New faces for Advisory Committee on Packaging

Mr Conran said: “The Government is under intense pressure to produce a range of practical initiatives in the Resource and Waste Strategy including revised packaging waste regulations options post-2020. ACP members bring a unique capability to this challenge through the combination of expertise from a wide range of stakeholders in its membership and will be meeting regularly over the next few months to ensure that workable, sustainable and environmentally optimised options are presented to Defra for consideration.”

The new appointments to the committee, which now mean it is back to full strength are: Stuart Hayward-Higham representing the waste management sector; Valli Murthy for the glass packaging sector; and Kevin Vyse for the retail sector.

Expertise

Mr Conran said “I greatly welcome these new appointments who will bring crucial elements of expertise and experience at a very challenging time.

Stuart Hayward-Higham is technical director at Suez and replaces Martin Cooper, also of Suez. Mr Conran said: “Stuart brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Committee from his many years of involvement in resource recovery.”

Valli Murthy is the circular economy advisor at the British Glass trade association with responsibility for strategic sustainability development within the glass packaging sector and “brings a strong track record of sector engagement to the Committee.” Ms Murthy replaces Rebecca Cocking who held the position for many years.

Kevin Vyse is the circular economy lead for Marks & Spencer and, added Mr Conran, “is widely known for his work in this area. As a packaging technologist, Kevin brings a unique retail perspective to the Committee.” Mr Vyse replaces Gordon Henman of Kingfisher.

Producer responsibility

The ACP is the Minister’s key advisory body on the development of the Packaging Waste Regulations which have the PRN system at their core. The three new members are joining at a crucial time as Defra considers the regulatory changes required in the light of the Circular Economy Package, the pressures on single use packaging and expectations of increased producer responsibility.

Mr Conran commented: “The Future Regulations paper produced by the ACP in December suggested a range of recommendations that new legislation should incorporate to ensure high environmental outcomes at a fair cost to industry. The expectations for a clear path of development in the Resource and Waste Strategy expected in the second half of 2018 pose a tight timeline and the additional expertise provided by the three new members will be crucial in delivering a workable solution.”

Committee members

Other members of the committee are: Rick Hindley – Alupro (trade body); Simon Weston – CPI (paper trade body); Adrian Hawkes – Valpak (compliance scheme); Simon Stringer – NiPak/ScotPak (compliance scheme); Garvin Freeman – Tata (steel reprocessor); Andrew Bird – Newcastle-under-Lyme (local authority); Roger Walton – Dover (local authority); Alison Bramfitt – Nestlé (packer filler); and Mike Baxter – RPC bpi (reprocessor).