he London congestion charge zone will be halved in size after a decision by Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, to abolish the western extension introduced last year by his predecessor, Ken Livingstone. Transport for London will lose £70million per year in income from the scheme. All profits were invested in the transport network and fares are likely to rise to pay for the shortfall. The extension, covering Kensington and Chelsea and part of Westminster, will not be removed until Spring 2010 while Mr Johnson undertakes the legal process of rescinding the... 

Thousands of tonnes of rubbish collected from household recycling bins may have to be stored in warehouses and former military bases to save them from being dumped after a collapse in prices. Collection companies and councils are running out of space to store paper, plastic bottles and steel cans because prices are so low that the materials cannot be shifted. Collections of mixed plastics, mixed paper and steel reached record levels in the summer but the “bottom fell out of the market” and they are now worthless. The plunge in prices was caused by a sudden...