The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and PackUK have published the RAM 2027 materials assessment guidance for the 2027 reporting year (1 January–31 December 2027). The statutory guidance explains the steps producers must follow to assess the recyclability of packaging and packaging components under the recyclability assessment methodology (RAM), including automatic red ratings for specified packaging, material-specific red, amber and green assessment criteria, assessment across the stages of collection, sortation, reprocessing and application, reporting requirements, evidence retention, re-submission of assessments and recyclability testing. The guidance also explains how take-back schemes may be used for packaging not collected at kerbside where evidence requirements are met, requires producers to retain assessment evidence for seven years and confirms that version 1.1 of the RAM continues to apply to the 2026 reporting year.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and PackUK have published a collection of guidance on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging, specifically for local authorities eligible to receive payments under the scheme. The collection collates links to existing guidance on payment information, including when and how payments will be made, registration for the local authority payments service and the methodology used to calculate payments.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and PackUK have published guidance for organisations applying to become the Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) to administer the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging scheme. Applications are open until 17:00 on 12 December 2025. Eligible organisations must be independent, not-for-profit, private bodies. The appointed PRO will work alongside PackUK and may be responsible for administering activities related to calculating and modulating producer fees, the Recyclability Assessment Methodology, local authority cost modelling, communications and public information and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of local authority operations. PackUK intends to appoint the PRO in March 2026.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and PackUK have published a new resource page on extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging. The page consolidates guidance for multiple stakeholders, including producers, reprocessors, exporters, compliance schemes and local authorities, among others. It covers key topics such as packaging data reporting requirements, recyclability assessment methodologies, fee structures, compliance scheme registration, and local authority payment calculations.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Welsh Government have launched a consultation on proposals to give local authorities in England and Wales powers to issue conditional cautions to fly-tipping offenders. The cautions would provide an alternative to prosecution for suitable lower-level offences and could require offenders to undertake supervised clean-up work and make a reparative payment proportionate to clean-up costs, while more serious cases, including repeat or commercially motivated offending, would generally remain subject to prosecution. Offenders would need to admit the offence and accept the caution, with failure to comply potentially resulting in prosecution for the original offence. The consultation seeks views on the proposed powers, how non-compliance should be addressed, their likely impact on prosecutions, implementation requirements, costs and potential savings from offender-led clean-up work, suitable organisations to supervise offenders, possible unintended or environmental consequences, and whether alternative measures could deter fly-tipping more effectively. The consultation closes on 16 October 2026.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Welsh Government have published guidance on the mandatory ‘Report receipt of waste’ digital service, required under the Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/729 and the Digital Waste Tracking (Wales) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/105. From 1 October 2026, licensed and permitted receivers of controlled waste in England and Wales must use the service. Records must be submitted within two working days of receiving waste and must include waste classification codes and data on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and hazardous waste. Non-compliance may result in a £1,000 fixed monetary penalty, an unlimited variable monetary penalty, criminal prosecution or other enforcement measures.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced the Farm Tenancy Forum's new guidance on long-term farm business tenancies. The guidance covers several considerations to help landlords, tenants and their advisers in putting long-term agreements in place, including: (1) setting clear intentions and expectations from the outset; (2) agreeing on appropriate approaches to rent reviews; (3) clarifying responsibilities for repairs, maintenance and fixed equipment; (4) planning for improvements; (5) managing end of tenancy processes and (6) developing management plans for long-term farming and environmental objectives, while retaining flexibility to manage events.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced the outcome of trilateral negotiations with the EU and Norway, securing fishing opportunities in the North Sea and surrounding waters for 2025. This agreement grants the UK fleet access to over 290,000 tonnes of North Sea stocks, worth up to £310m. Catch limits have been established for six key fish stocks, including cod, haddock, herring, plaice, saithe, and whiting. Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and UK quotas have been outlined for each stock, with certain quotas reduced, and others increased compared to 2024 levels. The outcome of annual fisheries negotiations will be published in the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed's determination of fishing opportunities for British boats by the end of 2024. In addition, bilateral negotiations with the EU, Norway, and the Faroe Islands are ongoing.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced new restrictions on the use of lead in ammunition under UK REACH regulations, following the Health and Safety Executive's Final Opinion published in December 2024. The restrictions apply to shot containing more than 1% lead and bullets with a lead content of more than 3%, used in live quarry and target shooting. Specific derogations and exemptions apply. Outside of limited exemptions, these types of ammunition will no longer be available for sale to the public. The restrictions include a three-year transition period for the shooting and hunting sector, and a two-year period for outdoor ranges where lead is used to implement measures that prevent pollution from entering the environment. The measures aim to prevent the release of approximately 7,000 tonnes of lead into fields, forests and wetlands each year. Exemptions apply to the military, police, elite athletes, museum collections and certain outdoor ranges with appropriate risk management measures in place. Small calibre bullets used for live quarry shooting and airguns remain outside the scope of the restrictions.

Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) has announced that the UK has agreed on a set of fisheries arrangements with Norway and the Faroe Islands concerning North-East Atlantic mackerel. These arrangements aim to significantly reduce fishing pressure on mackerel and serve as a stepping-stone towards a long-term quota-sharing arrangement involving all coastal states. These arrangements will enable access for Norway and the Faroe Islands to fish a portion of their quota in the UK zone, in exchange for an annual transfer of some of their quota to the UK.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that the UK government has agreed to grant the Welsh Government an exclusion from the UK Internal Market Act 2020 (UKIMA 2020) to allow single-use glass bottles to be included in Wales’s deposit return scheme, with legislation to be introduced at the earliest opportunity and subject to conditions. The decision followed consideration under the Resources and Waste Common Framework and the 2025 review of the UKIMA 2020, including assessment of economic, environmental and public health impacts and engagement with industry and environmental stakeholders. The exclusion requires the Welsh Government to commence its deposit return scheme for plastic and metal drinks containers on 1 October 2027, ensure interoperability with a UK-wide scheme through a single registration and reporting system, reciprocal takeback, consistent labelling and a common deposit level, and extend the transitional period for single-use glass, during which a zero deposit and no labelling or targets apply, until October 2031 to allow industry time to prepare.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/910, which require online marketplaces to contribute to the costs of electrical waste recycling, have come into force. Under the regulations, online marketplaces must register with the Environment Agency and report data on sales made by their overseas sellers in the UK, with this data used to determine the amount of recycling companies must finance annually. The regulations also introduce a new product category of electrical equipment for vapes and aim to address the estimated 100,000 tonnes of electrical waste disposed of in UK households each year.