The Labour MP for Workington, Sir Tony Cunningham, has challenged the government over its plastic packaging recycling targets, which he believes are unachievable.
Cunningham was especially concerned about potential discrepancies between the government's recycling objectives and actual collection rates.
He asked Defra minister Richard Benyon whether the new obligations for plastic packaging manufacturers to fund recycling “will be changed if local collection services cannot deliver the volumes targeted”.
Benyon, in a written reply, said: “We are confident that the new targets can be achieved and will continue to monitor progress,” adding: “Producers only pay for recycling that has been delivered and reflected in Packaging Waste Recovery Notes.
“This is a producer responsibility system and it is the responsibility of obligated producers to ensure that sufficient material is collected and recycled to comply with their legal requirements.”
He did, however, admit that that the collection rate of trays, pots and tubs will need to more than double in order to ensure the government's targets are reached.