New recycling targets announced for packaging from 2006

The announced targets represent a revision of targets previously announced for the period up to 2008, as well as new targets for two further years in 2009 and 2010.

” We want to ensure that packaging waste recycling and recovery keeps on its current upward trend.“
– Ben Bradshaw
Other changes to the packaging producer responsibility regulations have also been announced today, with Defra abandoning plans to make compliance schemes apply for ministerial approval every year.

All of the changes are subject to Parliamentary approval.

Targets
Many established recycling targets have been lowered as a result of more companies being made legally responsible to recycle waste. This includes the overall recovery targets as well as paper, aluminium, steel and wood material-specific targets.

Glass and plastics recycling targets have been raised as a result of new data on the amount of packaging in the waste stream.

Defra has also lowered the minimum recovery by recycling targets, which will mean more energy-from-waste recovery will count towards the annual overall recovery targets.

Trend
Announcing the new targets today, environment minister Ben Bradshaw said: “Businesses have achieved a significant increase in the amount of recycling carried out since the regulations were introduced in 1997: recycling of packaging waste has nearly doubled since then. We want to ensure that packaging waste recycling and recovery keeps on its current upward trend.”

The new targets announced are as follows (figures in %):

Under the UK's producer responsibility regulations, the legal responsibility for funding recovery to meet these targets falls to companies involved in placing packaging on the UK market. This includes companies making the packaging, filling the packaging and selling finished products that use packaging.

The system is in place in order to meet the 2008 recovery targets in Europe's Packaging Directive. The packaging regulations have succeeded so far in raising packaging waste recycling from around 27% in 1997 to just below 50% at the end of 2004.

Decrease
For some material streams, the changes to the targets announced today represent a slight decrease in the amount of packaging recovery that will have to be carried out each year compared to previously-stated targets up to 2008.

This is because under new regulations, next year will see franchise businesses obligated to recycle packaging waste as well as those companies using leased packaging. This means the burden will be shared among more companies, and the business targets can therefore be lowered to achieve the same amount of recycling.

For the paper, aluminium, steel and wood streams, Defra has lowered recycling targets for packaging businesses to achieve.

Glass and plastics
However, in the glass and plastics streams Defra has increased the amount of recycling that packaging companies will have to fund. In plastics, targets have been raised only slightly. The glass targets have been raised by a large amount – by four percentage points in 2006. But in 2007 and 2008 the glass target increase is not quite as high as Defra had suggested as its preferred approach in its consultation.

Increases in the glass and plastics targets have been made because of new data provided by industry concerning the amount of packaging in the waste stream. Defra has adjusted the targets to make sure the UK will comply with the EU Packaging Directive.

Approval
Among other announcements made today, Defra confirmed that packaging waste compliance schemes will not have to re-apply for ministerial approval each year. The suggestion for doing so was largely ridiculed by industry since Defra also called for schemes to carry out better long-term planning (see letsrecycle.com story).

New changes will mean that ministers in future could grant “conditional approval” to compliance schemes or individual packaging producers that fail to meet their targets “for reasons that are just acceptable”. In the light of consultation, Defra said proposed “conditional approval” fees will be amended.

Defra said today that schemes and large producers handling more than 500 tonnes of packaging will be required to send operational plans to the government by January 31.