Mr. RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the EU measures relating to recycling which apply in the UK; and if he will make a statement on the UK's performance in respect of such measures. [95562]
§ Mr. MullinCurrently only the EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste (94/62/EC) imposes recovery and recycling targets for the UK. The Directive requires Member States to recover 50 per cent. of all packaging materials by 2001, of which half must be recycled.
The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 implement part of the Directive in the UK. In 1998, according to returns to the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency—the bodies responsible for monitoring compliance with the Regulations—UK business exceeded their recovery obligation of 2,393,327 tonnes, with a total of 3,322,715 tonnes, with 2,874,316 tonnes having been recycled.