UK government sets packaging to landfill reduction target

The UK government has announced proposals for tougher packaging recycling targets to stop 400,000 tonnes going to landfill by 2017.
 
Announced by environment secretary Caroline Spelman, the new targets for packaging producers are also designed to ease demand on raw natural materials and improve resource efficiency by making more recyclable materials available for businesses.
 
Targets include: increasing the plastics recycling target by five percent per year, from 32 percent to 57 percent by 2017; increasing the aluminum recycling target by three percent per year, from 40 percent in 2012 to 55 percent in 2017; increasing the steel recycling target by one percent per year, from 71 percent in 2012 to 76 percent by 2017; and increasing the overall packaging recovery rate by one percent each year, from 74 percent in 2012 to 79 percent in 2017. In addition, glass recycling would be split into sub-categories to boost the amount of glass that is re-melted.
 
The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the targets have been drawn up following recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Packaging and fulfill a commitment in the Waste Review, published in the summer, to consult on increased recycling targets. This balances the need for environmental ambition and affordability for businesses and government, Defra said.
 
A consultation on the new packaging recycling targets will run for eight weeks, closing on February 10, 2012 with a final decision on the new targets announced in the 2012 Budget. The consultation can be found on the Defra website here.
 
Spelman said: ‘Christmas is a time when, more than ever, we all notice the amount of packaging that comes with the things we buy. An alarming amount of this is still going to landfill. These new, more ambitious targets will deliver real environmental and economic benefits. They will give a new incentive to companies to cut down on excess packaging and increase efforts to have their materials recycled.’