Defra to make benefits of PRN money more visible

Speaking at a ‘Recycle-on-the-Go' event in Birmingham, Judicaelle Hammond, head of producer responsibility at Defra, said the measure would be in direct response to calls for transparency from both local authorities and industry.

Along with greater transparency, Ms Hammond said the government would also be setting new packaging recycling targets for businesses and calling for greater joint working in the consultation on the Packaging Regulations for 2011 to 2020, set to be published “in the next few weeks”.

“Increasingly, where the PRN money that producers give goes is of interest to the producers themselves, especially when they to report back to a board and say they can see no tangible benefits,” said Ms Hammond.

“Producers would rather be able to tell them this money is contributing to the recycling infrastructure and we are now looking at a situation where it will mean more, as targets go up then the compliance costs will go up as well. The consultation includes means of ensuring more visibility as to where recycling money goes.”

Under the packaging regulations, companies involved in the packaging supply chain with an annual turnover in excess of £2 million or which handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging each year have a legal obligation to sign up to an accredited compliance scheme or directly purchase PRNs or PERNs (Packaging Export Recovery Notes). The money helps to subsidise reprocessing costs.

In the lead-up to the launching of the Packaging Strategy in June 2009, Defra outlined initial plans to make the PRN system as a whole more visible to councils and consumers (see letsrecycle.com story).

Targets

While the UK has already achieved its 2008 EU packaging recycling target of 60%, the government plans to increase the domestic targets for obligated businesses up until 2020, in order to become one of the best performers in Europe.

The overall recycling target is expected to be raised to around 70-75%, however Ms Hammond said she was unable to confirm as yet what the targets would be.

Ms Hammond said: “I cannot say more at this stage about what the targets are going to be, as that decision still needs to be made and we will need to talk to the devolved administrations and ministers around Whitehall.”

Courtauld Commitment

Outlining the work the government is currently doing on packaging, Ms Hammond explained that Defra was in the middle of updating the retail and grocery sector voluntary agreement, the Courtauld Commitment.

The second phase of the Commitment is set to include a wider focus, taking in account all parts of the retail and grocery sector supply chain, as well as adopting a carbon-based approach to measuring performance.

“It is unchartered territory, as it is the first time we have adopted a carbon-based metric” she said. “And, in time, we hope that the Commitment will cover products and their environmental impacts and performance.”

Recoup

Also speaking at the event, which was organised by plastics recycling organisation Recoup, speakers discussed the means of improving the recycling of materials such as plastic and aluminium away from the home.

Stuart Foster, director of Recoup, outlined the growing need to provide recycling facilities in public places and explained that this was mainly in response to growing consumer consciousness about the need to recycle wherever they are.

“There is still some way to go but it follows that the consumers now asking many more questions and we have to rise to that challenge,” Mr Foster said.

Mr Foster pointed to the need for a consistent recycling message to encourage recycling-on-the-go and claimed that by using well known iconography, such as WRAP's 'Recycle Now' logos, they could potentially create “at a glance recognition” in members of the public and push them towards doing more recycling.