QUESTION TIME
uestiontime
This month’s question:How much responsibility should producers have over their packaging waste recovery? Would 'take-back' laws, such as those implemented in Germany
In 1991 the German Government, to counter the increasing volumes of packaging, enacted the Packaging Ordinance. It was the first comprehensive regulation to be based on the concept of material cycles. It was aimed to extend producer responsibility with the manufactures' and distributors' responsibility beginning when the product is manufactured and only ending when it is disposed of in an environmental manner. At the time packaging accounted for about 50 per cent by volume of the country's municipal solid waste. The Ordinance meant that all packaging waste was to be dealt with outside of the traditional municipal collection system, shifting the financial burden from the public sector to the industrial. Throughout Germany a number of systems are put in place to ensure that these responsibilities are adhered to. A greater number of cash for bottles schemes exist,
incentivising consumers to readily recycle plastics, whilst allowing manufactures and distributors to more easily reclaim their packaging.
CHRIS DOW CEO, CLOSED LOOP RECYCLING
Many brands have aspired to use recycled content but only a few have truly entered the market and supported the development of the recycling industry. Using recycled content is no longer about seeking a cheap alternative to virgin resin it is now all about high quality material that reduces the carbon impact of their packaging.
It is entirely possible to close the loop on packaging waste, given the right conditions, and as a nation it is something we should all be striving to achieve on a daily basis. I believe there are three classic elements to the closed loop approach to packaging waste:
1. Compliant Packaging
Firstly, packaging has got to be recyclable which doesn’t mean being made from just any material as long as it serves a purpose and looks good. It has got to be commercially viable and compatible with existing recycling technologies.
Packaging designers and brand owners visit our facility at Closed Loop to witness the benefits of successful polymer rationalisation and see first-hand what’s achievable from a recycling perspective. We all need to blow out the myths that are carried around by many companies that are used as a means to not participate in the recycling revolution.
2. Communication
The second element to closing the loop on packaging waste is communication. Everyone – from waste companies and recyclers
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PackagingGazette.co.uk
to brand owners, retailers and consumers - need to understand the part they play in the recycling process.
Brand owners and retailers that are successfully closing the loop on packaging and, for example, can demonstrate they are really thinking about the design of their products for recycling, should be shouting about it from the rooftops to inspire consumers to recycle, which in turn will lead to increased demand for recycled material and therefore give value to the material that is currently going to land fill, litter or lower grade uses.
3. Infrastructure & Regulations
There has been much debate about different ways of
incentivising more responsibility for packaging waste, but each market is different and we don’t believe that the UK climate is suitable for the take back laws in Germany.
Thankfully, in the UK the current and previous
governments have already done much to encourage retailers and brand owners to recycle and use recycled packaging, but there is so much left to do. For example, the introduction of the landfill tax implemented in order to divert waste from landfill has helped create and develop a whole new recycling industry. The introduction of new recycling targets which will further stimulate infrastructure development and overcome one of our industry’s greatest challenges, that of supply.
Investment in infrastructure and the development of new technologies is critical for brands
, be feasible in the UK market?
to embrace sustainable packaging. But in order to achieve this, investors and the financial markets need to have confidence in the industry, and the proper fiscal drivers to ensure material is not leaking out of the country subsidised by the British taxpayer. This is one reason why we are asking the government to review the current PRN/PERN system, which we believe currently disadvantages domestic recyclers and brand owners looking to use recycled material. Brand owners that do use recycled content should also be exempt from buying PRN’s for that percentage of recycled content they use. Such incentives will drive other industries and brands to enter the market for recycled material.
We are also calling for measures such as a mandatory MRF Code of Practice and greater enforcement of the Trans-Frontier Ships Regulations so UK re-processors will feel confident to invest in additional capacity, which will lead to the creation of substantial numbers of green jobs and will reduce the UK's imports of virgin raw materials.
All of these conditions will support the brand and retailers objectives to take responsibility for packaging waste, to work together to truly close the loop.
TIM PRICE COMMERCIAL
MANAGER, DS SMITH
For us at DS Smith Recycling it’s all about getting the highest quality material possible generated through recycling and
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