After it had been revealed in April that Wastepack had obtained only 175,000 tonnes of its full 415,000 tonne recovery obligation of packaging recovery notes (see letsrecycle.com story), the CPI released a press release containing remarks that suggested that Wastepack had adopted a “cavalier approach” in dealing with its Scottish regulator, SEPA.
However, despite its 240,000 tonne shortfall of PRN, Wastepack had been given the full go-ahead by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency for its 2001 compliance plan.
In a letter to Wastepack, public affairs director Graham Barnard wrote: “CPI accepts that Wastepack did not adopt a cavalier approach in its relations with SEPA. CPI further accepts that the action of Wastepack in not purchasing 240,000 PRNs was not deliberately intended to undermine the system or to cause millions of pounds of loss to the industry.”
Apology
Mr Bernard went on: “CPI therefore accepts that their statements to the contrary were incorrect, and accordingly apologises to Wastepack for any embarrassment its statements on these matters have caused to Wastepack.”
The CPI letter also said that they would ensure that the statements made about the compliance scheme would not be repeated.
Commenting on the CPI's apology, Wastepack's director of marketing and communication, Mike Beard said: “We were very disappointed by the comments made some time ago by the CPI and we were sure that they could not be aware of the true facts. We are pleased at their fulsome apology, which we accept, and we look forward to working with the members of the CPI to increase recycling.”
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