January
- Asda launches a trial selling wonky veg – and sets the tone for a year in which food waste becomes ‘the’ environmental hot topic
- The government tells the EFRA committee that it’s merely “refocusing” rather than “stepping back” on waste management policies
- The Tories claim a landfill ban on food would cost £447m; Labour backtracks on its plans to introduce one
- WRAP becomes a charity – four months earlier than planned
February
- The British Association of Biobased and Biodegradable Chemicals is formed
- Defra report shows how the waste sector generates almost £7bn for the UK economy
- Aylesford Newsprint, which recycled 13% of UK paper, closes
- Ricardo report shows how councils are coping with austerity through innovative waste management services
March
- Political support gathers for an Office for Resource Management
- NNFCC study shows AD plants number 185, with 500 more under development
- The CLG committee calls for taxes, increased fines and on-pack information after litter levels “barely improve” in a decade
April
- A provocative DCLG report suggests councils should “buy together” and save £70m
- The UK is reported to be one of the five biggest WEEE producers in the world
- Three councils begin trialling laminated pack recycling schemes
- Recycling & Waste World goes monthly
May
- The Conservatives win the election with a majority – prompting pollsters to eat their hats
- Eric Pickles (pictured above) is removed from the DCLG – prompting the waste sector to throw hats in the air
- Rory Stewart is appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state at Defra with responsibility for resource management
- Five years on, did we get the “greenest government ever? Nope.
June
- Within a month the new government has killed nine ‘green’ subsidy schemes
- Plastics Industry Recycling Action Plan is launched to meet the stretching 57% by 2017 target
- The UK will have too much capacity in its residual waste management structure by 2020, predicts consultancy Eunomia
July
- HMRC gets tough on landfill tax evasion with a new taskforce
- Huge disparity in gate fees found: some councils pay £43/t, while others receive £86/t
- The UK government “rubbishes” plans for higher EU targets on recycling
- First quarterly (and “inconsistent”) data on MRF input and puts is published
August
- Figures for 2014 show recycling levels crept up to 44.8%, with total waste generated up 3.7% to 22.4mT
- Electrical capacity from anaerobic digestion passes 500MW mark
- Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA) brands government proposals to cut renewable energy subsidies “disturbing”
- Waste contractors, foodservice operators and campaigners plea with government to deliver a litter reduction strategy
September
- UK’s most advanced glass recycling facility opens in Lanarkshire, Scotland
- Kerry McCarthy, armed already with her food waste bill, becomes shadow minister for the environment
- Suez and SLR Consulting report produces roadmap to hit 50% recycling by 2020
- New Recycle Now scheme launched to encourage more plastics recycling
- Sir James Bevan appointed as chief executive at the Environment Agency
October
- ISWA reports on the “tragic case” of the world’s huge open dumpsites
- England’s “confusing” 5p plastic bag tax comes into force
- Scotland’s environment minister announces his intention to set a food waste reduction target
- Eunomia report suggests the role of waste management in emissions abatement is massively underplayed
November
- WRAP figures show retail food waste figures are falling thanks to the Courtauld Commitment
- Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall doesn’t think so – he attacks supermarket practices in his BBC1 War on Waste series
- Food waste and marine litter reduction targets, as well as landfill bans, will not be part of the circular economy package, reports claim
- Defra and DCLG agree to 30% cuts in the spending review
December
- South Oxfordshire tops Defra’s recycling league once more
- London’s mayor comes under attack for capital’s recycling rates “going in wrong direction”
- UK waste sector welcomes new recycling targets in the circular economy package, but calls for more innovation and leadership
- Viridor wins a 25-year contract in Wales to process 95,000 tonnes of residual waste