A sizeable audience drawn from UK converting businesses, retailers and brand owners, major UK compliance schemes, trade associations and local authorities gathered at London's Institution of Civil Engineers to hear how recommendations from the Government's Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP) have been incorporated into the UK regulations to help reduce the burden on smaller business and spread the packaging obligation more equitably among a greater number of businesses.
Conference and ACP chairman John Turner and head of the DEFRA Producer Responsibility Unit Sheila McKinley explained that some of the changes, which came into force on January 1, were also being introduced to help simplify the provisions of the 1997 Regulations. McKinley said it had been necessary to amend the previous recycling and recovery targets (published in 2003) following changes to the underlying data, and in particular the amounts of packaging entering the UK waste stream. Changes had also had to be made to accommodate other revisions being made this year, i.e. those designed to bring more packaging into the Regulations, for instance new requirements placing obligations on lessors, licensors, pub operating companies and businesses "operating similar business models".
Under the revisions, lessors, i.e. businesses that lease or hire out packaging, such as wooden or plastic pallets, to other companies, will from now on pick up a new "service provision" activity (85%) obligation for all first trip leased packaging. DEFRA says the remaining 15% obligation should already be being picked up by the businesses manufacturing the raw materials (6%) and converting them into packaging (9%).
In addition, franchisors and other "licensors", including pub operating companies, will now be obligated for "certain packaging bearing their trademark or associated with goods that bear their trademark or provide by an agreement between themselves and their non-obligated (i.e. those organisations that do not meet the threshold tests in the 2005 Regulations) licensees or tenanted pubs". There is also a new obligation on all imported transit packaging destined to end up in the UK waste stream ("irrespective of whether it is being, or is capable of being reused").
To specifically reduce the administrative burden on smaller obligated businesses, a new so-called "allocation method" will enable "small producers", i.e. businesses handling over 50 tonnes of packaging and with a turnover of between £2m and £5m, to choose to have a recycling obligation allocated to them, rather than having to collate and provide data annually to the relevant Environment Agency and calculate their own obligations. The allocation is based on turnover in the previous year, with recycling to be carried out in the main material handled. The allocation method is voluntary, but must be adhered to for at least three years. Tonnage allocations per £1m turnover are as follows: 2006: 25; 2007: 26; 2008: 27: 2009: 28 and 2010:29.
Other key changes to the UK Producer Responsibility Obligations include a requirement for compliance schemes and large producers to submit their operational plans to DEFRA as well as to the Environment Agency, and a provision whereby the Secretary of State can now grant "conditional approval" to a compliance scheme which has failed to meet its targets, but which has "put forward an acceptable reason for this failure".
For more detailed guidance on the 2005 Regulations, including the recent changes, visit: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/topics/packaging/index.htm or call: +44 (0)20 7082 8780; E: James.Biott@Defra.gsi.gov.uk
