UK set to meet packaging targets for 2008

The optimistic note came yesterday at the letsrecycle.com Live! Packaging Waste Summit in London from Judicaelle Hammond, head of producer responsibility at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

While, a month ago, there were concerns over whether the UK would meet its targets Ms Hammond said: “It looks now like we are going to make it but it remains incredibly tight. We are encouraging people to do what they need to do and I think at the moment the PRN system is working in the way it was designed to do.”

The Defra official was referring to the sharp falls in material prices last month which have been compensated for, to an extent, by increases in the value of the PRN, the packaging waste recovery note.

Ms Hammond's view was endorsed later in the day by a number of compliance schemes who said that they too believed they would comply and the UK would meet its targets

Ms Hammond explained that the PRN system was “working in the way it was designed”.

Challenge

However, there was consensus that 2009 would be a real challenge. The official said that this partly because less 2008 evidence will be carried over to next year and that targets were increasing. She said: “2008 looks like the end is in sight and the end is good. But 2009 is no doubt about it going to be a real challenge.”

To address the problem, Ms Hammond confirmed that the Government would consider reviewing its targets downwards to reflect potentially less packaging being placed on the market. This would mean that producers would still have to pay for the recycling of the same percentage of packaging but for reduced tonnages. This will be dependent on whether enough data is available when the ACP meets in January (see letsrecycle.com story).

The review is necessary because the current targets were set based on estimates made in 2007.

Ms Hammond said: “The Advisory Committee on Packaging will carry out a review in January before an assumption is made about the amount of packaging on the market as that is the big unknown.”

Review

During her speech, Ms Hammond also gave an update on the Packaging Strategic Review, which was originally due to be published in October, but is now expected in early 2009.

Outlining current thinking on what might be in the strategy, she said that a UK-wide approach would be undertaken involving the devolved administrations.

And, she signalled that Defra was trying to work out which direction to go in with a recognition that the UK had made good progress, saying – “From 30% in 1997 to 60% now, great progress has been made in packaging recycling.”

The strategy may include proposals for work on the distribution chain and whether more reusable packaging could be used, building on work carried out by WRAP under the Courtauld Agreement with retailers. Ms Hammond said: “Reusable packaging has been trialled and worked well in the DIY sector and now we are looking at what more can be done.”

Quality will be an issue for the strategy. She said: “The question for the packaging strategy is now do we move forward to better quality and by and large this means better sorting.”

Incentives for more closed-loop recycling may also be considered although the official emphasised that glass into aggregates does “have a place. It is providing an extremely useful route for material that is not colour separated.”

On the plastics side, ideas may emerge for creation of a market for recycling polypropylene.

The carbon issue surrounding recycling and packaging will not be resolved before 2014, Ms Hammond said. This is because the UK is unlikely to bring in carbon calculations to the impact of packaging recycling before revisions to the Packaging Waste Directive are made – these are due in 2014.