Defra calls for increase in recycling of glass packaging

Within Defra's second packaging waste recovery consultation of the year, amended targets for 2006 to 2008 include an annual 4 to 5 percentage point increase in the existing glass recycling targets.

Under existing glass recycling targets, reprocessors had already been required to increase the recycling of glass packaging waste by about 125,000 tonnes each year up to 2008.

The proposed amendments also include increases in plastics packaging recovery targets but decreases in the amount of metal packaging and paper packaging that will need to be recycled under the UK's producer responsibility system.

The measures in the consultation aim to ensure the UK meets packaging recovery targets set by Europe's Packaging Directive for 2008.

The Directive makes packaging producers responsible for recovering 60% of packaging waste by that year, recycling 55%. There are also material-specific targets to meet including recycling 60% of paper packaging waste, 60% of glass, 50% of metals, 22.5% of plastic and 15% of wood packaging waste.

Targets
The target changes proposed as the government's preferred option are as follows:

Table: Proposed new business recovery/recycling targets (%) – percentage point increase/decrease on previous targets in brackets

The government has also suggested that other possibilities would be to have front-loaded targets or back-loaded targets – i.e. making target increases tougher or easier in early years. These options are not Defra's preferred way forward, however.

Research
The changes to UK recovery targets have come because new research carried out by Defra's Advisory Committee on Packaging as well as Valpak and British Glass have suggested there is more glass and plastic packaging waste in the waste stream than had been previously thought. And, it says there is slightly less steel packaging waste than previously thought.

The government is now making companies running franchise operations obligated to recover their share of UK recovery targets, and is making leased packaging obligated for recovery.

As a result of these two issues, in order to meet the 2008 EU targets, the government is proposing to amend existing business targets for 2006-2008, and introduce new targets for 2009 and 2010 in anticipation of new EU targets for beyond the existing 2008 deadline.

Scrutiny
Along with the new recovery targets, Defra is consulting on measures to strengthen the monitoring and enforcement of the packaging producer responsibility system, which relies on producers buying enough packaging waste recovery notes (PRNs) from accredited reprocessors to fulfil their target obligations each year.

Defra is encouraging producers to make three-year commitment to compliance schemes to give the schemes more confidence in long-term planning for PRN procurement. However, the government said it would not be requiring producers to make such commitments.

Re-approval
Under the proposals, compliance schemes would have to seek re-approval from the government each year, instead of only at the start of their operations. On top of the existing acceptance of the Environment Agency, Defra said this would mean added scrutiny of schemes' business plans. Producers handling more than 500 tonnes of packaging waste each year would also have to seek approval of their business plans.

Defra has also sought to clarify what happens to producers or schemes that fail to purchase sufficient PRNs to meet their obligations.

Failure to meet overall recovery or recycling targets – or three or more material-specific targets – in a previous year “to a significant degree” would mean re-approval could be refused for a scheme or producer, Defra proposed. Other infractions including the supplying of false information would be treated similarly, it added.

The consultation is open until October 3.