10 Mar 2022
Several studies have been published recently which highlight the accumulation of plastic in riverbed sediment and an underestimation of the volumes flowing into rivers. The first states that ‘hundreds of millions of microplastic particles could be flowing into UK rivers, hidden in raw sewage’. It goes on to say that ‘recently, there was public anger over […]
03 Mar 2022
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement this week that the new “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership. With fact upon fact, this report reveals how people and the planet are getting clobbered by climate change.” In […]
03 Mar 2022
The much-anticipated talks on a potential ‘Plastic pact’ at UNEA 5 has produced a treaty on plastic waste which has been described as ‘historic’. We covered the run up to the talks in detail over previous weeks. There were reports late in the day that that manufacturers had been lobbying to weaken the treaty proposal, as […]
03 Mar 2022
On 18 November 2021, the Environment Agency and Ofwat announced major investigations into potential widespread non-compliance by water and sewerage companies at sewage treatment works. Below is an update from the EA on progress: The investigations were launched after companies revealed to us that they may be in breach of their permit conditions. This issue […]
03 Mar 2022
Natural Resources Wales is introducing restrictions on salmon fishing on the River Severn in Wales, in response to the decline in migratory salmon stocks. Numbers are currently among the lowest on record and are below sustainable levels. New byelaws have been confirmed by the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd, Lesley Griffiths, […]
03 Mar 2022
Scottish Water is calling for a ban on the sale of wet wipes which contain plastic. The company says it responds to 36,000 blockages each year with the vast majority featuring wet wipes. It comes as an advertising campaign is launched urging people not to flush wipes of any kind down the toilet. Scottish Water […]
03 Mar 2022
In advance of the IPCC report, the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee produced a report, ‘Nature-based solutions: rhetoric or reality? The potential contribution of nature-based solutions to net zero in the UK’. The report states that: The term “nature-based solutions” is used to mean working with the grain of nature to achieve […]
24 Feb 2022
‘Speech by Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, World Water Tech Innovation Summit, 22 February 2022 Thank you for inviting me back. ‘……….. Two years ago I said that all of us need to think differently if we are to tackle successfully the new reality of the climate emergency. Today I want […]
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