WRAP has accepted its voluntary producer responsibility agreement with the grocery sector - the "Courtauld Commitment" - must broaden its focus after concerns about unintended environmental consequences of its success.

Two years on from the agreement being signed by retailers and brand owners - which now include giants like ASDA, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Coca-Cola - the Waste and Resources Action Programme said it was "cautiously optimistic" of the first of its major targets being met.

This is to halt the growth in packaging used by those who have signed the Commitment by the end of 2008.

However, Friday saw the producer responsibility organisation Valpak warning that work to reduce retail packaging waste currently focussed too much on primary packaging - the packaging the ends up on supermarket shelves.

In some cases, the Stratford-based organisation said its producer members were having to use more packaging in the distribution of products to supermarkets because of work done through the Courtauld Commitment.

Valpak's David Daw told an open meeting of the CIWM London and Southern Counties Centre on Friday: "Some of our members are having to increase their use of secondary packaging because of the work retailers are doing on primary packaging."

Responding to the concern, WRAP's local authority relations manager Chris Davey responded that widening the remit of the Commitment was "definitely included in discussions" with retailers.

However, he also pointed to work by organisations like Tesco and Boots in re-designing their transit packaging to cut down on material use.

Growth

During his presentation about the progress of the Commitment, Mr Davey gave examples of achievements made against a background of growing retail industry turnovers.

He said Tesco had reduced its use of fruit and vegetable packaging by 10,300 tonnes a year and glass bottle packaging by 2,600 tonnes a year. Sainsbury's had seen a 13% drop in packaging use compared to 2005, while Waitrose had reduced its packaging by 33% relative to sales compared to the year 2000.

Mr Davey revealed that new targets within the Commitment would be set beyond the existing targets, for the year 2011, while WRAP was aiming to expand the Commitment into the DIY sector and into reducing food waste as well as packaging waste.

"It doesn't happen overnight, it does take time," he explained, "but we now have the tools - WRAP has a strong track record in doing those things, a proven record of achieving change."