The discussion emerged during a meeting in late 2009 of the government's Advisory Committee on Packaging's Targets and Transparency Taskforce, which was set up to advise the government on setting new packaging recycling targets for 2011-2020 and making the benefits of the PRN system more visible.
Final proposals from the department are set to be published as part of a consultation “in the next few weeks” (see letsrecycle.com story).
At present, business wood packaging recycling targets stand at 22% for 2010 – far below the 78.5% of wood packaging which was recycled through accredited reprocessors and exporters in 2008 – the last year for which audited figures are available (see letsrecycle.com). As there is such a surplus, wood is also used to help meet the domestic general recovery and recycling target, set at 74% for 2010.
During the meeting, Defra proposed setting new targets “going in a linear fashion towards the recycling rate achieved in 2008 for wood – 78% by 2020” – which received mixed reactions.
Some members thought that higher wood targets may be needed to ensure that a set amount of wood was recycled rather than going to biomass. In 2008, 18% of recovered wood waste was sent to biomass, up 48% from the year before (see letsrecycle.com story), and this figure is increasing – which has prompted concerns in the past that material which could be recycled will be burnt instead.
It is sensible to look at steadily raising the targets but to have some flexibility in how those are met
Adrian Hawkes, director of policy, Valpak
Others in the taskforce also thought that the targets needed to be high enough to keep some value in the wood PRN – which historically has traded at very low prices of around £2 per PRN/per tonne and have not provided much subsidy.
However, some members felt that the wood targets should be kept at a relatively low level to ensure general recovery and recycling PRNs continue to be available and therefore build some flexibility into the system – claiming that targets in excess of 60% could leave wood recycling over-exposed. The taskforce said: “with targets at this level a slight disruption could affect the market significantly.”
Valpak
Speaking to letsrecycle.com this week, Adrian Hawkes, director of policy at packaging producer compliance scheme Valpak and member of the taskforce, explained that Valpak had in particular suggested raising the general recycling target – a decision which had been prompted by recent market conditions.
He said: “With a downturn like we have it can make finding markets for some materials particularly difficult and expensive. It is sensible to look at steadily raising the targets but to have some flexibility in how those are met, particularly in the case of wood waste where there is not a particularly high target in the European directive.”
Mr Hawkes acknowledged that the wood sector recycled a lot more than its current target but said it was just a question of whether the target should exactly match that or provide some headroom.
He said that he had not heard yet from Defra whether the recommendation had been adopted.
WRA
Commenting on the proposals, the Wood Recyclers' Association (WRA) stressed that the Defra consultation was still to be issued and said it did not want to rehearse its views in public before digesting what the department proposed.
However, WRA secretary Peter Butt said there were likely to be both pros and cons about significantly increasing wood recycling targets until 2020 from the historically low levels of 20-22%.
Pointing to some potential benefits, he said: “In recent times wood PRN prices have bumped along at very low levels; so much so as to cause some accredited reprocessors to decide not to renew their registration because renewal costs, together with the resources needed to administer the system, may well outweigh PRN income.”
He added: “Higher targets would further stimulate ‘pull through' of wood packaging but we cannot yet assess the impact on PRN price levels.”
The board mill industry was much more fervent in its support for higher wood packaging recycling targets.
Alastair Kerr, director general of the Wood Panel Industries Federation (WPIF), told letsrecycle.com that the organisation had been pushing for higher wood recycling targets “for some time” and that they could only be a good thing from its point of view as they encouraged recycling.
However, he warned that raising the targets may not be enough to prevent a lot of material which could be recycled being burnt for energy, because biomass plants were subsidised through the Renewables Obligation and therefore could afford to much pay more for feedstock.
He said: “We would support increasing the targets as much as possible. But we have to look at this in the round. If energy policy is structured so that recycling is not happening then something needs to be looked at in energy policy as well.”
Register for free to comment