This is a really significant achievement and shows that we are making good progress on packaging recycling
Jane Kennedy
Final figures published by the Environment Agency today (April 9) show that the UK recycled almost two-thirds of all packaging produced last year, as letsrecycle.com predicted from analysing interim figures last month (see letsrecycle.com story).
More than seven million tonnes of packaging waste was recovered, of which 6.6 million tonnes were recycled, which Defra said saved the equivalent of saving roughly 8.9 million tonnes of CO2. This was partly achieved with the help of businesses, who are required to pay towards the costs of meeting the packaging recycling targets under producer responsibility legislation.
Environment minister Jane Kennedy said: “This is a really significant achievement and shows that we are making good progress on packaging recycling. Businesses which handle packaging have a vital role to play in reducing the amount of waste we're sending to landfill and I'm pleased to see they're doing their bit.”
All EU Member States have targets set by the EU on packaging recycling and recovery. The 2008 targets were recycling 55% and recovering 60% of packaging across the year.
There are specific targets for a range of recyclable materials and Defra confirmed that the UK has met or exceeded all its targets – although this was achieved with a small margin in the case of plastics and glass:
* Paper: 79.8% recycled (target 60%)
* Glass: 61.3% recycled (target 60%)
* Metal: 56.9% recycled (target 50%)
* Plastic: 23.7% recycled (target 22.5%)
* Wood: 78.5% recycled (target 15%)
Environment Agency chief executive Dr Paul Leinster said: “Last year was the best year yet for the amount of packaging waste recycled. Everyone – the public, local authorities and businesses – should be proud of what has been achieved and spurred on to do even more.
“We'll continue to help businesses meet their obligations and take tough action against those avoiding their responsibilities,” he added.
Packaging recycling and recovery performance in 2008
| Material | Total waste flow | 2008 summary | Achievement | Directive target |
| Paper | 3,839,000 | 3,061,110 | 79.8% | 60% |
| Glass | 2,630,000 | 1,613,310 | 61.3% | 60% |
| Aluminium | 145,000 | 50,214 | 34.6% | – |
| Steel | 676,000 | 417,261 | 61.7% | – |
| Metal | 821,000 | 467,475 | 56.9% | 50% |
| Plastic | 2,185,000 | 516,841 | 23.7% | 22.5% |
| Wood | 1,198,000 | 938,973 | 78.5% | 15% |
| Total recycling | – | 6,601,032 | 61.7% | 55% |
| EfW | – | 426,891 | – | – |
| Total Recovery | 10,695,000 | 7,027,923 | 65.7% | 60% |
| Source: National Packaging Waste Database | ||||
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