Government’s Packaging Targets unrealistic, Says BPF

The British Plastics Federation is deeply concerned by The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affair’s (DEFRA) preferred option for plastics packaging recycling in their consultation on recovery and recycling targets for packaging waste for 2013 – 2017.

The BPF supports any policies which lead to increased resource efficiency, reduced carbon footprint and diversion from landfill.  However significantly increased recycling targets will only be achievable if the whole plastics packaging recycling supply is properly synchronised with an adequate strategy and route map. 

The Government’s preferred proposal for plastics packaging by 2017 adds a further burden to an already struggling sector. The direct cost to plastics packaging producers and handlers would be an extra £70 million over 5 years which is in effect a direct and unfair tax on the packaging sector to support an unachievable target. The Government uses excessive growth figures for plastics packaging which have been widely ridiculed within the industry.

Bruce Margetts Chair of the BPFs Packaging Group expressed his concerns towards the targets ‘As plastics packaging producers we want to retain the maximum value in the packaging after it has done its primary job, but this target is unrealistic in its timescale and rate of increase. It appears to be a straightforward tax on producers rather than a realistic road-map for infrastructure and quality improvement. Production and filling of packaging could be lost from the UK’

Roger Baynham Chair of the BPF Recycling Group stated ‘Whilst the BPF Recycling Group applauds policies which will lead to increased resource efficiency and which create sustainable jobs and generate wealth for an emerging UK low carbon green economy the PRN/PERN mechanism will continue to incentivise exports and drive down quality of MRF plastics unless there are mandatory minimum quality standards in line with increased targets. If we cannot grasp this nettle we will fail to future proof markets by creating a viable long term UK plastics recycling infrastructure.’

Jonathan Bloom, Senior Executive Industrial Issues, at the BPF believes ‘that a more gradual increase in targets should be adopted to move through to 2017 and beyond as previously advised by industry and resulting in a percentage point recycling rate no more than the mid thirties by 2017 which in itself is a substantial but achievable target. To achieve these targets there must be full support of all the stakeholders within the plastics packaging supply chain.

Essential to increasing plastics packaging recycling is standardized local authority collection sorting and recycling, tackling the quality issues, substantial investment in waste recovery facilities and discouraging of exports of waste which is unlikely to be achieved by 2017

The BPF is disappointed that the views of DEFRA’s own expert committee, the Advisory Committee of Packaging’s Plastic Packaging Recycling Task Force has been ignored.’
DEFRA’s preferred option flies in the face of Government policy stated by the Chancellor George Osborne MP in his Autumn Statement:
“We shouldn’t price British business out of the world economy.  If we burden them with endless social and environmental goals – however worthy in their own right – then not only will we not achieve those goals, but the businesses will fail, jobs will be lost, and our country will be poorer” (29th November 2011).

ENDS
For all media enquiries, BPF logos and images, please contact Jonathan Bloom, Senior Executive, Industrial Issues on 0207 457 5013 or email [email protected]

Note to Editor
British Plastics Federation (BPF) is the UK trade association for the plastics industry – representing the whole supply chain including polymer producers, distributors, additives suppliers, machinery manufacturers, processors and recyclers