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Packaging recycling figure of over 70% targeted

March 26, 2010 at 1:56 pm

In support of its mission to increase packaging recycling rates across the country, the government has just released a new publication which contains plans to revise the Producer Responsibility Obligations Regulations 2007. In the new document it calls for the recycling of packaging to be increased to over 70% by 2020, a target that has attracted strong criticism from many quarters for being unreasonable.

One of the strongest sources of opposition has come from the plastics industry. The government wants to achieve a recycling rate of 56.9% for plastic packaging by 2020, compared to 22.8% at the moment. The British Plastics Federation has said that this is simply not achievable, and that, although it is in favour of increasing recycling targets, this is just too much, too soon.

Even with the funding, the British Plastics Federation claims that the target cannot be met by 2020. It has also warned that trying to increase targets too quickly could even have a negative effect by forcing the industry to increase its use of energy and water. It also claims that improved infrastructure and better recovery of materials are required in order to reach the new targets.

But it is not just the plastics industry that has complained: the aluminium industry also derided the figures as unachievable. The executive director of Alupro (Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation), Rick Hindley, said that “the proposed 70% target is not achievable” and that a “65% target would be a fairer target”.

DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), which released the targets, said in response to the criticisms that the targets were “stretching but attainable”.

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