Environment and Consumer

Waste legislation: Packaging Waste

The European Union gives strategic direction to waste management policy on a number of fronts from implementing the Basel Convention of 1989 on shipments of waste to regulating mining and electrical waste (including fridges and batteries) to setting targets for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste.

Packaging Waste

In February 2004 the European Parliament updated the legislation on packaging and packaging waste. Under the revised directive, there will be a substantial increase in the recovery and recycling of packaging waste, raising the minimum recycling target for such waste from 25% to 55% by 2008. The UK currently recycles 44% of its packaging waste.

Of particular concern was the compliance date for the new increased targets. If a tighter deadline had been adopted, as advocated by the Greens and MEPs from other Member States such as Germany, the UK would have faced a substantial increase in costs estimated by the UK Government to have potentially reached an extra £2.6 billion over five years. The targets and deadline would also have increased pressure on local authorities struggling to deal with the growing burden of EU waste legislation.

John Bowis commented: "We all want to see a reduction in the amount of packaging waste. I am glad that we have managed to maintain a challenging but realistic timetable for these increases. The UK Government must now support local authorities to ensure that they can deliver the new targets they have agreed to".