For several years negotiations continued between the Environment Agency and the Aluminium can recycling organisation Alupro. The government and the Agency were know to be concerned that agreement had not been reached with the aluminium industry over a protocol agreement which accepted that a specific per centage of packaging would be deemed to exist in certain grades of secodnary aluminium. Compliance schemes have also criticised the sector for not delivering on PRNs in the way that was expected in 2001.
The deal and its implementation is important because it will help the UK to meet its packaging waste recovery targets. But, while it is important for the UK, the value of aluminium PRNs at 20 or more was still small compared to the value of the material and so reprocessors were not over enthusiastic to get involved.
Work by Alupro has now helped change this and director Alex Griffin said this week that he was optimistic that the first quarter of 2002 will see the proper impact of the protocol agreement.
“It has been a slow process in getting accreditation from the Environment Agency. Agreement was reached in March but the guidance not was not issued by the the EA or SEPA (the Scottish Environment Protection Agency) until the end of June.”
Mr Griffin said that he would expect that fourth quarter figures for packaging recovery should show higher numbers of PRNs issued for aluminium because of the work on implementing the protocol.
- An announcement is expected from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs next week about this year's packaging waste recovery targets. The figure, likely to be about 59-60%, has been delayed because differing government department views have had to be discussed by DEFRA.
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