Packaging Waste (Hansard, 17 December 1997)

§ Mr. Meacher

Increasing the recycling and recovery of waste packaging is an important element of achieving a more sustainable waste strategy. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 are intended broadly to double UK recycling and recovery rates by the year 2001, so that around 50 per cent. of all waste packaging is recovered. These regulations, enacted by the previous Government, are based on an industry agreement reached on 15 December 1995 and, as I have indicated previously, I am keen to ensure that we review their effectiveness and ensure that they fairly reflect that agreement. I accept the importance of an early Review as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Packaging, chaired by Sir Peter Parker, to the then Secretary of State for the Environment, the right hon. Member for Suffolk, Coastal (Mr. Gummer), in his letter of 9 July 1996, a copy of which is in the Library.

I have set four broad objectives for the Review:

(i) To determine whether the measures in the Regulations are sufficient to ensure that the UK is on course to meet the targets set by the EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste;
(ii) To identify the scope for increased recycling and recovery of packaging waste so as to make a greater contribution to the UK's sustainable waste management strategy;
(iii) To simplify the Regulations wherever possible, while fulfilling the requirements of the EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste (94/62EC) and maintaining the "shared approach" legal obligation as the basis of the regulations;
(iv) To achieve fairness in terms of the 15 December 1995 agreement on the sharing of the legal obligation between sectors and to encourage co-operation along the packaging chain.

I am asking the Advisory Committee to let me have their recommendations on the best means of achieving these objectives and in addition to look at the following specific issues:

(i) The case for separate targets for household and commercial and industrial recycling, and the scope for strengthening the local authority role;
(ii) The case for additional regulatory measures to encourage minimisation, and reuse of packaging and greater consumer awareness of opportunities to minimise and recycle;
(iii) The effectiveness of current requirements on evidence of compliance and in particular the system of proformas issued by accredited reprocessors (known as Producer Responsibility Notes) and whether this system should be retained in its present form or could be improved;
(iv) How small businesses can best be encouraged to play a part in increasing recycling and recovery levels.

I have asked the Advisory Committee to let me have their recommendations by the end of May and I will consider representations from all other interested parties before determining what proposals to bring forward for public consultation later in 1998.

I have today also received the Advisory Committee's recommendations on the issues on which I asked for their views earlier this year. A copy of their advice is in the Library. With regard to readjustment of the shareout figures in the regulations, I agree with the Committee that the data provided so far this year are not sufficiently robust on which to base a new shareout allocation, and I have asked for further work to be carried out to validate these data, as far as is practicable. I will give further consideration to this and the other issues looked at by the Committee in bringing forward proposals for public consultation next year.