§ Mr. BurgonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will be consulting on options for amending the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997; and if he will make a statement. [54156]
§ Mr. MeacherI am today placing in the Library a copy of the Government's consultation document on amendments to the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997.
The consultation document puts forward a number of options and proposals for modifying the Regulations and many of those reflect the recommendations made at the end 423W of June by the Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP), chaired by Sir Peter Parker. The ACP undertook a review of the Regulations in the first part of this year and have, in particular, advised that, at this early stage, adjustments to the Regulations should be kept to the minimum in order to minimise uncertainty, and encourage investment in the collection and reprocessing infrastructure for packaging recycling and recovery. The Government also need to be assured that the requirements of the Regulations will be sufficient to enable the UK to meet the targets in the EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste in 2001. The options and proposals in the paper are therefore designed to ensure the smooth working of the Regulations in order to meet our objectives.
The document invites views on the options presented for changes to the Regulations. Decisions on any changes to the system will be made on the basis of the views received in response, and will of course be subject to Parliamentary approval later in the year.
Hon. Members may wish to note that this document is relevant to a number of the issues that were raised by the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee in its Sixth Report, Substantial Waste Management. The Government are preparing a full response to the Committee's recommendations, including those relating to the management of packaging waste, and hope to publish it shortly.