Producer
Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 as amended
One of the key methods by which the Government aims to reduce the amount
of industrial, non-controlled waste going to landfill is the Packaging
Regulations. This places a responsibility on the producer, user and distributor
of packaging to recover and recycle a proportion of it.
This came about as a result of a European Union Directive on packaging
waste, issued and agreed in 1994. The key aims of the Directive and hence
the UK legislation was to increase the use of reusable and recyclable
packaging. The UK is required to recover a minimum 59% by weight of packaging
material and to recycle a minimum of 19% by weight of the total waste
flow according to the latest 2002 figures.
The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations
2007 apply in England, Wales and Scotland, equally. The Regulations apply
to all businesses involved in the packaging chain and who handle more
than 50 tonnes of packaging material in a year and who have an annual
turnover of £2 million or more.
Businesses affected by the Regulations must either join a registered compliance
scheme or register with the Environment Agency as an individual business.
Registration must be renewed annually. Where companies have an annual
turnover of over £5 million, Environment Agency registration applications
must be accompanied by a compliance plan setting out the steps to be taken
in order to comply with their obligations.
The details and obligations of the packaging regulations are significant,
contact Groundwork for assistance in working out your obligations.
Recyclable material is classed as: (i) glass; (ii) aluminium; (iii) steel;
(iv) paper/fibreboard or (v) plastic; and packaging material composed
of a combination of any of those materials are to be treated as made of
the material which is predominant by weight.
There are targets for each sector, which are cumulative with the Recovery
and Recycling Obligation. A user/producer of packaging has Recovery, Recycling,
and Sector targets.
To find the specific obligation:
Sector Obligation
Multiply the actual tonnage used/produced by the specific sector target,
if more than one sector is covered by the actions of the company these
targets are cumulative.
Recycling Obligation
Multiply the sector target by the tonnage used/produced and the recycling
target
Recovery Obligation
Multiply the sector target by the tonnage used/produced and the recovery
target
Sector
Prescribed Responsibility
| Producer |
| Manufacturer |
6% |
Producing
the raw materials for the packaging |
| Converters |
9% |
Converting
the above into packaging |
| Packer/Fillers |
37% |
Putting
product into the packaging |
| Seller/Wholesalers |
48% |
The person
selling the product |
| Secondary
Provider |
88% |
The person
selling to the public |
| Importation |
| Finished
Packaging |
100% |
The packaging
on the imported material |
|
Many producers will
find that they perform more than one activity; where this is so, each
activity performed on a tonnage of packaging will attract an activity
obligation.
| Recovery
Target |
| 1998-1999
|
38% |
| 2000 |
45% |
| 2001 |
52% |
| 2002 |
59% |
| Recycling
Target |
| 1998-1999 |
7% |
| 2000 |
13% |
| 2001 |
16% |
| 2002 |
19% |
|
Please
note: These statements are for your assistance and may not be complete
for your company’s particular circumstances. If in any doubt you
are advised to consult your local Groundwork office or the Environment
Agency to ensure that any action you take is within the law.
Environment Agency:
Northwest Regional office (Warrington) – 01925 653 999
Sub-regional offices:
Northern area office (Carlisle) – 01228 25151
Central area office (Preston) – 01772 339882
Southern area office (Sale) – 0161 973 2237
|
