Under the new rules, operators will be accredited to issue packaging recovery notes and packaging export recovery notes (PERNs) from the date their application is received – rather than the date on which it is approved.
In the past some aluminium reprocessors have complained that the accreditation process can take several months – meaning operators applying in January may not be able to issue PRNs until later in the year, creating an artificial shortfall.
Defra’s revision is likely to increase the supply of evidence of aluminium packaging recycling, meaning a boost in the number of PRNs and PERNs reprocessors and exporters can issue.
The intervention comes following a gloomy year so far for those seeking aluminium PRNs, with provisional data for the first two quarters of 2015 showing a perceived shortfall in the amount of aluminium packaging recycled. As of the end of August, the PRN price has risen to between £30-£45 per tonne.
Protocols
The issue has largely been blamed on the removal of protocols for aluminium PRNs, such as mixed alloy cuttings, old rolled and old alloys due to a lack of actual material content. These were replaced by an Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) protocol at the start of the year – which aluminium recycling association Alupro estimated would supply around 12,000 tonnes of aluminium by the end of the year.
However, following the Q2 results last month, some in the packaging sector claimed Alupro had ‘overestimated’ the amount of IBA that would be available compared to the amount under the previous scrap protocol (see letsrecycle.com story).
Alupro argues that the complex accreditation process has distorted the real picture of aluminium packaging recycling in 2015, with a number of unaccredited reprocessors recycling large volumes that have not been counted.
In a government position statement, Defra said it recognised the process ‘may seem complex’ to potential operators but added accreditation ‘must remain robust’.
This means that if an operator is to become accredited from the point of application, they must be able to submit documentary evidence which satisfies the relevant agency that they will meet the conditions as laid out within Schedule 5 of the Regulations.
Targets
Defra added that the UK is ‘not on track’ to meet its 49% statutory business targets for the recycling of aluminium packaging in 2015. The target is due to increase to 52% and 55% in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
The Department stated: “We urge unaccredited reprocessors and exporters to become accredited and we encourage compliance schemes to actively assist them in this process to help secure the requisite number of PRNs/PERNs for their producer members. We want reprocessors and exporters to make every effort to recycle all available aluminium packaging waste.”
Responding to the announcement, Alupro executive director Rick Hindley said the decision was a ‘positive step’ towards meeting the aluminium packaging obligation.
He said: “Defra is recognising an issue we have been talking about for a year or so now, and at this point we realise it’s as much as it can do. We know some people accredited in the past for large volumes are no longer accredited, so the question is will they now come on board. Only time will tell.”
Defra is to monitor the recovery and recycling performance for 2015 and seek updates from the Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP) on any emerging difficulties.
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