According to Federation ceo Dick Searle, among those planning to attend, a concerted sector effort to secure the debate began around a year ago, among the champions being Illsley himself and Searle's predecessor Ian Dent.
Searle said: “Securing an adjournment debate is no mean feat and, although this is just the start in convincing MPs packaging actually has many benefits and is not, as some green groups contend, a source of numerous environmental ills, Eric deserves our sincere thanks for getting us this far.”
Illsley told Packaging Today just before the debate: “Packaging has had a pretty negative press recently in the national media; for instance the Women's Institute at one stage urged shoppers to leave their 'excess' packaging at the checkout, The Independent newspaper ran a four-page largely 'anti' feature, and the Daily Mail even carried a headline around the theme of “war on packaging” within the past few months,
“We have striven to secure an Adjournment Debate for some time; I think many, even in the industry, would acknowledge there are instances of 'overpackaging' still, but we, and packaging's detractors, need to identify where these are and leave the rest alone. UK consumers are hardly likely to be prepared to return to the shopping habits of the 1950s - when people went into a shop and bought just that day's food requirements every day, yet many, and indeed a large proportion of MPs, are not that knowledgeable about the realities of packaging and the very good reasons why it's there.
“It also surprises me that there are MP colleagues of mine prepared to sign up to motions from organisations like the WI, opposing so-called excess packaging, yet the same individuals are also signatories to my motion, incorporating opposing arguments. There seems a lot of confusion on some of the fundamental issues.”
Illsley hopes the debate will also address other topical cross-material sector issues, including the impact on packaging producers of high energy prices, and of the Climate Change Levy and other environmental legislation, the Packaging Waste Regulations, and the effect of growing overseas competition, particularly from lower-cost economies.
He added: “I am also keen to air the whole issue of UK packaging recycling. While the industry is being told to raise recycling levels, currently sizeable proportions of the various packaging materials, and particularly glass, are unsuitable for recycling after collection.
“In glass's case this is largely because many consumers simply chuck different-coloured glass in the same recycling “bin” or leave metal closures on used bottles, which can then damage the furnace they get that far. Some local authorities are also, quite understandably given the financial pressures they face, more concerned with simply collecting the requisite weight of packaging to meet their targets than with supplying it to the recycling community in the optimal condition. There needs to be more joined-up thinking.”
