When Defra decided that extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging should initially apply only to waste from households, it meant that the UK’s current system of producer responsibility would need to be kept going alongside it. However, the interaction between the two appears set to be problematic, especially for producers. The introduction of EPR Read more > The post How will EPR and PRNs interact? appeared first on Isonomia ..read more

  Local authorities increasingly recognise that how we use urban space can be a key tool in tackling environmental challenges. Most of those that have adopted net zero targets will have considered the contributions made by urban green spaces, or Green Infrastructure (GI) such as trees, parks and green walls or roofs. Urban food growing Read more > The post Neighbourhood to agrihood: the role of urban food growing in low carbon cities appeared first on Isonomia ..read more

  On 18th June, Defra announced that English councils would no longer be able to charge householders to deposit DIY waste at household waste recycling centres (HWRCs). However, closer reading of the Government’s proposals shows that, while they will require many councils to change their charging policies, they are far from a complete ban – Read more > The post Dropping the charges: new rules on DIY waste at HWRCs appeared first on Isonomia ..read more

Defra’s long-awaited response to the 2021 consistency consultation should answer many of the questions councils have about the changes they will have to make to recycling collection services. One of the biggest is whether government is serious about the rules on source separation contained in s.57 of the Environment Act 2021. I suspect that the Read more > The post TEEPing it real? appeared first on Isonomia ..read more

  Land in the UK is under increasing pressure. The longstanding demands of food production and housing have been joined by new needs arising from the goals of decarbonisation and protecting biodiversity. These are already leading to controversy. In their campaigns for the Conservative Party leadership, both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss railed against the Read more > The post Can the risks of natural capital markets be managed? appeared first on Isonomia ..read more

Decarbonising is a tricky business for commercial tenants and landlords alike, especially if one party is reluctant to do so. Certain UK legislation rooted in the 1950s doesn't help matters but we aim to break down the issue and offer some solutions. Laying the foundations Commercial real estate, which includes offices, retail, and hospitality, is Read more > The post What’s stopping commercial building decarbonisation in the UK? appeared first on Isonomia ..read more

  The range and intensity of messages about climate change we’re exposed to has perhaps never been greater. However, ‘climate communications’ are a rather more defined subset of these messages. The Yale Program on Climate Change describes them as forms of communication about climate change whose goal is “educating, informing, warning, persuading, mobilizing and solving”. Read more > The post Heated words: have climate communications been successful? appeared first on Isonomia ..read more

by Dominique Sandy   The provision of waste and recycling services has never been equal. For as long as residents have been expected to separate recycling from residual waste at home, some types of households have had access to better services than others, leaving some sections of society less able to participate. This exclusion isn’t Read more > The post Balancing Act: the impact of new legislation on flats recycling appeared first on Isonomia ..read more

  In April 2021, French lawmakers voted in favour of a bill to end domestic flight routes where the same journey could be made by train in under two-and-a-half hours. For environmentalists, this was an encouraging first step towards reducing air travel emissions – currently around 2.4% of global emissions according to the International Council Read more > The post Grounded: Is the UK ready for a domestic air travel ban? appeared first on Isonomia ..read more

  Gift giving is one of the rituals of Christmas, tracing its origins back to the early centuries of Christianity. The modern convention is to take the things we buy (an estimated £548 worth per UK adult for 2021), and cover them in colourful, often shiny, wrapping paper before placing them under the Christmas tree, Read more > The post A bad wrap: should we do without wrapping paper? appeared first on Isonomia ..read more