Although the UK now recovers some sort of value from 55.6% of packaging waste – recycling 49.7% of packaging waste – Europe's Packaging Directive requires a 60% recovery rate and 55% recycling rate in little over three years' time.
Much of the gap between present UK recovery levels and the 2008 targets must come from collecting more packaging waste from householders – as was suggested by a key industry study carried out this summer (see letsrecycle.com story). However, this is the most difficult waste stream from which to collect packaging waste.
One of the key difficulties for packaging producers is that councils, which collect waste from householders, have no legal requirement to separately collect packaging waste for recycling. The Packaging Directive is supposed to be a “producer responsibility” measure, while council waste targets are based more around the biodegradable materials to meet Landfill Directive targets.
Engage
The government said today that it is “particularly important that producers engage now with local authorities to ensure UK targets are met”.
The Department is holding a conference in Westminster on January 16, 2005, to bring together the two sides to discuss long-term plans to meet the Directive's targets in 2008. Defra said to keep the current upward trend in packaging recycling and maintain a cost-effective approach to meeting the requirements of the Packaging Directive, a long-term approach will be needed between councils and packaging producers.
Local environmental quality minister Ben Bradshaw said: “The UK system is reputedly one of the most cost-effective approaches to implementing the packaging Directive in the EU. We want to keep it that way, but we also want to ensure that the recycling and recovery of waste packaging keeps on its current upward trend.
“Through active, forward planning and by working together I am sure that these challenging targets can be met,” the minister added.
Targets
Packaging producers – via their compliance schemes – have already begun to engage with local authorities to forge links on packaging waste. The Local Government Association met with compliance scheme Valpak earlier this month to discuss the issues in a meeting that was said to be “productive”.
Targets originally set by the Packaging Directive in 1996 were amended in 2004 to raise the targets that had been set for 2001. As well as the 60% recovery requirement and 55% recycling requirement, material-specific targets were set to recycle at least 60% of glass packaging waste, 60% paper and board, 50% metals, 22.5% for plastics and 15% of wood packaging waste. Percentage targets are all based on the weight of material.
More information on the Defra conference is available by emailing packconf@defra.gsi.gov.uk
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