§ Mr. HansonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his targets for reducing the overall amount of packaging materials used to package goods under the EC directive on packaging and packaging waste.
§ Mr. MacleanThe Commission's proposal for a directive is still in its early stages. It is not yet clear what the final shape of any directive that is adopted may be. I consider therefore that it is premature for the United Kingdom to set targets now given that the current proposals may be changed substantially during negotiations between member states. We already have a target of recycling 25 per cent. of household waste, a substantial amount of the recyclable proportion of which is packaging materials.