Politics

| Local and national charities are being cheated out of income by ambitious criminal who have started leaving fake clothes banks in towns and cities.

| The Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association has asked the country's Perak state government to reconsider its decision on banning the use of plastic bags and polystyrene containers. The MPMA has urged the government to educate the public on waste management and anti-littering instead of banning plastics.

| The Bureau of International Recycling expresses concern with regards to the UK leaving the European Union.

| Slovenia is gradually moving towards circular economy. The country's capital Ljubljana, which holds the coveted title of European Green Capital 2016, is hosting many activities promoting sustainable development.

| Recoup, the plastics recycling member based organisation, asked visitors and exhibitors and Plastics Recycling Expo (held last week in Telford), whether the UK should remain or brexit from the EU by recycling their empty plastic drink bottles through the voting bins.

| The government of Ireland is looking to set up a regulator for the domestic waste industry. This is being considered as one of the options to prevent increases in household collection charges.

| A research by US-based environmental group Basel Action Network found that Hong Kong has become a dumping ground for US electronic waste. Hong Kong has replaced China to become ground zero for toxic electronic materials.

| A waste-sorting and recycling pilot project in Vietnam's Hanoi city is no longer active since it started 10 years ago. The project on sorting domestic waste at source was funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency.

| Fead welcomes the draft report on the Waste Framework Directive (WFD), prepared by MEP Simona Bonafè, but still sees the need for some further improvement.

| The Oman Environmental Services Holding Company S.A.O.C (Be’ah) is undertaking an aggressive waste management plan in the country. Officials from Be'ah said that Oman's waste management investments could total about OMR 423.47 million.

| Germany-based European Bioplastics e.V., an association representing the bioplastics industry in Europe, has supported a new report by the European Parliament on revised waste legislation that has highlighted the role of bioplastics to help transition to a circular economy.

| European federations Euric and Fead are calling on the EU commission to focus more on the demand side in their circular economy package.

| Many European countries are realising the economic benefits of making more efficient use of material resources like metals, fossil fuels and minerals. But more action is needed to underpin this trend in resource efficiency with stronger policies on energy, material resources, waste management and on circular economy. These are the findings from a new European Environment Agency (EEA) assessment published today.

| A report by US-based Stratistics Market Research Consulting has said that the global e-waste management market is expected to reach $9.5 billion by 2022, grow at a CAGR of 21.4%. The market was valued at $2.4 billion in 2015.