29 Jan 2026
Image description: ancient Clapper bridge over the river Avon in Dartmoor national park. Image by Ben Wrigley on Unsplash New, clearer rules proposed on Tuesday 27 January will help to improve water quality, reduce pollution in our rivers and give farmers the confidence to grow food sustainably, the UK Government says. 41% of England’s rivers, lakes and streams […]
18 Dec 2025
Image description: Aerial view of a green combine harvester harvesting a field. Image by Scott Goodwill on Unsplash The government is facing growing calls to overhaul the laws governing the spreading of treated sewage sludge on agricultural land, following new evidence of widespread public concern regarding food safety and river health. On Tuesday, campaigners […]
14 Aug 2025
Image description: Aerial view of two tractors driving toward each other along parallel lines. Photo by Johny Goerend on Unsplash After legal pressure from campaign group River Action, the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs has closed what they claim was “a major loophole”; manure can now only be spread when crops actually […]
24 Jul 2025
A new scheme is being trialled in south Wales with the aim of recycling an extra 200 tonnes of farm plastics to reduce farm plastic pollution in rivers. The Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Four Rivers for LIFE project is working with Agriculture Plastics Environment (APE), Birch Farm Plastics and Afonydd Cymru to increase the collection […]
19 Dec 2024
Ahead of its annual meeting in Davos next month, the World Economic Forum has cited research showing that climate hazards will slash 7% off corporate earnings annually by 2035, an impact akin to COVID-19-level disruptions every two years. The reports— Business on the Edge: Building Industry Resilience to Climate Hazards, produced with support from Accenture, and The […]
11 Dec 2024
The BBC reports that water companies are planning to build a pipeline network to move treated sewage away from conservation areas and into rivers, lakes and seas which do not have the same legal protection. Photo credit: Gavin Young The work will be funded by customers and the water regulator, Ofwat, has provisionally […]
03 Dec 2024
From Wicked Leeks Earlier this year, Wicked Leeks brought you the story of poo, pollution and profits: how the UK’s intensive poultry industry has become a runaway train that was killing our rivers. Since then, the slope has grown even more slippery. “We are at ‘peak poultry’,” says Ruth Westcott, a campaigner with Sustain, who has been […]
06 Nov 2024
Last week’s Budget was designed to “fix the foundations of our economy”, but views on how it will help fix the environment are mixed. Defra’s overall funding will rise slightly in real terms, although its day-to-day budget will see a small decrease, with officials warning that farming and flood defence budgets face £600 million in […]
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