§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has to reduce wasteful packaging in the retail industry; whether his Department is monitoring the progress of the German regulations relating to secondary packaging; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LeighIndustry itself has already made good progress in reducing packaging waste—for example, by reducing the weight of packaging materials and using recycled material in new packaging; and a number of major companies have been actively involved with Government in supporting pilot resource recovery schemes. Ministerial colleagues regularly meet representatives of industry, including the retail sector, to discuss further ways in which packaging waste can be reduced. My Department and the Department of the Environment, have commissioned a study to establish whether economic instruments, such as taxes, levies, waste disposal charges and tradeable permits could help us achieve our recycling target. This is due to be completed later this year.
The Government are concerned about the potential for trade restrictions and distortions to competition which could arise as a result of the introduction of unilateral packaging measures in other member states and we have made our views known to the European Commission. The Commission has indicated that it is examining the situation and we have urged them to reach a speedy conclusion.