UK, are able to...

Researchers from Keele University are leading a new study to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on human rights issues, to identify best practice for protecting workers and victims of modern slavery.  Led by Professor Tomoya Obokata and co-authored by Dr Forough Ramezankhah from Keele’s School of Law, in partnership with Minority Rights Group International, the research will create a set of guiding principles on...

The Government’s ambition to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028 could fail unless there are enough skilled engineers in the supply chain, Environmental Audit Committee chair tells Energy Minister. In a letter to Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng, the Chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee, Philip Dunne MP, reflected on evidence the Committee heard during its short inquiry on...

Seven sites which will test the ways in which connecting people with nature can improve mental well-being have been awarded a share of a £5.77 million pot, Environment Minister Rebecca Pow has announced. The new test and learn sites, which are based across England, aim to focus on communities hardest hit by coronavirus. This could include those living in deprived...