A new workplace cup recycling service is promising to turn millions of paper cups into high end fibre goods such as packaging for perfumes and colognes. Coffee and vending machine supplier Selecta UK has partnered with waste contractor Veolia to introduce its SelectaGreen Cup Recycling Service at locations including train stations, schools and hospitals. Customers…

Millions of miniature plastic toiletries will be removed from Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels as part of a commitment by owner InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) to tackle plastic waste. The company has announced its entire hotel estate of almost 843,000 guest rooms will switch to bulk-size bathroom amenities such as refillable ceramic dispensers. IHG…

An alliance made up of environmental and legal NGOs and journalist bodies is calling on the government to drop a so-called “secrecy provision” included in its Environment Bill. The group consisting of over 30 organisations wrote in an open letter to new environment secretary Theresa Villiers that restrictions on the requirement for a new Office…

The government is being urged to impose a tax on processed foods containing excessive calories to help tackle obesity. The campaign group Action on Sugar and Action on Salt said a calorie levy on all energy dense processed foods that meet an agreed criteria would help encourage product reformulation and reduce fat, saturated fat and…

Switching from plastic water bottles to other single-use materials like glass and aluminium risks creating fresh problems for the environment, according to a new analysis. The independent think tank Green Alliance found that substituting half of the UK’s plastic water bottles for glass ones could generate more than a million tonnes of carbon emissions, equal…

A leading academic has called on the government to reveal the full effect of leaving the EU without a deal amid warnings of an “unprecedented impact” on the UK food supply and public health. Writing in The Lancet, Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City University, warned that a no-deal Brexit could have health…

Food brands are shifting to self-managed sustainability programmes rather than sourcing ingredients from certification schemes likes Fairtrade and the Rainforest Alliance. The schemes, in which companies are investing billions, are “shrouded in secrecy” and will likely serve to confuse consumers, according to a new analysis of 2,800 chocolate, ground coffee and tea products in 20…

There is no evidence that using terms like “burger” or “sausage” to describe meat-free products confuses shoppers, according to a House of Lords committee. Plans to change EU laws in order to restrict the use of such terms are therefore “unnecessary and would undermine EU policy objectives on climate change, the environment and public health”,…

Innovation to deliver more plant-based menus and increased availability of high quality food in more and more locations will help the food-to-go market reach sales of £23.4 billion by 2024, up from £18.5 billion in 2019. Growth will be “hard to come by” in the restaurant sub-sector, said IGD, which compiled the forecasts, but this…