This report was produced to support a Natural Capital Strategy for North Devon, planned for adoption by partners involved in North Devon Landscape Pioneer later in 2019. It was commissioned by Natural England in response to fears that several key habitats in North Devon – providing essential services to the [...]

With more plastic products and packaging marketed as ‘biodegradable’ or ‘(home) compostable’, there is a question about how beneficial they are in the context of the transition towards a circular economy. The European Commission’s new Circular Economy Action Plan, one of the main blocks of the European Green Deal, was [...]

California’s current bottle bill has seen a steady decline in recycling rates over the last decade, from 85% to 75%. The low, 5 cents, deposit level on most containers, and continued closure of recycling centers have driven down the deposit return system performance and resulted in more beverage containers being [...]

We were commissioned to deliver a study to support preparation of the European Commission’s guidance on the implementation of the general minimum requirements for extended producer responsibility schemes, as set out in Article 8a of the revised Waste Framework Directive. Our study resulted in two documents: The Recommendations for Guidance [...]

This report is the result of a desktop study, commissioned by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture (Cefas) under the Commonwealth Marine Litter Programme (CLiP). Its aim was to provide a worldwide overview, by country, on current single-use plastic restrictions, and an analysis of any alternatives being used as [...]

This report, for the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, results from our study of the current status of bio-based and biodegradable plastics in Denmark and builds on similar work undertaken for the Norwegian Environment Directorate. The Danish Government has a consolidated action plan for plastics as a result of its 2018 [...]

This report, for  Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) aims to estimate any achievable positive impact that could be associated with extension of the current bottle bill, in terms of scope and deposit level. Since 1973, Vermont has had a deposit refund system (DRS), also known as a bottle bill, [...]

This report, commissioned by the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, Canadian Stewardship Services Alliance, City Edmonton, and City of Calgary, results from our study of extended producer responsibility (EPR) for residential packaging and paper products (PPP) in Alberta, with a view to informing Alberta’s transition to a circular economy. It includes [...]

This report results from a project for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in which we assessed the pathways, fate and environmental impact of microplastics in Scotland. Specific objectives of the project were to: appraise the main environmental risks posed by microplastic pollution in Scotland’s terrestrial, freshwater and marine environment; [...]

This report focuses on the development of methods for demonstrating achievement of the separate collection targets for beverage bottles in Article 9 of the Single Use Plastics Directive. Our research highlights the legal and calculation issues surrounding the separate collection targets, and provides the European Commission with clear recommendations for [...]