You might have heard about Scotland’s ‘black bag’ waste ban. The ban is set to cover all biodegradable municipal waste (BMW), in both the domestic and commercial sectors. BMW encompasses the significant portion of municipal waste that breaks down naturally, e.g. food waste, garden waste, paper, cardboard, and natural fibres. But you may question: isn’t waste breaking down naturally a good thing? After all, isn't biodegradable waste preferable to plastics and metals that persi

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is an environmental policy that will tackle litter and pollution, reducing the environmental impacts of plastics and leading us towards a circular economy. Whilst the UK’s plans are still faltering, other countries are showing us how it’s done. Germany has an impressive 98% return rate for drinks containers! Consumers can return a wide range of containers, including plastic bottles, cans and glass bottles for financial reward. Norway’s DRS was

If there’s one thing to take away from the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC 2025) and the ocean plastics crisis, it’s that solutions do exist, but that they’re not scaling, not enforced and not shared equally. Cleanup technology may help in pollution hotspot areas, but they treat symptoms, not causes and are cost intensive. Recycling has a role, but its effectiveness is vastly overstated and most plastics are actually not recyclable to date. Individual actions - whilst

The 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) brought ocean issues back into the global spotlight. Delegates from over 100 countries convened to reaffirm commitments to SDG 14: Life Below Water, address overfishing and clamp down on marine pollution. The tone was urgent, the diversity of stakeholders impressive and the pledges ambitious - but the gap between promises and action remains as wide as ever, with a clear lack of dedicated funding to prevent plastic and microplast

On December 8th, 2023, an environmental crisis occurred off the northern coast of Spain when a cargo ship lost part of its load. In an alarming incident, an estimated 25 tonnes of plastic pellets, commonly referred to as nurdles, were released into the sea. This event elicited concern within the local community and renewed discussion about the environmental risks linked to plastic pollution. Nurdles are small, lentil-sized plastic pellets that serve as the starting material f

In 2016, headlines proclaimed that by 2050, plastic in the ocean could outweigh fish. The science behind this claim is weak - estimating biomass is notoriously difficult - but the message is no less important. The real issue isn’t a race between fish and plastic. It’s the failure of governments, industries and global systems to prevent known harm. At the 2025 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), governments once again pledged action on marine pollution. But critics, including ClientEa

You have swapped your plastic bags and ditched the straws. But there is a source of pollution you cannot opt out of, and it’s happening on every road in Britain, every single day. Although we call them rubber, modern vehicle tyres are actually made from a complex blend of synthetic materials, chemicals and polymers. Every time a car pulls away from the lights, it leaves something behind; not just exhaust fumes, but thousands of microscopic plastic particles, shed from the tyr

You have dutifully cleaned, dried, and separated your household plastics. When you do your weekly shop, you take your plastic bags and chuck them into the supermarket’s soft plastics recycling bin. You have done your bit. But where do your used plastics go? Despite your best efforts, your household recycling may end up in an illegal dump on the other side of the world. The UK exports 9.25 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, making it the sixth largest exporter in the

Ghost nets, or “ghost fishing gear”, are fishing and aquaculture nets abandoned, lost, or discarded in the sea (ALDFG = Abandoned, Lost, or Discarded Fishing Gear). Once in the water, they do not become inert trash, but they continue to “fish” passively. Drifting with currents, or settling on the seabed, they can trap fish, turtles, marine mammals, seabirds, and other organisms, often killing them slowly by entanglement, starvation, or injuries. Ghost nets can also damage vul

Considered one of the greatest environmental risks to health, air pollution is laden with fine particulate matter that causes cardiovascular and respiratory disease, cancers, and substantial mortality. Cleaning up our air demands concerted action by local, national, and international level policy makers. A 2023 briefing from the United Kingdom Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) examined claims and assumptions about the health impacts of ‘Energy from Waste’ incinerators,

Cigarettes are among the most littere d items worldwide with an estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette filters entering the environment every year. Cigarettes also make up around two thirds of all litter found in England across 80% of surveyed sites . Despite the prevalence of cigarettes discarded in the environment, filters have rarely been tackled as a source of plastic in efforts to reduce this environmental waste. So why should we be concerned about cigarette filters? Cigarette

From bread bags to bubble wrap, crisp packets to cling film, we are still heavily reliant on soft plastic packaging despite the damage it does to the planet after use. Recycling has been shown to be largely ineffective . We need to reduce our reliance on soft plastics in the first place and encourage reusable packaging. The Role of Supermarkets Despite promising to phase out soft plastics, UK supermarkets have been failing to meet their own targets on reducing soft plastic

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