Government stubbornly sticks to recycling targets but has no plan on how to deliver them says plastics industry

The UK plastics industry which represents more than 5,000 small, medium and large businesses and employs approximately 186,000 people across the UK says that the although the Government has set targets to double the local collection of plastic waste in five years they appear to have no realistic plan on how this can be achieved.

The industry says that Government has repeatedly ignored its warnings that their plastic recycling targets – set to rise from 32% at present to 57% by 2017 - are unachievable unless there is significant investment in the logistics of collection and recycling.

On behalf of the Plastics 2020 Challenge, Barry Turner, CEO of PAFA said, “In answer to recent Parliamentary Questions, the Government continue to say that the onus is on packaging producers to ensure that enough material is collected but in reality it is local councils that control collection. The fact is that, in the absence of resource-based recycling targets, there is no incentive for councils to invest in collection services – even less so when their budgets are already stretched to the limit.”

The plastics sector has also pointed to downward revisions by DEFRA of their estimates on UK recycling capacity which, together with the difficulties in getting councils to step up their recycling efforts and the absence of material-specific targets on local authorities, make it impossible to achieve the required additional 520,000 tonnes of plastic for recycling needed under the Government’s five year target.
      
Philip Law, Public & Industrial Affairs Director of the British Plastics Federation said, “The result of this ill thought out and fragmented approach will be that the companies obligated under these targets will be left to foot the bill for recycling that can’t be delivered. This is a no-win for everybody including the Government who will have to explain their failure in the future.”

Jan-Erik Johansson of Plastics Europe joined in challenging the Government’s approach, “Ever since we launched Plastics 2020 Challenge back in 2009 we have endeavored to facilitate and promote a sound development for UK plastics waste management by working in partnership with the value chain. After the budget we have – so far unsuccessfully – managed to meet with the Waste Minister to make clear to him what needs to happen.  To us it is clear without a joined up approach we cannot reach the target and like Minister Benyon to say the obligated companies must fix it is showing lack of sense of reality”.

ENDS