Packaging recycling targets not challenging enough – UK experts
The Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) has raised concerns that some targets outlined in the Government’s packaging strategy were “not challenging enough and will not enhance resource recovery in the UK as much as it could”.
Plastic, glass and steel targets
The group said it broadly agreed with recycling targets for plastic in spite of opposition in that sector. The British Plastics Federation (BPF) and the Packaging and Films Association (PAFA) both challenged the government proposal to increase plastic packaging recycling to 56.9 per cent by 2020, warning that the unrealistic target could hinder rather than help green initiatives.
But LARAC said implementing the recycling infrastructure for mixed plastics would be key to achieving the goal. It said this was beginning to evolve but acknowledged doubts remained whether it could be implemented quickly enough. The body also said that insistence of introducing a true closed loop system for this sector would put the target beyond the reach of the industry.
Regarding the recovery of glass, the committee urged the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to lay down a “more stretching target” of 700,000 tonnes in order to boost recovery through local government waste collections.
The target to increase steel recovery from 61.7 per cent in 2008 to just 62.8 percent by 2014 was not ambitious enough, it added. It said there was scope for raising targets to obligate companies to work with local authorities to develop and find new schemes to boost steel recovery as only half of the steel can in the municipal waste stream are currently captured.
The body made its comments in a response to the UK Government's public consultation exercise into its packaging strategy.
PRN/PERN reform doubts
The body also raised concerns that reforms on the way firms report PRN/PERN spends did not go far enough. Packaging Recovery notes (PRN) provide evidence packaging material has been recycled into a new product, while PERNs (Packaging Export Recovery Note) are issued by an accredited exporter for each tonne of waste packaging material that has been shipped abroad.
LARAC was concerned that “reporting alone may not be enough if what the PRN revenue spend is being used for is not aimed specifically at areas that will increase the overall capacity for recycling packaging”
It added: “The effectiveness of the new reporting requirements should be reviewed early and the regulations amended if it is shown that the changed reporting requirements have not resulted in an identifiable significant increase in funds invested in collection schemes and recycling/treatment infrastructure.”
