HC Deb 27 October 2003 vol 412 c34WS
Jonathan Shaw

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she used in drawing up the 2004 packaging waste targets; when the targets will be announced; and what progress has been made in reducing packaging waste. [131976]

Mr. Morley

The Department commissioned AEA Technology to design a model to produce target scenarios and assess the costs and benefits of these, using the most up-to-date information. The Department also uses its own model to exemplify targets using the most recent packaging data reported by business as well as the latest information on recycled packaging waste from reprocessors.

The Department expects to announce the changes to the packaging Regulations including the targets in late November 2003.

There has been a reduction in packaging waste since 1998. The Regulations include a cost incentive for businesses to reduce the amount of packaging they handle and to reuse packaging where they can. This is because the Regulations place tonnage recovery and recycling obligations on obligated businesses. The less packaging a business handles, the lower its obligation and thus its costs. Equally, where a business is reusing a tonnage of packaging, that tonnage does not have to be included in the calculation of the recovery and recycling obligations. In 2002, 4.9 million tonnes of packaging waste was sent to landfill compared with 6.9 million tonnes in 1998.

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