Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Plastics News
  • Plastics News China
  • European Rubber Journal
SustainablePlasticsFINAL
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • News
    • Recycling
    • Sustainability
    • Bioplastics
    • Technology & Materials
    • New white paper from Tomra: What makes an effective deposit return system work?
      Alpla Group invests €5m in food-grade rPET system in Italy
      Armed with ISCC Plus certification, CP Chem secures supply agreement with Nexus
      Ecodek uses single-use coffee cups in composite board production
    • Opinion: The future of sustainable plastic
      Vinyl organisations in US, Australia sign MOU to explore sustainability programme reciprocity
      IneosStyrolution-Antwerp-main_i.jpg
      EU provides funding for sustainable ABS project
      Huhtamaki welcomes LCA results on environmental impact of single-use packaging
    • Lorenz develops lightweight bio-based thermoset based on regional raw materials
      Covestro adds its bio-TPUs to Desmopan product range
      Yield10 Bioscience announces milestone achievement with plant-made PHA
      Novamont advances vertical integration growth strategy with acquisition BioBag
    • Injection Moulding
    • Blow Moulding
    • Extrusion
    • Thermoforming
    • 3D printing
    • Technology
    • Materials
    • Machinery
  • Opinion
    • View Point
    • Opinion: The future of sustainable plastic
      A year to remember
      Opinion: California introduces world’s toughest plastic bottle recycling legislature – will other markets follow?
      Opinion: What to expect from plastic that protects our kids
  • Events
    • Our Exhibitions
    • Plastics Industry Awards (PIA)
    • Ask the Expert
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Plastics News Europe Live Archives
    • Plastics Recycling Show Europe
  • Prices & Resources
    • Polymer Prices
    • Data Reports
    • White Papers
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Media Pack
  • Subscribe
    • Magazine
    • Newsletters
    • List Rental
  • Digital magazine
    • Digital Magazine
  • Multimedia
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
February 07, 2012 06:00 AM

BPF slams government's plastics recycling targets

Hamish Champ
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    The British Plastics Federation (BPF) has slammed the coalition government's preferred option for plastics packaging recycling targets in the UK, labelling the proposals “a further burden on an already struggling sector”.

    In a consultation paper entitled Consultation on recovery and recycling targets for packaging waste for 2013-2017  the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it wants to see a business target of 57% of all plastics recycled by 2017, whereas the BPF has called for a more gradual rise over the next half-decade to around the mid-30% mark.

    Responding to the Defra document the BPF said the proposed regime would add a further £70m in direct costs onto plastics packaging producers and handlers over five years.

    The trade body said this was “in effect a direct and unfair tax on the packaging sector to support an unachievable target” and accused the government of using “excessive growth figures for plastics packaging which have been widely ridiculed within the industry”.

    Bruce Margetts, chair of the BPF's Packaging Group, said while there was support for retaining maximum value in any packaging after it had done its job, “[the government's] target is unrealistic in its timescale and rate of increase.

    “It appears to be a straightforward tax on producers rather than a realistic road-map for infrastructure and quality improvement. Production and filling of packaging could be lost from the UK,” he added.

    Meanwhile Roger Baynham, chair of the BPF's Recycling Group, said that while he applauded policies which would lead to increased resource efficiency and which create sustainable jobs and generate wealth for an emerging UK low carbon green economy, "the PRN/PERN mechanism will continue to incentivise exports and drive down quality of MRF plastics unless there are mandatory minimum quality standards in line with increased targets.

    “If we cannot grasp this nettle we will fail to future proof markets by creating a viable long term UK plastics recycling infrastructure,” he added.

    Jonathan Bloom, the BPF's senior executive, industrial issues, said the trade body's preferred figure of the mid-30s percent was itself “a substantial but achievable target”.

    Bloom said the BPF was “disappointed” that the views of Defra's own expert committee, the Advisory Committee of Packaging's Plastic Packaging Recycling Task Force, had been ignored.

    The BPF said Defra's preferred option also flew in the face of comments made by the Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement last November, when he said efforts to reinvigorate the UK economy must not be stifled by “endless social and environmental goals”.

    Privately, industry observers fear the government's proposed targets will add pressure to the recycling system, possibly leading to poorer quality recycled plastic products and rejection by end-consumers.

    Comments on the Defra consultation must be received by 10 February 2012 at the latest.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Sustainable Plastics' news delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Reserve your subscription today

    Subscriptions to Sustainable Plastics, the leading Pan-European magazine for the circular plastics industry are coming soon.

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

    "In a changing world, Sustainable Plastics is a constant: a platform the plastics industry can rely on to deliver the news and knowhow impacting the industry going forward”

    SustainablePlasticsFINAL
    Contact Us

    11 Ironmonger Lane, EC2V 8EY
    United Kingdom 
    Tel: +44 (0)1622 370570

    Customer Service:
    1-313-446-0450

    [email protected]

     

    Resources
    • Advertise
    • Sitemap
    • Careers
    • Subscribe
    Affiliates
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • LSR World
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Tire Business
    • Rubber & Plastics News
    • Automotive News
    • Automotive News Europe
    • Crain Publications
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Recycling
      • Sustainability
      • Bioplastics
      • Technology & Materials
        • Injection Moulding
        • Blow Moulding
        • Extrusion
        • Thermoforming
        • 3D printing
        • Technology
        • Materials
        • Machinery
    • Opinion
      • View Point
    • Events
      • Our Exhibitions
        • Plastics Recycling Show Europe
      • Plastics Industry Awards (PIA)
      • Ask the Expert
      • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Plastics News Europe Live Archives
    • Prices & Resources
      • Polymer Prices
      • Data Reports
      • White Papers
    • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Media Pack
    • Subscribe
      • Magazine
      • Newsletters
      • List Rental
    • Digital magazine
      • Digital Magazine
    • Multimedia