Packaging producers sceptical of plastic targets
18 January 2012
Representatives from the packaging sector have raised concerns that proposed targets for recycling plastic packaging have been set at an ‘unachievable’ level.
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- Recycling minister Lord Taylor, addresses delegates at the FPA Environmental Seminar last Thursday (12 January)
While attending the Foodservice Packaging Association’s annual Environment Seminar on Thursday (12 January), delegates from companies representing the UK’s packaging producers were polled on whether Defra’s proposals to increase targets for the recycling of plastic packaging to 57% by 2017 could be accomplished. None of the respondents felt that the 57% target was realistic.
The FPA represents 126 companies from across the UK food packaging industry, many of whom were present at last week's event.
Earlier in the day, recycling minister Lord Taylor had addressed the seminar, describing the targets set out in the packaging consultation as “stretching but achievable,” and calling for the industry to reduce ‘unnecessary packaging’ and increase recycling rates.
Targets
In his speech to delegates, Lord Taylor said: “These new targets have been set to provide the maximum environmental benefit, hence the increases in materials with a large carbon footprint such as aluminium and plastic, whilst keeping overall costs as low as possible.
“There are challenges to be overcome on this journey such as how we can collect films without contaminating other waste streams, detecting and sorting black plastics, and a lack of markets for non-bottle plastic. It is vital we make sure we get the economics right.”
Defra published its consultation on packaging recycling targets last month, with the British Plastics Federation’s Recycling Group also raising concerns over the proposed target for plastic recycling (see letsrecycle.com story).
Lord Taylor called on the industry to aid the increase of recycling rates by designing packaging with efficient recycling in mind. “How packaging is designed and manufactured has a significant role to play in the amount of waste that is produced. Preventing waste from arising in the first place is at the top of the waste hierarchy and can save consumers and businesses money”, he said.
“By considering how packaging is designed and avoiding unnecessary packaging, we can prevent wastage. Ensuring it can be easily recycled then helps minimise the impact of the waste that is produced.”
Packaging Federation
However, the Packaging Federation chief executive Dick Searle defended the environmental credentials of packaging producers, claiming that good packaging can prevent other forms of waste from arising, if, for example, it is able to prolong the life of food.
He called for government to engage more with the public more about recycling, saying that packaging producers were not to blame for excessive packaging, something he said was a cause of being a part of a ‘consumerist society’.
He said: “When I hear politicians talking about incentivising consumers to recycle I think it is bizarre, it should be something they already do. We are in the blame game and the packaging industry is in the line of fire for the blame.”
Mr Searle also pointed to what he sees as an undue amount of focus on packaging in waste debates, claiming that in reality it only accounts for 3% of the total amount of waste that is sent to landfill.
He said: “We need to have a debate with society at large about how we continue to be a consumer society. We can’t have consumption, consumption, consumption without looking at how we continue to have the resources to do that.”
Other speakers at the event included Dr Richard Swannell, director of design & waste prevention at WRAP and Dr John Williams, head of materials at the Uk’s National Centre for Biorenewable energy, fuels, chemicals and materials (NNFCC).
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