Mr. William O'BrienTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the current situation in respect of the EC's proposals on packaging and packaging waste. [3655]
§ Mr. PageMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environmental published for consultation on 11 July 1996 the draft Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations, which propose to implement the provisions relating to the recovery and recycling targets contained in the EC directive on packaging and packaging waste, 94/62/EC. Responses received during the consultation period, which ended on 30 September, are now being considered. It is intended to implement certain other provisions in the directive by means of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, along with others relating to the identification and marking of packaging, when Commission decisions and a further Parliament and Council directive are adopted.