The European Union energy, industry and transport sub-committee of the Lords released its report today following its inquiry into the costs to industry associated with the 1994 European packaging waste directive.
Evidence submitted to the committee from April until June 2002 included reports on events surrounding the controversial 2001 compliance plan of the compliance scheme Wastepack, whose regulator is the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.
In a box titled 'Wastepack Ltd', the committee's report said: “It was not clear to the committee how or to what extent the devolved Regulatory Agencies were accountable to the United Kingdom Government.”
The report noted that, while individual companies can be held legally responsible for failing to comply with recycling regulations, compliance schemes are not subject to similar sanctions. If a compliance scheme fails to comply, the only sanction available for regulators is de-registration, which itself is subject to a “lengthy system of appeal”.
Chaired by Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe, the committee said: “The committee urges the government to reconsider the means necessary to enforce compliance so that all, companies and compliance scheme operators, can be held equally to account.”
Shortfall
The report notes that DEFRA said: “Wastepack had been required to carry out recovery of 415,000 tonnes of packaging waste – the total of its members' obligations – and to demonstrate compliance with this obligation to SEPA. It discharged only 175,000 tonnes of its recovery obligation, leaving a shortfall of 240,000 tonnes.”
Reffering to UK tonnage targets for 2001, in paragraph 38 of their report, the Lords committee said of Wastepack: “It is argued that had they been active in the market, PRN prices would have risen and pulled through the additional tonnage needed.”
The committee did not give an opinion on Wastepack itself, it was the difference in standards between the two regional regulatory bodies – SEPA and the Environment Agency – that the Lords committee did target, calling on DEFRA to resolve the matter. “The Committee did not seek to judge compliance. Our concern was to see where responsibility for compliance lay, given that regulation is a devolved matter,” the report said.
Mike Beard, director of marketing and communications at Wastepack, told letsrecycle.com: “We note the report, it seems their Lordships haven't taken a position on the Wastepack compliance plan. We have been caught in the middle of those issues, it's for others to resolve. We will study the report in detail before we make any further comments.”
The full House of Lords report on packaging regulations is available here
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