Environment minister Michael Meacher has said that UK packaging waste targets will remain unchanged for 2003.

This means that the recovery target for obligated businesses of 59% set for 2002 will be repeated next year, as well as the material-specific recycling target of 19%.

Explaining his decision, Mr Meacher said that in the light of proposed changes to the regulations at European level (see letsrecycle.com story), it would be "foolish" to force the UK industry into higher targets nationally.

"We still do not know what targets the new packaging Directive is going to set, nor to what deadline," Mr Meacher said. "However, it should be absolutely clear that a significant uplift in the Directive targets is certain; there should be no doubt about that. It would be foolish to put off the development of the recovery and, particularly, collection infrastructure."

Household waste
Another reason the minister gave for delaying an increase in the targets was that the industry would need to time to put in place infrastructure to source material from the household waste stream.

Mr Meacher said: "The UK now needs to extract more packaging waste from the household stream but setting such collection systems in place can take 18 months to two years. I would expect the focus next year to be on taking steps to ensure that the necessary collection systems will be in place to deliver the next Directive targets."

Mr Meacher said that the government's Advisory Committee on Packaging, chaired by ex-Valpak head John Turner, would be giving priority attention to the issue of achieving more recycling using the household waste stream.

Prices
The decision to maintain the 2002 targets through to 2003 is likely to have a softening effect on the market for packaging waste recovery notes (PRNs), and it is thought that PRN prices in some materials could drop into the low twenties in the coming months.

However, DEFRA has confirmed that there will be a further review of the packaging waste targets "as soon as possible" in 2003, with the likelihood of a steep hike for 2004.

"Whatever targets are agreed [by Europe] in the Directive," Mr Meacher said, "it will be necessary to introduce changes to the UK Regulations in 2004 to set the UK on course to achieve these."