EU standards rule looms for overseas mills issuing PRNs

The regulations will be enforced by the Environment Agency and will apply to paper mills, steelworks and smelters in countries such as China and India that issue export-PRNs on material such as cardboard sourced from the UK.

Until now, there have been no specific rules governing the standard to which overseas mills operate. The only points that the Agency has checked in the past concerned whether or not the overseas mill actually existed and was genuinely receiving packaging material from the UK.

”Exporters will have to show that the facilities in China and India are modern and well equipped plants “
– Jeff Cooper – Environment Agency
These checks are important because overseas mills and smelters accredited under the PRN system to issue export-PRNs are generating hundreds of thousands pounds worth of PRNs which can be used to meet obligations under the UK's packaging waste system.

Environmental

The new system from January 1 2006 has a number of aims, not least ensuring that there are decent environmental standards within the plants. And, the legislation is also seen as a way to help stop any illegal exports of commingled waste to plants that are not actually suitable to receive them.

Explaining the rationale of the new regulations, Jeff Cooper, producer responsibility policy manager at the Environment Agency, said: “These are one of the things in the future that may help with the standards of exports in restrictions on the use of packaging in the future.”

Mr Cooper was speaking at a recent parliamentary meeting and continued: “The House of Lords are looking at the regulatory framework for 2006. This will mean that overseas reprocessors will have to function in a manner broadly equivalent to that in the EU.”

Impact

He said that this will impact particularly on those materials such as plastics which has 55 overseas plants registered for the issuing of export-PRNs. “This will affect the accreditation of exporters mainly when they come to reregister in September next year. But, it will also affect anyone seeking an exporting accreditation before then as they will have to show that the facilities in China and India are modern and well equipped plants there.”

The Environment Agency official added: “These rules will be quite helpful in the context of the mixed waste we have been seeing TV reports recently.”