Government sets 2001 packaging waste targets at 56%

The figure is reduced from a 58% level proposed in a consultation paper earlier this autumn which drew almost universal criticism for being too high. The material specific figure for 2001 will be 18% recycling of each type of packaging waste.

The new figures replace the 52% recovery and the 16% material-specific recycling target originally planned for 2001.
Using the new figure, the government expects the UK to recover about 4.7 million tonnes of packaging waste next year.

The new figures were announced by Environment Minister Michael Meacher to the House of Commons.

Mr Meacher said: “The first recovery and recycling targets which member states must reach under the European Packaging Directive come into force in 2001, and the obligations placed on UK producers, under the packaging regulations are central to the UK meeting these targets.

“My department has reviewed all the figures that were used to inform the development of domestic targets in our recent consultation paper, and these revised figures suggest that a recovery target of 56% and a material-specific recycling target of 18% would allow the UK to comply with the targets in the packaging directive.”

Explaining the decision not to use the 58% figure, Mr Meacher said, in a written answer, that there is now more recent data available from industry which allowed his department to review all the figures.

The targets now set are expected to achieve recovery of 51% against the legally required target of 50% in mid-2001.

In the reply, Mr Meacher writes: “We estimate that a cushion of 1%, which is around 96,000 tonnes, should be sufficient, provided that the underlying data and assumptions are broadly correct.

“I think it is only prudent to provide a small safety margin to allow for error in the Department’s assessment of the additional tonnages which have to be brought within the scope of obligated packaging by 2001 and also to take account of the possibility that the tonnage reported by the smaller businesses (with turnover between 2m and 5m) who were obligated for the first time this year may decrease in their second year of obligation, as their figures improve, as was the case with the data provided by the larger (turnover over 5m) businesses in their second year of obligation.”