In a move backed by the packaging industry, the European Commission told MEPs and Member States that new EU countries should be given time to “catch up” with the rest of Europe on recycling.
” The Commission's view is probably sensible that the 2008 targets are about the right level. Countries achieving higher recycling rates than those have started to stagnate. “
– Jane Bickerstaffe, Incpen
Some new countries have until 2015 to reach the targets, which include recycling 55% of all packaging waste.
The report, laying out the Commission's view with respect to the five-yearly review of the Directive required by the end of 2007, also recommended against setting waste reduction targets. It said reduction measures could be overly complex to administer and could have uncertain environmental benefits, and that moves to develop national waste prevention targets under the revised Waste Framework Directive could be enough.
It also suggested any landfill bans on packaging waste would do little more than mimic recycling targets.
Commission officials concluded: “The Commission considers that the recycling and recovery targets contained in the Packaging Directive are currently optimal and should remain stable to enable all the Member States to catch-up with these targets.”
More than 36 million tonnes of packaging waste (54%) are recycled every year in the original 15 EU countries, saving the equivalent of 10 million tonnes of oil in resources.
But regarding an increase in the current recycling targets set for 2008, the Commission warned: “Studies also indicate that an increase of recycling targets beyond the current levels would not be cost-effective.”
Industry
This view is backed by the packaging industry, with UK-based packaging producers seeing the 2008 targets as “challenging enough”.
The Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (Incpen) said packaging companies are already going “beyond the Directive's narrow focus on end-of-life waste and recovery and consider the complete supply chain including energy use, transport and product wastage”.
Incpen director Jane Bickerstaffe told letsrecycle.com yesterday: “The Commission's view is probably sensible that the 2008 targets are about the right level. Countries achieving higher recycling rates than those have started to stagnate – in Sweden's case I believe they have even dropped off a bit.
“Once you get above a certain level it may not make sense to push for higher recycling rates – not just economically, but the Commission believes environmentally as well,” Ms Bickerstaffe added.
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A freeze in the Directive targets for the next five-year period 2009 to 2014 will not immediately impact on the UK's packaging producer responsibility system, because industry recovery and recycling targets have been set by Defra up until 2010.
Some experts believe current difficulties seen with the UK's packaging waste recovery note (PRN) system – in which producers buy evidence of packaging recovery from accredited recyclers – could even mean it will take until 2010 for the UK to meet the European targets set for 2008.
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