asked Her Majesty's Government:
What disincentives they propose for use of plastic packaging. [HL3036]
Both sets of packaging legislation in the UK, the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 and the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003 (as amended), aim to minimise the amount of packaging used in the first place, and therefore reduce all types of packaging waste. The regulations also encourage reuse of packaging and increase the recovery and recycling of packaging waste.
The Packaging Essential Requirements Regulations transpose into UK law the provisions of the EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste (94/62/EC) relating to the requirements which must be satisfied in order to be placed on the market. These regulations place a number of requirements on all packaging placed on the market in the UK, including a requirement that packaging shall be designed, produced and commercialised in such a way as to permit its reuse or recovery, including recycling, and to minimise its impact on the environment when packaging waste or residues from packaging waste management operations are disposed of.
The requirements guarantee the free circulation of compliant packaging on the single market. For the UK to go beyond these requirements risks contravening the directive's single market goals, as any additional measure could be regarded as a barrier to trade.
Although the Government cannot force producers to use specific materials in their packaging or products, we do encourage them to minimise packaging, use recyclable materials and take steps to ensure that these are recycled as far as possible at disposal. Almost all packaging is in fact recyclable, but whether material is actually recycled is ultimately determined by the local collection and reprocessing facilities available.
The Government are also making it easier for local authorities to plan for, and put in place, the waste infrastructure that is needed on the ground in order to reprocess more recyclable materials.