The Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation, which represents companies obligated to recycle packaging under the UK regulations, has been working on the forthcoming Valpak PackFlow study. The study is looking at how much packaging waste is in the waste stream and what the UK's chances are for meeting European recovery targets set for 2008.
” There has to be pressure from ourselves and from government to see this money invested where it will grow the recycling infrastructure.“
– Paul Martin, Alupro
Alupro believes the 2008 target for aluminium packaging recovery – set by the EU Packaging Directive – is “very demanding” and is going to be “difficult” to achieve.
It is concerned that money paid by packaging producers for aluminium PRNs – packaging waste recovery notes – may not be invested in the best way by some reprocessors. PRNs, which are purchased as evidence of producer responsibility, are supposed to pay for an increase in reprocessing capacity.
Concern
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Alupro chief executive Paul Martin said: “Our main concern is trying to make sure PRN money is going to the right place. There is quite a lot of money not being used as we or Defra would want it to be.
“There has to be pressure from ourselves and from government to see this money invested where it will grow the recycling infrastructure,” he added.
Concerns over the meeting of EU recovery targets are particularly high at the moment with this year's apparent shortage of aluminium PRNs (see letsrecycle.com story).
Trees
Alupro is working to increase the recycling of aluminium cans – and therefore increase the availability of PRNs for producers to buy towards their packaging regulation obligations – with its Trees for Africa campaign. Launched by broadcaster John Craven in June, the campaign plants trees in Burkina Faso for every kilogramme of aluminium recycled.
The campaign is being strongly backed by local authorities, which is important since most aluminium packaging waste arises in the domestic waste stream. Mr Martin said: “We are seeing kerbside collections being rolled out, but it is still a substantial area for growth.
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“The new Trees for Africa campaign – building on cans for trees programme – is helping. I'm confident that we will have more councils on this scheme than we did in 2004, when there were about 300 local authorities taking part. The broader Africa theme fits in with the wider opinion this year as well,” Mr Martin explained.
The “away from home” waste stream is also important – more than a third of cans are disposed of in offices, schools, leisure facilities and on transport – and Alupro is working with aluminium producer Novelis and a number of materials organisations on pilot schemes to encourage recycling in offices.
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