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packaging
Packaging recycling
and the catering trade
Packaging is essential for the catering trade, but its
Registering
appropriate disposal and recycling can be a source of
An obligated business must register
confusion – as well as heavy penalty fines - for companies annually with the Environment Agency, one
unaware, or unwilling, to comply with the requirements of
of the other environment agencies, or with
an approved Producer Compliance Scheme.
current legislation.
There are over 20 schemes to choose from
(their details can be found on the
Environment Agency’s web site). The annual
Re-use, recycle packaging such as bottles, cans and packets,
registration deadline is 7 April. However, if
Packaging performs an essential function in they also cover commercial and industrial
registering with a Producer Compliance
keeping ingredients, food and drink safe on packaging such as drums, pallets and
Scheme, you should contact them as soon
its journey to the end user or cardboard boxes.
as possible and find out when they will need
consumer whether that takes a few minutes The aims of the Packaging Regulations are
your packaging data and registration fee.
or many weeks. to help reduce the amount of packaging
If you register with one of the
It helps to reduce food waste and gives us placed on the UK market, to increase the
environment agencies, you will be
a much wider choice of things to eat and amount of packaging waste recycled, and to
responsible for complying with your duties
drink. However, all packaging will eventually make ‘producers’ responsible for
under the Regulations – namely, submitting
end up as waste; the challenge is to use no funding collection and recycling systems for
data, acquiring evidence of packaging waste
more than necessary and to re-use, or packaging waste. In the past decade,
recovery and recycling, and making an
recycle, as much packaging waste as recovery of UK packaging waste has
annual declaration of compliance.
possible. increased from 30% to over 60%, an
If you register with a Compliance Scheme
impressive achievement but one we can
then that scheme will be responsible
Regulations continue to build upon.
for your obligations for as long as you
In 1993, the EU Packaging Directive was
remain a member of that Scheme.
introduced with the principal aims of
■More information on the The regulations include a calculation that
reducing the impact of packaging and
packaging regulations and how to determines how much packaging waste,
packaging waste on the environment. These
comply can be found at the and of which materials, an obligated
principles were introduced into the UK
Environment Agency’s web site businesses must pay to recover. In general
by the Producer Responsibility Obligations
www.environment- terms, the more packaging a company
(Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997, and
agency.gov.uk/packaging. Free placed on the UK market or supplied,
similar regulations in Northern Ireland. The
information on the full range of the more packaging waste they will have to
regulations have been updated several times
environmental legislation throughout pay to recycle (there is a simplified method
since then, with the current Regulations
the UK is available online from the for businesses with a turnover between
introduced in 2007 and revised in 2008.
NetRegs website www.netregs.gov.uk £2m-£5m).
The regulations don’t just cover consumer
To demonstrate compliance, the
obligated company will usually purchase
evidence notes - Packaging Waste Recovery
Notes (PRNs) or Packaging Waste Export
WHO’S AFFECTED?
Recovery Notes (PERNS) - from accredited
packaging waste re-processors or exporters.
Producers are businesses that are involved in the packaging supply chain from
Producer Compliance Schemes will obtain
manufacturers of packaging materials to sellers of packaged goods. Businesses
this evidence on behalf of their members.
that import packaged goods which they consume are also classed as producers.
Many businesses in the catering sector
Not all companies need to comply with the regulations. Only those that
will have obligations under these
undertake one of the specified packaging activities (manufacturer, pack-filler,
regulations. Most will already be registered
seller, importer, etc), and exceed two thresholds, will have obligations. To exceed
and making a contribution to reducing the
the thresholds, a company must have undertaken a packaging activity on more
amount of packaging waste going to landfill,
than 50 tonnes of packaging in the previous year and have had a turnover of
but there will be others that need to
more than £2 million. These thresholds apply to individual companies or groups
comply. If you run a hospitality venue,
of businesses.
operate fast food restaurants or supply
In other words, an independent company (i.e. not part of a group) that only
ingredients to the catering trade you may
handled 45 tonnes of packaging the previous year would not be obligated, even
well be amongst the businesses who have
if its turnover was £8 million. Similarly, a company would not be obligated if its
such obligations. Failure to comply with the
turnover was only £1.5 million though its packaging handled exceeded 50
regulations can result in a criminal
tonnes. Special arrangements apply for pub operating companies and licensors.
conviction and a substantial fine (the largest
penalty to date has been over £95,000).
www.papa.org.uk
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